0000000000015019
AUTHOR
Luis-millán González
Use of heart rate variability in monitoring stress and recovery in judo athletes
The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of different judo training loads on heart rate variability (HRV) measurements, to determine if they can be used as valid indicators in monitoring stress and recovery in judo athletes. Fourteen male national-standard judo athletes were randomly divided into 2 groups, and each group followed a different type of training, namely, a high training load (HTL) and a moderate training load program (MTL). Data collection included HRV measurements, a Recovery Stress Questionnaire for athletes (RESTQ-SPORT), and strength measurements, 4 weeks before and after the training program. The HTL group had lower square root of the mean squared differe…
Impact of COVID-19 on the self-reported physical activity of people with complete thoracic spinal cord injury full-time manual wheelchair users
Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Activitat física; Lesió medul·lar Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Actividad física; Lesión de la médula espinal Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Physical activity; Spinal cord injury Context The emergence of COVID-19 caused a new public health crisis, leading to major changes in daily life routines, often including physical activity (PA) levels. The main goal of this study was to analyze the differences in self-reported physical activity of people with complete spinal cord injuries between the time prior to the COVID-19 lockdown and the lockdown period itself. Methods A sample of 20 participants with complete thoracic spi…
Application of GPS tracking for monitoring spatially unconstrained outdoor recreational activities in protected areas – A case study of ski touring in the Tatra National Park, Poland
Abstract New trends in leisure and outdoor recreation show an increased penetration of remote areas and the development of spatially unconstrained outdoor recreational activities. Here we present the application of GPS tracking to monitor a spatially unconstrained recreational activity, using ski touring in the Tatra National Park (TNP) as a study case. Particular focus of the study was the spatial and temporal behaviour of ski tourers with regard to existing management measures implemented in the Park, where recreation is limited to designated zones. The research is based upon empirical data (n = 427 ski touring GPS tracks). ArcGIS and statistics software SPSS were used for spatial and sta…
The influence of regular physical activity on lung function in paraplegic people
Cross-sectional study. The main goal of this study was to examine the influence of regular physical activity (PA) on lung volumes and flows. The study was conducted in the Vall d’Hebron Hospital, Barcelona (Spain), and La Fe Hospital, Valencia (Spain). Spirometric tests were performed to 67 paraplegics, and differences were established between the active group (AG) (n=37) that performed >60 min per week of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and 30 non-AG (NAG). Further, we established the relationship between the spirometric and PA variables and between being active and reaching the lower limit of normal (LLN) of the spirometric variables. AG had greater values than the NAG: FVC (P 0.05). The p…
Differences in intermittent postural control between normal-weight and obese children.
Abstract Aim The main objective of this study was to determine differences in postural control between obese and non-obese children. Methods The study design was cross-sectional, prospective, between-subjects. Postural control variables were obtained from a group of obese children and a normal-weight control group under two different postural conditions: bipedal standing position with eyes open and bipedal standing with eyes closed. Variables were obtained for each balance condition using time domain and sway-density plot analysis of the center of pressure signals acquired by means of a force plate. Results Pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences between obese and normal-weigh…
Evaluating the structure and use of hiking trails in recreational areas using a mixed GPS tracking and graph theory approach
Abstract Recreational trails encourage numerous outdoor leisure activities in a variety of urban, rural, and natural environments. Understanding the way trails function is crucial for the designers and managers of recreational sites to balance the needs of visitors and site capacities. This paper presents a new approach to evaluate the structure and use of hiking trails by combining GPS tracking and analytical methods based on graph theory. The study is based upon empirical data (N = 482 GPS tracks) collected in the Lobau, which is part of the Danube Floodplains National Park in Austria. The physical structure of trails (structural network; undirected graph) and their usage (functional netw…
Heart rate variability in individuals with thoracic spinal cord injury
Cross-sectional study. The main goal of our study was to explore the differences in heart rate variability (HRV) while sitting between able-bodied (AB) participants and paraplegic (P) individuals. The study was conducted in the Physical Therapy department and the Physical Education and Sports department of the University of Valencia and Vall d’Hebron Hospital. To record the HRV, a 1000-Hz Suunto Oy t6 heart rate monitor was used. The data were analyzed in the temporal and frequency domains, and nonlinear analysis was performed as well. We found significant differences between P and AB participants in SDNN: t(76)=2.81, P<0.01; root mean squared of the difference of successive RR intervals: t…
Neural Network for Estimating Energy Expenditure in Paraplegics from Heart Rate
The aim of the present study is to obtain models for estimating energy expenditure based on the heart rates of people with spinal cord injury without requiring individual calibration. A cohort of 20 persons with spinal cord injury performed a routine of 10 activities while their breath-by-breath oxygen consumption and heart rates were monitored. The minute-by-minute oxygen consumption collected from minute 4 to minute 7 was used as the dependent variable. A total of 7 features extracted from the heart rate signals were used as independent variables. 2 mathematical models were used to estimate the oxygen consumption using the heart rate: a multiple linear model and artificial neural networks…
Enriqueciendo la investigación en humanidades digitales. Análisis de textos de claustros académicos de la Universidad de Valencia (1775-1779) con KH Coder
[ES] La aplicación de métodos automatizados en cualquier investigación ha facilitado el trasvase de metodologías de una disciplina a otra, permitiendo realizar análisis cuantitativos a textos con estructura o semiestructurados. El objeto de este trabajo es aplicar a un dataset en lenguaje natural -castellano del siglo XVIII- métodos de análisis de la disciplina de documentación. Pretende establecer una metodología automática de análisis cuantitativo y cualitativo de textos, que permita enriquecer en el futuro las conclusiones procedentes del análisis histórico tradicional. Este estudio construye los procedimientos necesarios para poder aplicar análisis de frecuencia, extracción y clasificac…
Comorbidity and physical activity in people with paraplegia: a descriptive cross-sectional study.
Descriptive cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in the Spinal Cord Injury Unit of the University Vall d’Hebron Hospital and in the Physical Education and Sports Department of the University of Valencia. The aim of this study was to quantify the presence of comorbidities in spinal cord injury (SCI) subjects who did or did not perform regular physical activity (PA) and to identify the relationship between PA and the level of comorbidity. The sample consisted of patients with complete motor SCI (T2–T12), who were fitted with an accelerometer attached to the non-dominant wrist for a period of 1 week. The clinical and blood analytic variables were selected by an expert panel. In the e…
Force normalization in paraplegics.
The principal aim of our study was the determination of the effectiveness of a standardized ratio, allometric scaling model and a gamma function model in normalizing the isometric torque data of spinal cord patients and healthy subjects. For this purpose we studied a sample of 21 healthy males and 23 spinal cord injury males. The experiment consisted of the measurement of the force of the upper limb movement executed by all the subjects. We also determined anthropometric variables with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. The experimental data were analyzed with 3 force normalization methods. Our results indicate that the most important confounding variable was the fat free mass of the dominan…
Effect of fatigue on the intra-cycle acceleration in front crawl swimming: a time-frequency analysis.
The present study analyzes the changes in acceleration produced by swimmers before and after fatiguing effort. The subjects (n=15) performed a 25-m crawl series at maximum speed without fatigue, and a second series with fatigue. The data were registered with a synchronized system that consisted of a position transducer (1 kHz) and a video photogrametry (50 Hz). The acceleration (m s−2) was obtained by the derivative analysis of the variation of the position with time. The amplitude in the time domain was calculated with the root mean square (RMS); while the peak power (PP), the peak power frequency (PPF) and the spectrum area (SA) were calculated in the frequency domain with Fourier analysi…
Dual task cost in balance control and stability in children from 4–7 years old
This study analyzed the development of postural control and the cost of the cognitive task on postural control in the bipedal standing position during childhood. Sixty-six normally developed childr...
Survival analysis of author keywords: An application to the library and information sciences area
[EN] Our purpose is to adapt a statistical method for the analysis of discrete numerical series to the keywords appearing in scientific articles of a given area. As an example, we apply our methodological approach to the study of the keywords in the Library and Information Sciences (LIS) area. Our objective is to detect the new author keywords that appear in a fixed knowledge area in the period of 1 year in order to quantify the probabilities of survival for 10 years as a function of the impact of the journals where they appeared. Many of the new keywords appearing in the LIS field are ephemeral. Actually, more than half are never used again. In general, the terms most commonly used in the …
Comparison of conventional hamstring/quadriceps ratio between genders in level-matched soccer players
Abstract Objectives The main goal of our study is to compare the hamstring/quadriceps ( H / Q ) ratio at different knee angles between level-matched male and female soccer players and to determine whether differences in the H / Q ratio exist between the dominant and the non-dominant leg. Methods A cross-sectional study design was used to compare an isometric H / Q ratio and functional isokinetic ratio (between hamstring in eccentric contraction and quadriceps in concentric contraction) between males ( n = 14) and females ( n = 14). These ratios were studied at two different speeds of movement (60° s −1 and 180° s −1 ) and in five different positions (40°, 50°, 60°, 70° and 80° degrees of …
Comparison of physical activity and sedentary behaviours between young haemophilia A patients and healthy adolescents
In recent studies, adolescent haemophilia A patients and healthy adolescents have been encouraged to participate in physical activity (PA) based on its many established health benefits. However, none of the studies to date has used objective measures of PA and sedentary behaviour. The aims of the current study included: (i) to determine the amount and intensity of habitual PA among haemophilia A and healthy adolescents, and in haemophilia A patients with and without bleeding episodes in the previous year, and (ii) to identify the type and determine the time spent in sedentary activities in which both groups participate to obtain a broadened view of their daily activities. A total of 41 adol…
Dolor de espalda en estudiantes de entre 12 y 17 años: aproximación multifactorial basada en árboles de decisión
Resumen Objetivo El objetivo de este estudio se centrara en la elaboracion de un arbol de decision como una tecnica de analisis de datos que permita establecer combinaciones de factores de riesgo que puedan predisponer a padecer dolor de espalda en esta poblacion. Material y metodos La muestra del estudio estuvo formada por 337 jovenes con una edad de entre 12 y 17 anos de un centro escolar de Castellon. Los sujetos cumplimentaron el Adolescent Sedentary Activity Questionnaire y el cuestionario Nordico de Kuorinka. Ademas, se realizo una valoracion del indice de masa corporal, del porcentaje de grasa corporal, de las caracteristicas de la mochila escolar y del tiempo de transporte de esta y…
Time and frequency analysis of the static balance in young adults with Down syndrome
The main objective of this study is to understand the differences in equilibrium control between normal subjects and those with Down syndrome. A total of 54 subjects participated voluntarily, divided into control group and Down syndrome group. The equilibrium of the subjects was tested under two conditions: bipedal support with eyes open and closed. The signals were analyzed in a time and frequency domain. The statistical parameters selected (i.e., RMS distance, mean velocity, mean frequency and sway area) to analyze the behavior of the center of pressures (CoP) are calculated employing the result of the combination of the time series data in both directions (i.e. resultant distance). In or…
Posturographic analysis of balance control in patients with haemophilic arthropathy
Summary. Musculoskeletal disorders in haemophiliacs represent the highest percentage of lesions, giving rise to haemophilic arthropathy (HA) which predominantly affects lower limbs, influencing postural control, standing and walking. Leading a sedentary lifestyle seems to influence strength and muscular resistance in haemophiliacs which, in turn, are related to articular stability and the prevention of articular degenerative processes. The objective of this work was to study alterations in balance to subsequently evaluate the appropriate therapeutics and how this influences the development of arthropathy. Twenty-five haemophiliacs with HA, 25 haemophiliacs without HA (NHA) and 25 healthy c…
Identifying physical activity type in manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury by means of accelerometers
Objectives: The main objective of this study was to develop and test classification algorithms based on machine learning using accelerometers to identify the activity type performed by manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting: The study was conducted in the Physical Therapy department and the Physical Education and Sports department of the University of Valencia. Methods: A total of 20 volunteers were asked to perform 10 physical activities, lying down, body transfers, moving items, mopping, working on a computer, watching TV, arm-ergometer exercises, passive propulsion, slow propulsion and fast propulsion, while fitted with four accelerometers placed on both wrists, c…
Effects of resistance training on strength, pain and shoulder functionality in paraplegics
Study design: Time series design. Objectives: To determine the effects of a shoulder resistance training programme on isokinetic and isometric strength, body composition, pain and functionality in paraplegic subjects. Setting: University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Methods: A total of 15 subjects with thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI) performed three testing sessions with an 8-week period between the sessions. Subjects were not disturbed between the first and the second testing sessions. Subjects performed an 8-week resistance training programme after the second testing session. Variations in isometric and isokinetic shoulder muscle strength, body composition, reported pain and shoulder f…
Surface electrical stimulation of the quadriceps femoris in patients affected by haemophilia A.
Eighteen sessions of surface electrical stimulation was applied to the quadriceps femoris of the left leg of ten male subjects affected by severe haemophilia A, while ten healthy subjects constituted the control group. The isometric strength, the electromyographic activity and the diameter of the rectus femoris were measured in both legs before and after a six-week treatment period. After the treatment, the people affected by haemophilia showed a gain in strength by 13.8% in the stimulated leg and by 17.1% in the non-stimulated one. No changes were detected in the electromyographic activity. On the contrary, the diameter of the rectus femoris of the stimulated leg increased in 24.34%, while…
Postural Control Profiles of Typically Developing Children From 6 to 12 Years old: An Approach Using Self-Organizing Maps
The purposes of the present study were a) to establish postural control profiles for individuals 6–12 years of age, b) to analyze the participants’ characteristics (age, sex, weight, height, and physical activity) in those profiles, and c) to analyze the influence of visual information in the profiles found. Two hundred and eight typically developing children aged 6–12 years performed two trials in bipedal standing position with eyes open and closed. Feature extraction involved time, frequency, and sway-density plot variables using signals from the center of pressure. A Self-Organizing Map was used to classify and visualize the values of the participants in all the postural control variable…
Validation of Using Smartphone Built-In Accelerometers to Estimate the Active Energy Expenditures of Full-Time Manual Wheelchair Users with Spinal Cord Injury
[EN] This study aimed to investigate the validity of using built-in smartphone accelerometers to estimate the active energy expenditures of full-time manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI). Twenty participants with complete SCI completed 10 5-min daily activities that involved the upper limbs, during which their oxygen consumption and upper limb activity were registered using a portable gas analyzer and a smartphone (placed on the non-dominant arm), respectively. Time series of 1-min averaged oxygen consumption and 55 accelerometer variables (13 variables for each of the four axes and three additional variables for the correlations between axes) were used to estimate three mu…
Transdermal nitroglycerine treatment of shoulder tendinopathies in patients with spinal cord injuries.
A clinical blind study was conducted to determine the efficacy of transdermal nitroglycerine treatment on the awareness of shoulder pain. This study aims to determine the effects of transdermal nitroglycerine on shoulder pain and on functional shoulder movement in patients with spinal cord injuries and shoulder tendinopathies. A second aim is to establish the side effects of the treatment. Hospital “La Fe” in Valencia, Spain. A total of 45 spinal cord injury patients, all of whom are wheelchair users with shoulder tendinopathy, were randomly divided into two groups: placebo (n=12) and experimental (n=33). The experimental group (EG) received transdermal treatment for 6 months in the form of…
Two-Leg Squat Jumps in Water: An Effective Alternative to Dry Land Jumps
The current study was designed to quantify and compare the kinetic parameters of two-leg squat jumps carried out on dry land, in water and in water using area devices that increase drag force. Twelve junior female handball players who had been competing at national level for the previous two years volunteered to participate in the study. Intensity of the two-leg squat jump was examined using a force plate (9 253-B11, Kistler Instrument AG, Winterthur, Switzerland) in three different conditions: on dry land, in water and in water using devices. An ANOVA with repeated measurements (condition) was applied to establish differences between the three jumps. The results show that peak impact force…
Sitting balance and limits of stability in persons with paraplegia
Cross-sectional, observational study of paraplegic and able-bodied persons. The aim of the study was to analyse the temporal and frequency domains of seated balance to better understand nervous system control in equilibrium in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to explore their centre of pressure (CoP) limits before experiencing a fall. University of Valencia, Spain. Static and dynamic seated balance were assessed in 24 paraplegic persons divided into two groups: low paraplegia group (LP) and high paraplegia group (HP), and 24 healthy volunteers with an extensiometric force plate. Two types of tests were performed: a static test (ST), where data signal was analysed by temporal and fr…
Force fluctuations during the Maximum Isometric Voluntary Contraction of the quadriceps femoris in haemophilic patients
In the general population, the degenerative processes in joints are directly related to adult age, and osteoarthrosis represents the most frequent musculoskeletal alteration. In the haemophilic patient, the degenerative processes in the joint begin at very early ages, and are directly related to musculoskeletal bleeding episodes, which are occasionally subclinical and constitute haemophilic arthropathy. In the haemophilic patient, arthropathy constitutes the most frequent, severe and disabling pathology, and its assessment includes muscular force-related parameters. We have studied the value of Maximum Isometric Voluntary Contraction in the quadriceps femoris of 46 subjects, 28 haemophiliac…
Assessment of haemophilic arthropathy through balance analysis: a promising tool
[EN] The purpose of this study was to develop a tool able to distinguish between subjects who have haemophilic arthropathy in lower limbs and those who do not by analyzing the centre of pressure displacement. The second objective was to assess the possible different responses of haemophiliacs and healthy subjects by creating a classifier that could distinguish between both groups. Fiftyfour haemophilic patients (28 with and 26 without arthropathy) and 23 healthy subjects took part voluntarily in the study. A force plate was used to measure postural stability. A total of 276 centre of pressure displacement parameters were calculated under different conditions: unipedal/bipedal balance with e…
Exercise and sport in the treatment of haemophilic patients: a systematic review
Summary. In haemophiliacs, the physical condition, muscular strength, aerobic resistance, anaerobic resistance and proprioception have all diminished. Muscle atrophy and instability, being more vulnerable to stressful motor demands, increase the risk of lesion and establish a vicious circle that is hard to break: pain, immobility, atrophy, articular instability and repeated bleeding episodes. In haemophilia, physical and/or sporting activities were not recommended until the seventies. Nowadays, the overall policy is to recommend certain physical activities, especially swimming, to improve the patients quality of life, thanks to prophylaxis programmes. The objective of this study is to perfo…
The difficulty of the postural control task affects multi-muscle control during quiet standing
The aim of this study was to compare the electromyographic (EMG) coherence between the lower limb and the core muscles when carrying out two postural tasks at different difficulty levels. EMG was recorded in 20 healthy male subjects while performing two independent quiet standing tasks. The first one involved a bipedal stance with the eyes open, while the second consisted of a dominant unipedal stance also with the eyes open. The obtained EMG signals were analysed by computing estimations of EMG–EMG coherence between muscle pairs, both singly (single-pair estimations) and combined (pooled estimations). Pooled and single coherence of anterior, posterior, core, antagonist and mixed pairs of m…
Impact of COVID-19 on the self-reported physical activity of people with complete thoracic spinal cord injury full-time manual wheelchair users
The emergence of COVID-19 caused a new public health crisis, leading to major changes in daily life routines, often including physical activity (PA) levels. The main goal of this study was to analyze the differences in self-reported physical activity of people with complete spinal cord injuries between the time prior to the COVID-19 lockdown and the lockdown period itself. A sample of 20 participants with complete thoracic spinal cord injuries completed the Physical Activity Scale for Individuals with Physical Disabilities before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. The results showed differences between the pre-lockdown and lockdown measurements in total self-reported PA (z=−3.92; P<0.001;…