Bettany-Saltikov J, et al. Asian Spine J. 2016 Dec;10(6):1170-1194. https://doi.org/10.4184/asj.2016.10.6.1170

The South African Journal of Physiotherapy is the official scholarly refereed journal of the South African Society of Physiotherapy. It aims to publish original research and facilitate continuing professional development for physiotherapists and other health professions both nationally and internationally.

The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the short-term effects of resisted sprint and plyometric training on sprint performance together with lower limb physiological and functional performance in collegiate football players. Ninety collegiate football players participated in this three-arm, parallel group randomized controlled trial study. Participants were randomly divided into a control group and two experimental groups: resisted sprint training (RST) (n = 30), plyometric training (PT) (n = 30), and a control group (n = 30). Participants received their respective training program for six weeks on alternate days. The primary outcome measures were a knee extensor strength test (measured by an ISOMOVE dynamometer), a sprint test and a single leg triple hop test. Measurements were taken at baseline and after 6 weeks post-training. Participants, caregivers, and those assigning the outcomes were blinded to the group assignment. A mixed design analysis of variance was used to compare between groups, within-group and the interaction between time and group. A within-group analysis revealed a significant difference (p < 0.05) when compared to the baseline with the 6 weeks post-intervention scores for all the outcomes including STN (RST: d = 1.63; PT: d = 2.38; Control: d = 2.26), ST (RST: d = 1.21; PT: d = 1.36; Control: d = 0.38), and SLTHT (RST: d = 0.76; PT: d = 0.61; Control: d = 0.18). A sub-group analysis demonstrated an increase in strength in the plyometric training group (95% CI 14.73 to 15.09, p = 0.00), an increase in the single leg triple hop test in the resisted sprint training group (95% CI 516.41 to 538.4, p = 0.05), and the sprint test was also improved in both experimental groups (95% CI 8.54 to 8.82, p = 0.00). Our findings suggest that, during a short-term training period, RST or PT training are equally capable of enhancing the neuromechanical capacities of collegiate football players. No adverse events were reported by the participants.

The clinical assessment of spinal deformities often involves the assessment of posture and back shape together with the associated mobility of the spine, pelvis and rib cage. Currently, there is a wide range of posture and back shape assessment tools available for clinical use. The choice varies from conventional approach to advanced structured light methods. The advanced methods like ultrasound, 3D radiography and inertial sensors are not easily accessible to most clinicians, as they are either expensive, require specialist training or are complex and/or difficult to use. Thus, simple conventional methods like eyeballing, photography and the plumb line are still used within clinical practice today. The primary aim of this article is to give an overview of different tactile and non-tactile measurement systems that have been developed for the measurement of posture and whole-body analysis.

Postural and spinal deformities are major contributing factors to musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders. Posture screening and assessment can help to identify early morphological deformities, thereby preventing progression and reducing or correcting them with effective treatments. The study evaluates both intra- and inter-repeatability of using a mobile structured light sensor with a structured light pattern for building an accurate 3D human model and its use in postural screening. 16 young males (age: 25 ± 5.6 years, height: 172 ± 5.3 cm, mass: 69 ± 8.6 kg) participated without any musculoskeletal pain or pre-existing leg or spinal abnormalities. An iPad-based 3D mobile scanning tool, Structure Sensor^TM (2018 version), was used to capture the participants’ back and whole-body shape. The collected data (3D model) were realigned and processed in the open-source software, Netfabb Basic^TM (7.2 version). For each participant, five trained raters individually measured three trials of standing back and body posture on two separate occasions to calculate both intra- and inter-rater reliability. With the use of this software, nine postural variables and angular displacements were individually measured by the raters. The results indicated good to excellent intra-rater and good to moderate inter-rater reliability for measuring 78% (7 out of 9) of postural variables with an ICC ranging from 0.70 to 0.98. The remaining 22% of variables (2 out of 9; lateral pelvic tilt and right frontal knee angle) showed moderate to low inter- and intra-rater reliability, with ICCs ranging from 0.26 to 0.79.

Background: Good posture is characterised by neutral spinal alignment with high physiological and biomechanical efficiency together with low stress and strain. The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reproducibility of the adult version of the Aristegui questionnaire in university students. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in two parts. The first part assessed content validity of the questionnaire where five experts provided their feedback on the content of the questionnaire. The second part evaluated the reliability of the questionnaire among a convenience sample of 10 university students in a test–retest study. Results: The content validity of the questionnaire was found to be excellent. Twenty-five out of twenty-seven items had an item content validity index higher than 0.79 (appropriate) and the scale content validity index was 0.93 (high). For the reliability, almost perfect agreements were found for nine items, substantial agreement for three questions, moderate agreement for one item and fair agreement for one item. The kappa coefficients ranged from 0.00 (slight) to 1.00 (perfect) for the items on behaviour. Conclusions: The questionnaire was found to be a valid and reliable tool to measure the university students’ knowledge regarding ergonomics and posture and postural behaviour as well as prevalence of musculoskeletal pain.