Background: Kinesiophobia is defined as fear of movement due to the painful experience of it. The main symptom of fibromyalgia is persistent and widespread pain associated with other symptoms. This study analyzes the kinesiophobia between women with fibromyalgia and apparently healthy women and investigates the relationship between kinesiophobia and physical fitness tests, fear of falling, and the impact of the fibromyalgia. Methods: Fifty-one women participated in this study were divided into two groups: (1) women with fibromyalgia and (2) apparently healthy women. Participants completed questionnaires to assess kinesiophobia, fear of falling, and the impact of fibromyalgia. Subsequently, participants completed the physical tests Timed Up and Go, 10-step stair ascent, and handgrip strength. Results: Women with fibromyalgia had significant differences in kinesiophobia and fear of falling compared to apparently healthy women. Similarly, performance in the physical tests was lower, except for the handgrip strength, which maintained similar values to the apparently healthy women. Significant relationships were found only in the fibromyalgia group between kinesiophobia, the impact of the disease, fear of falling, and the Timed Up and Go and 10-step stair ascent tests. Conclusions: Women with fibromyalgia showed higher kinesiophobia scores, worse performance in mobility tests, and higher fear of falling than apparently healthy women. Kinesiophobia score is related to Timed Up and Go performance, the 10-step stair ascent, the fear of falling, and the impact of the disease in women with fibromyalgia.
Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by the selective destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas causing an absolute deficiency of insulin for life. This pathology carries associated risks so that it is essential to measure Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in this population. The aim was to analyse associations between the level of physical activity and HRQoL in people with T1D. The sample consisted of 172 participants with T1D diagnoses, between 18 and 49 years (31.29 ± 8.17). The participants answered different questionnaires related to physical activity (IPAQ) and HRQoL (EsDQOL, ViDa1, 15D, and EQ-5D-5L). The results showed significant correlations between the level of physical activity and HRQoL. Vigorous physical activity had an impact on the HRQoL questionnaires, such as the well-being dimension (rho = 0.349; p < 0.001) of the ViDa1 questionnaire. A significant correlation between total physical activity and levels of anxiety and depression was observed: anxiety (15D) (rho = 0.328; p < 0.001) and anxiety/depression (EQ-5D-5L) (rho = 0.324; p < 0.001). The present study showed associations between higher levels of physical activity and higher HRQoL parameters in the population with T1D, which can be erected as a reason for exercise prescription in these patients.
Objective: Mental fatigue (MF) worsens soccer performance. Further knowledge is needed to understand MF’s effects on soccer players and its underlying mechanisms. Our aim was to analyze the subjective, objective, and neural MF-related outcomes induced by different type of tasks. Methods: A randomized crossover experimental design with repeated measures was used. Thirteen amateur soccer players (Mage = 23 ± 5.43) completed three conditions: cognitive (30 min. Stroop.), physical (30 min. cycling), or combined (30 min. Stroop while cycling). Ratings of mental fatigue (measured via the Visual Analogue Scale), electroencephalographical signals (electroencephalography), and psychomotor performance (Brief-Psychomotor Vigilance Test) were measured pre- and post-condition. Soccer-related decision-making (TacticUP® test) was assessed post-condition. Results: Linear Mixed Models analysis revealed increments in perceived mental fatigue in all conditions, especially cognitive (p = 0.004) and combined (p < 0.0001) conditions. Psychomotor performance worsened, especially for cognitive (p = 0.039) and combined (p = 0.009) conditions. The Individual Alpha Peak Frequency was lower after the cognitive task (p = 0.040) and compared with the physical task (p = 0.021). The Alpha midline power increased after the cognitive task in the central-frontal (p = 0.047) and central-posterior brain regions (p = 0.043). Conclusions: Cognitive and combined conditions were found to be more mentally demanding and fatiguing than single physical tasks. This was also reflected by an impaired reaction time. Based on the neural activity recorded, the performance impairments caused by mental fatigue were caused by reduced brain readiness (i.e., a lower Alpha Peak Frequency). However, non-significant changes were found in soccer-related decision-making. Coaches should consider the type of training tasks they recommend in light of their different effects on mental fatigue and performance.
Introduction: Fibromyalgia (FM) affects 2.40% of the Spanish population. The most widespread treatment has been the combination of patient education, pain coping strategies and exercise. With regard to patient education, there are few previous studies on the efficacy of relating FM education in isolation with an improvement in FM, although there are some studies that report that health education programs could modify the perception of quality of life and improve pain. Objectives: the aim was to find out the level of knowledge about FM among patients in Extremadura, to explore the relationship between knowledge of FM and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and to analyze the relationship between knowledge of physical activity in FM and the practice of physical activity. Methods: A single-measure cross-sectional study was carried out with 121 women with a mean age of 55.06 (±9.93) years. The following questionnaires were used: Fibromyalgia Knowledge Questionnaire (FKQ); SF12v2 (Short-Form Health Survey); and EURO-QOL-5D-5L (EQ-5D-5L). Results: regarding the level of knowledge of the participants about FM, it was found that 10% had a low knowledge, 49% medium and 41% high. In relation to the associations between the level of knowledge and HRQoL, a weak correlation between EQ-5D-5L and the FKQ in the domain of physical activity (r = 0.243) were found. Conclusions: it can be concluded that the level of knowledge about FM of the patients from Extremadura was medium-high and that there is a direct weak relationship between knowledge about physical activity in FM and HRQoL. However, no association was found between knowledge of physical activity in FM and the practice of physical activity.
Early childhood education aims to achieve the motor, cognitive, emotional, and social development of preschoolers by providing them with a variety of learning opportunities. The square-stepping exercise (SSE) is a balance and lower limb strength training programme used to prevent falls and stimulate cognitive function in older adults. This project aims to propose an SSE tele-exercise (Tele-SSE) protocol to evaluate its effects on the motor and cognitive development of children aged between 3 and 6 years. A randomized controlled trial with experimental (Tele-SSE) and control (general education) groups will be carried out. The application of Tele-SSE will be performed for 9 months (three times per week) and one additional follow-up after the intervention at the beginning of the next academic year. One-hundred and two preschoolers will be recruited and randomly distributed into the two groups: experimental (n = 51) and control (n = 51). Although the main outcome will be balance due to the nature of the SSE, outcomes will include physical and motor (body mass index, waist circumference, handgrip and lower-limb strength, speed-agility, and cardiorespiratory fitness) and cognitive (executive functions and attention, episodic memory, and language assessment, using the Fitness Assessment in the Preschool Battery (PREFIT) and The National Institutes of Health Toolbox—Early Childhood Cognition Battery. This project aims to improve cognitive and motor skills in preschoolers aged between 3 and 6 years old, based on a 9-month Tele-SSE intervention. If this intervention proves to be effective, it could be implemented in those centres, entities and associations specializing in early childhood education.
Route previewing has been established as a critical parameter in indoor climbing performance, as it could determine the success or failure in ascending the route. We addressed the effect of different types of previews on output climbing performance. Twenty-one advanced climbers (7b and 7c+ climbing grade) were required to complete 18 routes, rated at 6c, according to the French Rating Scale of Difficulty. Each climber previewed the route under three conditions: “No-previewing”, “video-model previewing”, and “real-model previewing”. Output climbing performance was assessed in terms of route completion. The results showed differences on output climbing performance between types of preview. Specifically, the climbers achieved more successful attempts at climbing to the “Top” of the wall when inspecting the route with the “real-model previewing” condition, compared to the other conditions of preview. On the contrary, the climbers displayed more failed attempts in climbing the route with the “on-sight” condition, compared to the “flash” styles (“video-model” and “real-model”). The preview of the route, including performance of a real/video-projected model manipulating climbing holds, seems to increase the opportunities to climb the boulder successfully, attuning climbers to information specifying ascending actions. Climbing coaches should reinforce the design of representative training, using flash styles, to promote movement solutions for route completion.