Background: Public health recommendations and governmental measures during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in numerous restrictions on daily living including social distancing, isolation and home confinement. While these measures are imperative to abate the spreading of COVID-19, the impact of these restrictions on health behaviours and lifestyles at home is undefined. Therefore, an international online survey was launched in April 2020, in seven languages, to elucidate the behavioural and lifestyle consequences of COVID-19 restrictions. This report presents the results from the first thousand responders on physical activity (PA) and nutrition behaviours. Methods: Following a structured review of the literature, the “Effects of home Confinement on multiple Lifestyle Behaviours during the COVID-19 outbreak (ECLB-COVID19)” Electronic survey was designed by a steering group of multidisciplinary scientists and academics. The survey was uploaded and shared on the Google online survey platform. Thirty-five research organisations from Europe, North-Africa, Western Asia and the Americas promoted the survey in English, German, French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and Slovenian languages. Questions were presented in a differential format, with questions related to responses “before” and “during” confinement conditions. Results: 1047 replies (54% women) from Asia (36%), Africa (40%), Europe (21%) and other (3%) were included in the analysis. The COVID-19 home confinement had a negative effect on all PA intensity levels (vigorous, moderate, walking and overall). Additionally, daily sitting time increased from 5 to 8 h per day. Food consumption and meal patterns (the type of food, eating out of control, snacks between meals, number of main meals) were more unhealthy during confinement, with only alcohol binge drinking decreasing significantly. Conclusion: While isolation is a necessary measure to protect public health, results indicate that it alters physical activity and eating behaviours in a health compromising direction. A more detailed analysis of survey data will allow for a segregation of these responses in different age groups, countries and other subgroups, which will help develop interventions to mitigate the negative lifestyle behaviours that have manifested during the COVID-19 confinement.

Background. The COVID-19 lockdown could engender disruption to lifestyle behaviors, thus impairing mental wellbeing in the general population. This study investigated whether sociodemographic variables, changes in physical activity, and sleep quality from pre- to during lockdown were predictors of change in mental wellbeing in quarantined older adults. Methods. A 12-week international online survey was launched in 14 languages on 6 April 2020. Forty-one research institutions from Europe, Western-Asia, North-Africa, and the Americas, promoted the survey. The survey was presented in a differential format with questions related to responses “pre” and “during” the lockdown period. Participants responded to the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire, and the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results. Replies from older adults (aged >55 years, n = 517), mainly from Europe (50.1%), Western-Asia (6.8%), America (30%), and North-Africa (9.3%) were analyzed. The COVID-19 lockdown led to significantly decreased mental wellbeing, sleep quality, and total physical activity energy expenditure levels (all p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that the change in total PSQI score and total physical activity energy expenditure (F_{(2, 514)} = 66.41 p < 0.001) were significant predictors of the decrease in mental wellbeing from pre- to during lockdown (p < 0.001, R²: 0.20). Conclusion. COVID-19 lockdown deleteriously affected physical activity and sleep patterns. Furthermore, change in the total PSQI score and total physical activity energy expenditure were significant predictors for the decrease in mental wellbeing.

In young and older people, skeletal muscle mass is reduced after as little as 7 days of disuse. The declines in muscle mass after such short periods are of high clinical relevance, particularly in older people who show a higher atrophy rate and a slower or even a complete lack of muscle mass recovery after disuse. Ten men (24.3 yr; SD 2.6) underwent 35 days of 6° head-down tilt bed rest, followed by 30 days of recovery. During bed rest, a neutral energy balance was maintained, with three weekly passive physiotherapy sessions to minimize muscle soreness and joint stiffness. All measurements were performed in a hospital at days 1–10, 16, 28, and 35 of bed rest (BR1–BR10, BR16, BR28, and BR35, respectively) and days 1, 3, and 30 after reambulation (R + 1, R + 3, and R + 30, respectively). Vastus medialis obliquus (VMO), vastus medialis longus (VML), and biceps femoris (BF) thickness (d) and pennation angle (Θ) were assessed by ultrasonography, whereas twitch muscle belly displacement (Dm) and contraction time (Tc) were assessed with tensiomyography (TMG). After bed rest, d and Θ decreased by 13–17% in all muscles ( P < 0.001) and had recovered at R + 30. Dm was increased by 42.3–84.4% ( P < 0.001) at BR35 and preceded the decrease in d by 7, 5, and 3 days in VMO, VML, and BF, respectively. Tc increased only in BF (32.1%; P < 0.001) and was not recovered at R + 30. TMG can detect early bed-rest-induced changes in muscle with higher sensitivity before overt architectural changes, and atrophy can be detected. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Detection of early atrophic processes and irreversible adaptation to disuse are of high clinical relevance. With the use of tensiomyography (TMG), we detected early atrophic processes before overt architectural changes, and atrophy can be detected using imaging technique. Furthermore, TMG detected irreversible changes of biceps femoris contraction time.

Astronauts experience dramatic loss of muscle mass, decreased strength, and insulin resistance, despite performing daily intense physical exercise that would lead to muscle growth on Earth. Partially mimicking spaceflight, prolonged bed rest causes muscle atrophy, loss of force, and glucose intolerance. To unravel the underlying mechanisms, we employed highly sensitive single fiber proteomics to detail the molecular remodeling caused by unloading and inactivity during bed rest and changes of the muscle proteome of astronauts before and after a mission on the International Space Station. Muscle focal adhesions, involved in fiber–matrix interaction and insulin receptor stabilization, are prominently downregulated in both bed rest and spaceflight and restored upon reloading. Pathways of antioxidant response increased strongly in slow but not in fast muscle fibers. Unloading alone upregulated markers of neuromuscular damage and the pathway controlling EIF5A hypusination. These proteomic signatures of mechanical unloading in muscle fiber subtypes contribute to disentangle the effect of microgravity from the pleiotropic challenges of spaceflight.

This study evaluated the effects of a neuromuscular training (NMT) warm-up program on injury incidence, neuromuscular function, and program adherence, maintenance and acceptance in adolescent basketball players. A total of 275 players from 20 Slovenian teams (15 ± 1.7 years of age), were randomized into an intervention group (IG, n=129) and a control group (CG, n=146). Over three months, the IG incorporated NMT into their warm-ups, while the CG followed their usual practice. Measurements of body anthropometry, muscle contractile properties, and balance were taken before and after the intervention. Also, the injury incidence, training adherence and maintenance were reported. Both groups showed improved balance, with no significant difference between them. However, IG demonstrated reduced delay times in specific muscles, indicating improved neuromuscular function. Injury prevalence proportion (%) during the whole study period was higher in the control group compared to intervention (IG: 10.9% vs. CG: 23.3%), and incidence rate. Moreover, the incidence rate ratio for sustaining an injury was 2.6 on average (ranging from 0.88 to 7.07 for tendon and muscle injuries, respectively), indicating significantly lower injury risk in IG than CG. These findings highlight the effectiveness of NMT warm-ups in reducing injury risk and enhancing neuromuscular function, emphasizing the value of structured injury prevention strategies in youth sports..

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the changes in fascicle length (Lf) of biceps femoris long head (BFlh) after 10 d of bed rest (BR) by comparing four different ultrasound (US) methods. Methods: Ten healthy men participated in 10-d BR. Before (BR0) and after (BR10) the BR period, BFlh Lf values were obtained using 1) extended-field-of-view (EFOV) technique, 2) the manual linear extrapolation (MLE) method, and 3) two trigonometric equations (equations A and B) from a single US image. Results: After BR10, decreased Lf values were observed by EFOV (P < 0.001; Hedges’ g = 0.29) and MLE (P = 0.0082; g = 0.22) methods, but not with equations A and B. Differences between equation A and the other US methods were detected at both time points. The percentage of changes in Lf between BR0 and BR10 was influenced by the US methods applied, with difference detected between the changes measured by EFOV and the ones estimated by equation A (P = 0.04; g = 0.53). Bland–Altman analyses revealed relevant average absolute biases in Lf between EFOV and other methods at both time points (range BR0–BR10: MLE, 0.3–0.37 cm (3.4%–4.32%); equation B, 0.3–0.48 cm (3.24%–5.41%); equation A, 2.44–2.97 cm (24.05%–29.2%)). A significant correlation (r = 0.83) in percentage of change in Lf values was observed only between EFOV and MLE. Conclusions: We showed that four distinct US methods lead to different results in the assessment of BFlh Lf changes after a short-term period of unloading. The implementation of EFOV technique (or alternatively MLE) to assess Lf changes in BFlh during longitudinal studies is warranted.