Objective: Our objective was to explore the training-related knowledge, beliefs, and practices of athletes and the influence of lockdowns in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Methods: Athletes (n = 12,526, comprising 13% world class, 21% international, 36% national, 24% state, and 6% recreational) completed an online survey that was available from 17 May to 5 July 2020 and explored their training behaviors (training knowledge, beliefs/attitudes, and practices), including specific questions on their training intensity, frequency, and session duration before and during lockdown (March–June 2020). Results: Overall, 85% of athletes wanted to “maintain training,” and 79% disagreed with the statement that it is “okay to not train during lockdown,” with a greater prevalence for both in higher-level athletes. In total, 60% of athletes considered “coaching by correspondence (remote coaching)” to be sufficient (highest amongst world-class athletes). During lockdown, < 40% were able to maintain sport-specific training (e.g., long endurance [39%], interval training [35%], weightlifting [33%], plyometric exercise [30%]) at pre-lockdown levels (higher among world-class, international, and national athletes), with most (83%) training for “general fitness and health maintenance” during lockdown. Athletes trained alone (80%) and focused on bodyweight (65%) and cardiovascular (59%) exercise/training during lockdown. Compared with before lockdown, most athletes reported reduced training frequency (from between five and seven sessions per week to four or fewer), shorter training sessions (from ≥ 60 to < 60 min), and lower sport-specific intensity (~ 38% reduction), irrespective of athlete classification. Conclusions: COVID-19-related lockdowns saw marked reductions in athletic training specificity, intensity, frequency, and duration, with notable within-sample differences (by athlete classification). Higher classification athletes had the strongest desire to “maintain” training and the greatest opposition to “not training” during lockdowns. These higher classification athletes retained training specificity to a greater degree than others, probably because of preferential access to limited training resources. More higher classification athletes considered “coaching by correspondence” as sufficient than did lower classification athletes. These lockdown-mediated changes in training were not conducive to maintenance or progression of athletes’ physical capacities and were also likely detrimental to athletes’ mental health. These data can be used by policy makers, athletes, and their multidisciplinary teams to modulate their practice, with a degree of individualization, in the current and continued pandemic-related scenario. Furthermore, the data may drive training-related educational resources for athletes and their multidisciplinary teams. Such upskilling would provide athletes with evidence to inform their training modifications in response to germane situations (e.g., COVID related, injury, and illness).

Within the structure of the skeletal muscle, there are fascicles of muscular fibers that are made up of serially distributed contractile elements. These elements are controlled by the nervous system, control which results in obtaining the muscular strength required for movement and its control. This study presents the neuromuscular assessment using tensiomyography method (TMG).

Introduction: Caused by an error in cell division that produces an additional chromosome 21, Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most common developmental disorders in the world. This study aims to analyze the relationship between psychological capital, quality of life and well-being of caregivers of individuals with Down syndrome (DS).Methods: The participants were 98 caregivers (mothers, M = 52.13, SD = 11.39) of individuals with Down syndrome. The instruments used were the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (measuring self-efficacy, resilience, optimism, and hope), Quality of Life Questionnaire (including social support, general satisfaction, physical/psychological health, absence of excessive workload/free time), and Psychological Wellbeing Scale, investigating the following dimensions: self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth.Results: The mediation analysis showed that self-efficacy, hope, and resilience are positively associated to quality of life, and optimism is positively associated to well-being. The total effects of psychological capital on well-being are positive and significant and quality of life mediates the relationship between psychological capital and well-being.Discussion: These results show that psychological capital is an important inner resource for caregivers of DS individuals and must be improved through support services, so that caregivers have a higher perception of the quality of life and implicitly of well-being.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system probably based on the autoimmune mechanism against myelin and the action of lymphocyte T. In the last 50 years, more than 150 descriptive studies regarding MS have focused on the etiopathogeny, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of the progressive evolution of MS. Most recently, studies in the field of rehabilitation and diagnosis have tried to present the postural aspects of control/foot and ankle control and gait pattern in MS. The aim of this study is focused on biomechanical foot analyses of MS patients. Our clinical research and functional assessment was based on a scale like the EDSS/Kurtzke score: biomechanical foot assessment used the RSscan force plate to assess the foot loading, impulse and foot-ankle angle (subtalar angle), and pressure distribution methods for statistical analyses. The study included MS patients at the Neurologic Rehabilitation Unit, Craiova, we studied 48 patients (46.04 ± 10.99 years) diagnosed with MS. This study shows that the major lesion is to the pyramidal system and the average value for functionality index (EDSS score) is 3.03 ± 0.13, where 3 means easy paraparesis or hemiparesis. In considering postural strategies, we observed an instability left to right to be more evident in the swing phase and it influences the under the foot impulse for the next step and postural control. From the analysis of the data and pressure centre position, we can see that the high pressure is on metatarsian II to III and more or less at the heel. This means the development of an ankle strategy necessary to restore balance, stability and motor control cannot be assessed other than by clinical evaluation. Even if many physicians and physical therapists do use the functional scale in their daily assessment, it does not help us achieve a complex assessment of gait and lower limb behaviour during gait, nor does it provide information about the impact of gait on daily activities and on quality of life. Biomechanical assessment can help the clinician predict the functional evolution of MS patients without visible clinical gait disorders and allows the development of a strategy for rehabilitation to prevent an incorrect ankle/ankle and foot position, resulting in a lack of motor control.

The aim of this study was to analyze athletes’ quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 249 athletes between 15 and 35 of age, M = 21.22, SD = 5.12. The sample was composed of eight Olympic Games medalists, three European medalists, 67 international medalists, and 63 national medalists. The instruments used were: (1) COVID-19 Anxiety Scale, (2) Athlete Quality of Life Scale, (3) Impact of Pandemic on Athletes Questionnaire, and (4) International Personality Item Pool (IPIP Anxiety, Depression, and Vulnerability Scales). The results indicate significant differences in COVID-19 anxiety depending on the sport practiced, F (9239) = 3.81, p < 0.01, showing that there were significant differences between sports. The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic mediates the relationship between trait anxiety and the athletes’ quality of life. The percentage of mediation was 33.9%, and the indirect effect was −0.11, CI 95% (−0.18, −0.03), Z = −2.82, p < 0.01. Trait anxiety has an increasing effect on the intensity of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 0.23, CI 95% (.10, 0.35), Z = 3.56, p < 0.01, and the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has a decreasing effect on quality of life, −0.47, CI 95% (−0.67, −0.27), Z = −4.62, p < 0.01. Gender and age did not moderate the relationship between the negative impact of COVID-19 and athletes’ quality of life. The results of the study highlighted the impact that social isolation and quarantine have on athletes’ affective well-being.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among satisfaction of basic psychological needs, goal orientations and sportsmanship. The mediating role of goal orientation in this relationship was tested. The participants were 168 students enrolled at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports in Craiova, aged between 18 and 30 years old, M = 21.52, SD = 2.20, and the data were collected between March and May 2020. The instruments applied were Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale to measure satisfaction of basic psychological needs, Multidimensional Sportspersonship Orientation Scale to measure sportsmanship, and Ego and Task Orientation Questionnaire to measure goal orientation. The obtained results showed that the satisfaction of basic psychological needs is associated with sportsmanship. Mediation analyses have shown that task orientation mediates the relationship between the need for autonomy and the need for competence satisfaction and four of the dimensions of sportsmanship and the relationship between the need for relatedness satisfaction and three of sportsmanship dimensions: respect for social conventions, respect for rules and officials, and respect for full commitment.