Eccentric strength and endurance in patients with unilateral intermittent claudication

OBJECTIVE: To analyze concentric and eccentric strength and endurance in patients with unilateral intermittent claudication. INTRODUCTION: Basic motor tasks are composed of concentric, isometric, and eccentric actions, which are related and contribute to physical performance. In previous studies of patients with intermittent claudication, the disease-related reduction in concentric and isometric muscular strength and endurance resulted in poorer walking performance. To date, no study has evaluated eccentric muscle action in patients with intermittent claudication. METHODS: Eleven patients with unilateral intermittent claudication performed isokinetic concentric and eccentric actions at the ankle joints to assess peak torque and total work in both symptomatic and asymptomatic legs. RESULTS: Concentric peak torque and total work were lower in the symptomatic than in the asymptomatic leg (80 ± 32 vs. 95 ± 41 N/m, P = 0.01; 1479 ± 667 vs. 1709 ± 879 J, P = 0.03, respectively). There were no differences in eccentric peak torque and total work between symptomatic and asymptomatic legs (96 ± 30 vs. 108 ± 48 N/m; 1852 ± 879 vs. 1891 ± 755 J, respectively). CONCLUSION: Strength and endurance in the symptomatic leg were lower during concentric compared to eccentric action. Future studies are recommended to investigate the mechanisms underlying these responses and to analyze the effects of interventions to improve concentric strength and endurance on functional limitations in patients with intermittent claudication.

Predictive value of the ankle-brachial index in the evaluation of intermittent claudication

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the ankle-brachial index (ABI) could be used to predict the prognosis for a patient with intermittent claudication (IC). We studied 611 patients prospectively during 28 months of follow-up. We analyzed the predictive power of using various levels of ABI - 0.30 to 0.70 at 0.05 increments - in terms of the measure's specificity (association with a favorable outcome after exercise rehabilitation therapy) and sensitivity (association with a poor outcome after exercise rehabilitation therapy). We found that using an ABI of 0.30 as a cut-off value produced the lowest margin of error overall, but the predictive power was still low with respect to identifying the patients with a poor prognosis after non-aggressive therapeutic treatment. Further study is needed to perhaps identify a second factor that could increase the sensitivity of the test

Avaliação isocinética: análise do desempenho muscular de flexores e extensores de joelho em jovens desportistas praticantes de voleibal / Isocinética evaluation: analysis of the muscular performance of flexores and extensores of knee in young practicing sportsmen of voleiball

O propósito deste estudo foi descrever dados obtidos na medição da força de grupos musculares extensores e flexores de joelhos em jovens desportistas praticantes de voleibol. Quarenta e cinco jovens praticantes de voleibol - vinte e três (12 do sexo masculino e 11 do sexo feminino) classificados como ativos (A) e vinte e dois (10 do sexo masculino e 12 do sexo feminino) classificados como amadores (B) foram avaliados quanto a flexão e extensão de joelho em um dinamômetro isocinético modelo Cybex 6000, na velocidade de 60 graus por segundo. Os parâmetros de Peak Torque (PT), Peak Torque por peso corporal (PTP), Trabalho Total realizado (TT), e Trabalho total realizado por peso corporal (TTP) foram analisados. Os resultados mostraram diferença significante em favor dos músculos de membros dominantes em relação aos não-dominantes responsáveis pela flexão de joelhos no grupo (A) masculino em todos os parâmetros, diferença significante no desempenho dos extensores de membros não dominantes do grupo (A) masculino em relação ao (B), e desempenho significante superior de grupo (B) feminino em relação aos das jovens do grupo (A) quanto aos flexores no parâmetro (TTP). Dados deste estudo mostraram ainda um desempenho significantemente superior dos jovens do sexo masculino comparativamente ao das jovens do sexo feminino nos parâmetros (PT) e (TT), mesmo quando corrigidos pelo peso corporal, nos dois grupos estudados.