Influence of Isometric Exercise Combined With Electromyostimulation on Inflammatory Cytokine Levels, Muscle Strength, and Knee Joint Function in Elderly Women With Early Knee Osteoarthritis.

Background and Objectives: Muscle strengthening exercise is suggested to beneficial for patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and electrical muscular stimulation is reported to be effective in improvement of muscle strength. This study examined whether isometric exercise combined with whole body-electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) can improve serum cytokine levels, muscle strength, and knee function in elderly women with early knee OA. Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled study included 75 participants assigned into three groups: the control group (CON), isometric exercise group (ISOM), and isometric exercise and electromyostimulation group (ISOM + EMS). The two exercise groups performed their respective programs for 8 weeks, 3 days a week, 30 min a day. The main exercises for both groups were performed continuously during the 20 min in an alternation of a 6-s contraction with a 4-s break. At pre- and post-intervention, anthropometric variables, muscle strength, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and blood sampling for biomarkers including interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, C-reactive protein, and resistin were performed. Results: All variables at pre-intervention showed no significant differences among the three groups. However, there were significant differences between groups for body composition, muscle strength, KOOS subscale scores, and biomarkers. ISOM + EMS group resulted in a significant reduction in body weight, fat mass, fat percentage, inflammatory cytokine levels, and increased muscle strength. An ISOM + EMS group had the best KOOS score among all groups. Conclusion: Isometric exercise combined with WB-EMS resulted in the best overall improvements in knee function and alleviating the pain and symptoms of patients with early knee OA. Further, reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines were observed. These non-pharmacologic, non-invasive interventions should be considered by healthcare specialists for elderly patients with early knee OA.

Psychophysical condition of adolescents in coronavirus disease 2019.

This study investigated the prevalence of depression and levels of physical fitness in high school students during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. One hundred fifty participants were divided into four groups according to the number of days that they felt depressed due to the COVID-19 during the last 7 days: no-depression group (NDG, n=17), some-depression group (SDG, n=32), occasional-depression group (ODG, n=81), and most-depression group (MDG, n=20). Shuttle run for endurance capacity and standing long jump for muscle power were selected to estimate the states of type I and type II muscle fibers, respectively. This study found that the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale score of MDG was significantly higher than those of other three groups. In addition, ODG and MDG showed the lowest interest in their school studies compared with other groups. Endurance capacity showed a significant difference among groups, whereas muscle power showed no significant difference among groups. In conclusion, this study suggests that higher levels of depression reflect a greater lack of interest in life and academics. Furthermore, lower endurance capacity appears to be associated with more severe levels of depression. This highlights the importance of maintaining type I muscle fibers through regular aerobic exercise.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Investigating the Effects of Equine Simulator Riding on Low Back Pain, Morphological Changes, and Trunk Musculature in Elderly Women.

Background and objectives: Studies on the effects of an equine riding simulator (ERS) program on back pain, spinal alignment, and isokinetic moments in subjects with chronic low back pain (CLBP) remain limited. The purpose of this study was to analyze changes in elderly women with CLBP who participate in an ERS program. Materials and Methods: The 80 participants were all women aged 61-84 years who were randomly assigned to either the control group (CON) or ERS group (ERSG). ERS exercise was performed for a duration of 12 weeks (three times each week). The degree of pain was measured using the Oswestry Disability Index and the visual analog scale. Body composition and spinal alignment were measured using bioelectrical impedance and raster stereography. The isokinetic moments of trunk extensor and flexor were measured before and after the training period. Results: The ERSG showed a significant decrease in back pain compared to the CON. There was a significant decrease in levels of fat in the ERSG, although no differences were shown in terms of muscle mass. However, there was an increased basal metabolic rate (BMR) in the ERSG. Spinal alignment in the ERSG significantly improved. The peak torques of the trunk extensor in the ERSG were also significantly increased. Conclusion: It can be inferred that the ERS exercise can decrease fat and improve the trunk extensor strength through increased BMR, leading to better spinal alignment and reducing back pain in elderly women with CLBP.

Gross motor function and health fitness in adults with autistic spectrum disorder and intellectual disability: single-blind retrospective trial.

This study aimed at providing an exercise program for each type of disability after analyzing the exercise program performed by adults with intellectual disability (ID) or autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty-nine male adults voluntarily took part in this study, whose age ranged from 19 to 28 years and with an average body mass index of 23.98± 4.02 kg/m2. The sample was divided into two groups as follows: ASD group (ASDG; n=15) and ID group (IDG, n=14). The selected tests used to measure gross motor function (GMF, locomotion and object control skills) and health fitness (body composition, flexibility, strength, muscle endurance, and cardiopulmonary endurance) were also used in previous studies. The GMF and health fitness between ASDG and IDG showed no significant differences. This study indicates that exercise programs could provide similar effects, even with other disorder types having similar symptoms.

Analysis for reliability and validity of gross motor function and health fitness tests for children with developmental disabilities.

The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of gross motor function and health fitness assessment tests for children with developmental disabilities. All 35 participants who took part in this study on a voluntary basis were male children (age, 10.31±1.25 years). All selected tests for gross motor function and health fitness assessments were used in previous studies to measure basic physical health and motor abilities, which include strength (grip strength test), muscular endurance (modified sit-ups test), flexibility (sit and reach test), and cardiopulmonary endurance (15-m shuttle run test). Reliability was analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficients in the pretest-posttest and Bland-Altman graphs study. Pearson correlation was used to analyze convergent validity and analysis of variance was used to analyze variations among age groups. Lastly, a correlation analysis was conducted between the tests in gross motor function and health fitness assessments. This study indicates that gross motor function and health fitness assessments have obtained adequate reliability parameters and are able to determine differences in children from 9 to 12 years of age. The tests performed were simple to use, safe, and suitable for children with developmental disabilities.