Athlete-Perceived Impact of Frame Running on Physical Fitness, Functional Mobility and Psychosocial Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: Frame Running (RaceRunning) allows people with moderate-to-severe mobility impairments to participate in physical activity using a 3-wheeled frame with a saddle and handlebars. The aim of this study was to investigate athlete-perceived impact of Frame Running on aspects of physical fitness, functional mobility and psychosocial outcomes. DESIGN: Survey. PARTICIPANTS: Frame Running athletes aged 5 years and over. METHODS: A survey was distributed to athletes through their club or sports organization. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 115 athletes (53 females). Median age was 17 years (range 5-62 years) and 64 (57%) used a wheelchair or walker for distances over 50 m. Many felt that Frame Running stretched their muscles (n = 93, 87%) and increased their self-confidence (n = 63, 93%). Four (4%) reported extreme fatigue or sore muscles after training (n = 17, 15%). Of the 110 athletes who had been participating in Frame Running for over 3 months, 46 (47%) reported being less out of breath during mobility tasks and 66 (66%) felt they had improved their functional mobility. However, 7 (7%) reported increased muscle tightness and 4 (4%) reported a Frame Running-related injury lasting more than 4 weeks. CONCLUSION: Frame Running is a safe physical activity with athlete-perceived benefits on physical fitness, functional mobility and psychosocial outcomes.

Cluster analysis of impairment measures to inform an evidence-based classification structure in RaceRunning, a new World Para Athletics event for athletes with hypertonia, ataxia or athetosis.

RaceRunning enables athletes with limited or no walking ability to propel themselves independently using a three-wheeled frame that has a saddle, handle bars and a chest plate. For RaceRunning to be included as a para athletics event, an evidence-based classification system is required. This study assessed the impact of trunk control and lower limb impairment measures on RaceRunning performance and evaluated whether cluster analysis of these impairment measures produces a valid classification structure for RaceRunning. The Trunk Control Measurement Scale (TCMS), Selective Control Assessment of the Lower Extremity (SCALE), the Australian Spasticity Assessment Scale (ASAS), and knee extension were recorded for 26 RaceRunning athletes. Thirteen male and 13 female athletes aged 24 (SD = 7) years participated. All impairment measures were significantly correlated with performance (rho = 0.55-0.74). Using ASAS, SCALE, TCMS and knee extension as cluster variables in a two-step cluster analysis resulted in two clusters of athletes. Race speed and the impairment measures were significantly different between the clusters (p < 0.001). The findings of this study provide evidence for the utility of the selected impairment measures in an evidence-based classification system for RaceRunning athletes.

The influence of lower limb impairments on RaceRunning performance in athletes with hypertonia, ataxia or athetosis.

OBJECTIVES: RaceRunning enables athletes with limited or no walking ability to propel themselves independently using a three-wheeled running bike that has a saddle and a chest plate for support but no pedals. For RaceRunning to be included as a Para athletics event, an evidence-based classification system is required. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the association between a range of impairment measures and RaceRunning performance. METHODS: The following impairment measures were recorded: lower limb muscle strength assessed using Manual Muscle Testing (MMT), selective voluntary motor control assessed using the Selective Control Assessment of the Lower Extremity (SCALE), spasticity recorded using both the Australian Spasticity Assessment Score (ASAS) and Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), passive range of motion (ROM) of the lower extremities and the maximum static step length achieved on a stationary bike (MSSL). Associations between impairment measures and 100-meter race speed were assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficients. RESULTS: Sixteen male and fifteen female athletes (27 with cerebral palsy), aged 23 (SD = 7) years, Gross Motor Function Classification System levels ranging from II to V, participated. The MSSL averaged over both legs and the ASAS, MAS, SCALE, and MMT summed over all joints and both legs, significantly correlated with 100 m race performance (rho: 0.40-0.54). Passive knee extension was the only ROM measure that was significantly associated with race speed (rho = 0.48). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that lower limb spasticity, isometric leg strength, selective voluntary motor control and passive knee extension impact performance in RaceRunning athletes. This supports the potential use of these measures in a future evidence-based classification system.

The "mirror box" illusion: effect of visual information on bimanual coordination in children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy.

The study examined symmetrical bimanual coordination of children with spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsy (SHCP) and a typically developing (TD) control group under conditions of visual feedback created by placing a glass screen, opaque screen or a mirror ("mirror box") between the arms. The "mirror box" creates a visual illusion, which gives rise to a visual perception of a zero lag, symmetric movement between the two arms. Children with SHCP exhibited a similar mean coordination pattern as the TD control group, but had greater movement variability between the arms. Furthermore, movement variability in children with SHCP was significantly greater in the screen condition compared with the glass and mirror condition, which were similar to each other. The effects of the availability of visual feedback in individuals with hemiparesis are discussed with reference to central and peripheral mechanisms.

Children's use of the bearing angle in interceptive actions.

The authors investigated the effect of ball velocity and walking direction on children's adherence to the constant bearing angle (CBA) strategy. Children (N = 20) approached a moving ball to manually intercept it at a predefined target area. Results revealed that 10- to 12-year-olds adhered more than 5- to 7-year-olds to the CBA strategy. Younger children deviated more than older children from smaller angles of approach and lower ball velocities. The present findings suggest that younger children have difficulty adjusting to task requirements because they fail to couple walking velocity with ball velocity. The improvement seen with increasing age suggests that compliance with the CBA strategy may be attributed to older children's enhanced coincidence anticipation.

Effects of experience on the coordination of internally and externally timed soccer kicks.

The authors investigated differences in the soccer kick between 8 experienced and 10 less experienced participants in 2 different task conditions (kicking a stationary ball or a moving ball at a target). The experienced participants were more accurate than their less experienced counterparts, whereas there were no differences in maximum foot velocity between groups or between conditions. When compared with their performance in the stationary condition, participants kicked the moving ball with a smaller range of movement at the knee of the kicking leg, maintaining a proximodistal coordination pattern. Because of their significantly shorter knee-flexion phase, the participants in the experienced group displayed a significantly shorter time between initiation of the forward swing of the kick and ball contact than that of those in the less experienced group. The rapid knee flexion may have been a strategy of exploiting passive dynamics to increase accuracy rather than velocity. Members of both groups showed a proximodistal initiation sequence in the kicking leg, which suggests that players can acquire that coordination pattern with relatively little structured practice and that further practice leads to improvement possibly through the increased exploitation of passive dynamics.

Postural adjustments and bearing angle use in interceptive actions.

The experiment investigates the effect of ball velocity and walking direction on the adherence to the bearing angle (BA) strategy in adults. Adult participants (N=12) approached a moving ball in order to manually intercept it at a predefined target area. Results revealed that during locomotion the BA strategy was implemented, but on reaching the point of interception, this strategy broke down and the BA strategy of the wrist compensated for the movement requirements relative to the ball velocity and approach angle. Larger deviations from the BA occurred when the angle of approach was decreased and when the ball velocity increased. When the BA strategy was adhered to, postural adjustments were reduced. Increased movements occurred in a proximal-distal direction with an increasing approach angle and a faster ball velocity.

Inter-limb coupling in bimanual rhythmic coordination in Parkinson's disease.

Recently, it has been shown that rhythmic inter-limb coordination is disturbed in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The present study aims to investigate whether this coordination deficit is primarily the result of an impaired coupling, related to hypoactivation of the supplementary motor area (SMA), or primarily the indirect result of an asymmetrical distribution of PD symptoms over the left and right limbs (a peripheral process). Thirty PD patients and 30 matched control participants tapped with the index fingers anti-phase and left and right leading gallop patterns in four visual feedback conditions. Symmetrically affected participants performed significantly worse than asymmetrically affected and control participants in the gallop patterns. This result suggested that the central deficit has a stronger effect on inter-limb coupling in PD than the neuromuscular and biomechanical asymmetry between the limbs. Detailed analysis of inter-tap intervals (variability and correlation) suggested that this deficit leads to a compensatory asymmetrical inter-limb coupling in the primarily right-affected patient group, and under specific circumstances also in the primarily left-affected patient group. The difference in coordination strategy between left- and right-affected patients suggested that pre-morbid hand preference is an important structural constraint on the coupling strategies available to the participants.

Bimanual coordination and musical experience: the role of intrinsic dynamics and behavioral information.

Rhythmic interlimb coordination arises from the interaction of intrinsic dynamics and behavioral information, that is, intention, memory, or external information specifying the required coordination pattern. This study investigates the influence of the content of memorized behavioral information on coordination in musically experienced and inexperienced participants. These groups are hypothesized to have different intrinsic dynamics for this task. Stability was assessed in a switching task (variability and switching time). The in-phase, anti-phase, and 90 degrees -phase difference were specified in a neutral and an ecologically relevant manner. Musicians showed more stable coordination than nonmusicians did. No interaction effect was found with memorized behavioral information. Behavioral information showed an interaction effect with phase pattern on coordination variability, with the strongest effect for the 90 degrees -phase pattern. Switching time was affected largely in line with the findings for coordination variability. Participants showed an intraindividual preference for one type of gallop and one type of switch strategy, suggesting different hand roles for the two hands.

'Side-effects': intrinsic and task-induced asymmetry in bimanual rhythmic coordination.

Multifrequency coordination studies have shown the importance of hand-role in addition to hand-preference in bimanual rhythmic coordination. In these studies, hand-role has been defined by the task of the individual hands (moving fast or slow). In the present study, the hands were coordinated at the same frequency and hand-role was defined by the asymmetry of the coordination pattern. Eleven consistent left-handers and 13 consistent right-handers tapped three patterns (anti-phase, left-gallop, right-gallop) in four visual feedback conditions (no feedback, left-hand feedback, right-hand feedback, full feedback). The analysis focused on phase shifts, phase variability, intertap interval variability, and correlations between intertap intervals. The manipulation of visual feedback had only minor effects. In the anti-phase pattern, a symmetric coupling mechanism was found. The results support the idea that coordination in the gallop pattern is governed by a hierarchical control mechanism. In contrast to the multifrequency studies, however, successful control in the gallop is not dependent on a hand arrangement that accommodates the preferred hand as the leading hand. An adjustment to the model of Summers et al. (1993, J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 19:416-428) is presented for the case of the gallop pattern.