Effect of increasing difficulty in standing balance tasks with visual feedback on postural sway and EMG: complexity and performance.

Studies about the relationship between complexity and performance in upright standing balance have yielded mixed results and interpretations. The aim of the present study was to assess how the increasing difficulty in standing balance task affects performance and the complexity of postural sway and neuromuscular activation. Thirty-two young healthy participants were asked to stand still on a stability platform with visual feedback in three levels of difficulty. EMG signals from gastrocnemius medialis, tibialis anterior, rectus femoris and biceps femoris were measured with surface electromyography. As task difficulty increased, the amplitude of postural sway also increased. In the antero-posterior axis, Fuzzy Entropy (complexity) of postural sway decreased from the stable condition to the medium instability condition, and increased again at the highest instability condition. Fuzzy Entropy in the medio-lateral axis was higher in the stable condition; however, no differences were observed between the two instability conditions. Lower values of Fuzzy Entropy in postural sway during stable condition correlated with greater percent increases in postural sway in medio-lateral and antero-posterior axis from the standing still condition to the highest instability condition. In addition, mean and coefficient of variation of EMG increased and Fuzzy Entropy of EMG decreased when the difficulty in standing balance tasks increased. These results suggest that the higher postural sway complexity in stable condition, the greater capacity of the postural control system to adapt to the platform instability increases. In addition, changes in the complexity of EMG modulated by task difficulty do not necessarily reflect similar changes on postural sway.

Efectos de un programa de ejercicio físico a domicilio en cuidadores de pacientes de Alzheimer: un estudio piloto / Effects of an individual home-based physical exercise program in caregivers of Alzheimer patients: a pilot study

La enfermedad de Alzheimer no se limita a afectar al paciente que la sufre, sino que tiene un impacto notableen su medio familiar. La calidad de vida del cuidador y su bienestar emocional se ven seriamente afectados. Numerososestudios previos han abordado esta problemática desde distintas perspectivas: mediante terapias cognitivo-conductuales,modelos psicoeducativos, con intervenciones individuales y/o grupales, con programas basados en la actividad física, etc. Enmuchos casos, el principal obstáculo de estos programas ha sido la dificultad del cuidador para asistir a ellos. Este trabajopretende evaluar la aplicabilidad y efectividad de un programa de ejercicio físico en atención domiciliaria e individual sobreel perfil psicológico y la sobrecarga de un grupo de 32 cuidadoras informales. Se consiguió un nivel de asistencia elevado yse obtuvieron mejoras significativas en los niveles de depresión. Las mejoras esperadas en el nivel de sobrecarga y los nivelesde ansiedad no resultaron significativas. La principal aportación del programa ha consistido en su capacidad para potenciarla adherencia de las cuidadoras en la práctica de la actividad física (AU)

Alzheimer's disease not only affects the patients who suffer from it; it also has a marked impact on theirfamily environment. The caregiver's quality of life and their emotional well-being are seriously affected. Many earlierstudies have studied this issue from different perspectives: cognitive-behavioral, psycho-educational models, individualand/or group interventions, programmes based on physical activity, etc.. In many cases, the caregiver's main handicap ordifficulty is attending these programmes.This study aims to assess the applicability and effectiveness of an individual home-care exercise programme as regards thepsychological profile and self-perceived burden of a group of 32 informal caregivers. A high level of attendance wasachieved and significant improvements in depression levels were achieved. The improvement expected in the self-perceivedburden and anxiety levels were not significant. This programme's main contribution is its capacity to help female caregiversstick to physical activities (AU)