Cross-education in people with Parkinson's disease, a short-term randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: People with Parkinson's disease usually have a major impairment on one side of the body. It is hypothesized that unilateral resistance training may improve strength on the most affected limb when compared to bilateral resistance training. AIM: 1) To confirm that short-term unilateral resistance training improves strength on the most affected limb in people with PD. 2) To investigate if short-term unilateral resistance training reduces asymmetry. METHODS: Seventeen individuals with Parkinson's disease were randomly assigned to unilateral resistance group (UTG, n = 9) and bilateral resistance group (BTG, n = 8). Twenty-four sessions of resistance training were performed. The nine-hole peg and box and blocks tests were performed to assess motor control of the upper limbs. The handgrip strength and isokinetic dynamometry were performed to assess the upper and lower limbs strength, respectively. All tests were assessed unilaterally at baseline (T0), during (T12), and at the end of the intervention (T24). Friedman's ANOVA was used to determine within group differences across the three time-points. In the event of significance, post-hoc analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. The U Mann-Whitney was used to determine between group differences at a specific time point. RESULTS: The BTG was significantly better than the UTG group at T24 compared to T12 with respect to peak torque at 60°/s and 180°/s (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Short-term bilateral resistance training is better than unilateral resistance training to improve strength for lower limbs most affected in people with Parkinson's disease.

Effects of yoga practice on muscular endurance in young women.

The aim of this study was to verify the effects of a systematized yoga practice on muscular endurance in young women. Twenty six women (24 ± 3.5 years old) participated in six weeks of yoga classes, and twenty one women (25 ± 5.1 years old) participated as the control group. The yoga intervention was composed of eighteen sessions, three times per week, at 1 h per session. The muscular endurance of upper limbs (push-up) and abdominal (sit-up) was assessed through the protocol suggested by Gettman (1989) [1] and Golding, Myers and Sinning (1989) [2] to the maximum repetitions performed in 1 min. To verify the significant differences intra groups and between groups a SPANOVA was performed, and the level of significance was p ≤ 0.05. The findings suggest that yoga provides improvement in upper limb and in abdominal muscular endurance.

Tai Chi Chuan em mulheres idosas: efeitos na ergoespirometria e composição corporal / Tai Chi Chuan in senior women: Effects on ergospirometry and body composition

Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) tem sido largamente praticado na China há séculos. O objetivo desta pesquisa experimental com grupo controle foi verificar os efeitos do TCC na ergoespirometria (ERGO) e na composição corporal (CC) em 34 mulheres idosas saudáveis, não praticantes de atividade física orientada. No Grupo TCC (G1) foram incluídos 16 sujeitos (idade 66,19±4,78 anos) e no Grupo Controle (G2) 18 sujeitos (idade 72,94±6,24 anos). G1 praticou o TCC estilo Yang de 24 movimentos durante 24 semanas, 2 vezes por semana. Cada aula constou de 15 min. de aquecimento, 20 min. de treinamento da coreografia do TCC e 15 min. de relaxamento. Antes e depois da intervenção, foram mensurados volume máximo de oxigênio consumido (VO2) e Tempo de Teste (T) na ERGO em esteira e massa magra (MM) e percentual de gordura (G%) da CC através de absortometria por raios-x de dupla energia (DXA). G1 apresentou incrementos de 8,20% no VO2 (p=0,001) e de 13,35% no T (p=0,01) e nenhuma alteração significativa nas variáveis da CC (p>0,05) em relação ao G2. Não foi verificada correlação significativa entre as variáveis da ERGO e CC. Os resultados indicam que, em mulheres idosas, o TCC melhora a ERGO mas não a CC, sugerindo que a ERGO não está necessariamente ligada à CC na prática desta modalidade.

Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) has been widely practiced in China for centuries. The purpose of this controlled experimental study was to verify the effects of TCC program on ergospirometry (ERGO) and on body composition (BC) in 34 healthy elderly women, who did not practice any form of oriented physical activity. TCC group (G1) included 16 subjects (age 66.19±4.78 yr) and Control Group (G2) included 18 subjects (age 2.94±6.24 yr). G1 practiced the 24 forms Yang style TCC during 24 weeks, 2 times/week. Each session included 15 min of warm-up, 20 min of TCC form practice and 15 min of cool down. They were evaluated before and at the end of the intervention: the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2) and exertion time (T) on ERGO in treadmill test and the fat free mass (FFM) and body fat percentage (BFP) on BC in Dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). G1 showed increases of 8.20% in VO2 (p = 0.001) and of 13,35% in T (p = 0.01) and no significant changes in the BC variables (p>0.05) in relation to G2. No significant correlation was observed between the ERGO and BC variables. The results indicate that, in elderly women, TCC program is effective for improving ERGO but not BC, indicating that ERGO is not necessarily linked to BC in this practice.