Biomechanical analysis of barefoot walking and three different sports footwear in children aged between 4 and 6 years old.

The technological transformation and advertising utilized in the footwear industry significantly impact purchasing decisions. The gait properties, barefoot and with shoes, change depending on the footwear structure. The aim of this work is the biomechanical analysis of walking barefoot and with different sports shoes in a controlled group of 12 children between 4 and 6 years old. Kinematic and spatiotemporal variables were analyzed using a BTS motion capture analysis system with the Helen Hayes protocol. Previously, a survey was carried out with 262 families with children between 4 and 6 years old to justify the choice of footwear for this study. No significant differences were found between any of the measured conditions. The kinematic results showed significant differences in the ankle (right sagittal plane p = 0.04, left p < 0.01; right frontal plane p < 0.01, left p < 0.01), knee (right and left sagittal plane p < 0.01) and hip (right sagittal plane p < 0.01, left p = 0.04; right frontal plane p = 0.03). Additionally, the post hoc analysis revealed significant differences between barefoot gait and different footwear. The footwear used for this study and each one's various characteristics are not preponderant in the spatiotemporal and kinematic parameters of the children's gait. Thus, the footwear purchase may be conditioned by its design or composition and other properties may not be relevant.

Evaluación de la inteligencia emocional percibida en estudiantes de Grado en Enfermería / Evaluation of the emotional intelligence perceived in Nursing Degree students

Objetivo: analizar la inteligencia emocional percibida en estudiantes de Grado en Enfermería de primer y cuarto curso.Método: se realizó un estudio transversal en estudiantes de primero y cuarto de Grado en Enfermería de la Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Madrid, España). Se utilizó la Escala Rasgo de Metaconocimiento Emocional TMMS-24. Se usó una plataforma online de la propia universidad. Se realizó análisis descriptivo y univariante.Resultados: Participaron 140 estudiantes (70 por curso). El 77,9% (n= 109) fue mujer. El 80% (n= 112) tenía entre 18-25 años. Se encontraron diferencias significativas en la comprensión de las emociones entre los estudiantes de primer y cuarto curso (p< 0,05), teniendo mayor claridad emocional los estudiantes de cuarto. Se registraron diferencias significativas en la variable atención entre hombres y mujeres (p= 0,012), siendo la atención mayor en mujeres. En la variable claridad se observaron diferencias significativas entre hombres y mujeres (p= 0,015), siendo en este caso mayor la comprensión de las emociones por el grupo de hombres.Conclusiones: los estudiantes de Grado en Enfermería necesitan mejorar las capacidades definidas por la inteligencia emocional para alcanzar un buen ajuste psicológico. Las habilidades emocionales son similares en los alumnos de primero y cuarto, excepto en la comprensión emocional. La atención a las emociones es mayor en mujeres que en hombres, mientras que la claridad es mayor en hombres que en mujeres. A pesar de estas diferencias significativas en las variables atención y claridad no se observan hallazgos importantes en la reparación emocional entre hombres y mujeres.(AU)

Objective: to analyse the emotional intelligence perceived in Nursing Degree students in their first and fourth years.Method: a cross-sectional study was conducted with students in the first and fourth year of their Nursing Degree at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Madrid, Spain). The Trait-Meta Mood Scale (TMMS-24) was used. The University online platform was used; descriptive and univariate analysis was conducted.Results: the study included 140 students (70 per year); 77.9% (n= 109) were female and 80% (n= 112) were between 18 and 25 years old. Significant differences were found in Emotion Understanding between students in their first and fourth year (p< 0.05), with higher Emotional Clarity in fourth-year students. Significant differences were registered in the Attention variable between men and women (p= 0.012), with higher attention among women. In the Clarity variable, significant differences were observed between men and women (p= 0.015), and in this case, Emotion Understanding was higher in the male group.Conclusions: Nursing Degree students need to improve the skills defined by emotional intelligence in order to reach a good psychological adjustment. Emotional skills were similar between first and fourth year students, except in terms of Emotional Understanding. Emotional Attention was higher in women than in men, while Clarity was higher in men than in women. Regardless of these significant differences in the Attention and Clarity variables, there were no major findings in Emotional Repair between men and women.(AU)

Are there any changes in strength after the application of Kinesio taping in lateral epicondylalgia?

BACKGROUND: In 1973, Dr. Kenzo Kase developed Kinesio taping from the hypothesis that this external component could aid the functions of muscles and other tissues. There are different studies on this issue, but none has completely clarified the research question. OBJECTIVE: To study the application of Kinesio taping in the variation of isometric muscle strength of the hand extension and grip, isokinetic strength of the pronation and supination movements, and the time it takes to reach that strength in patients with lateral epicondylalgia. METHODS: An analytical, experimental, randomized study was carried out with 104 subjects with lateral epicondylalgia. The subjects were randomly distributed among two groups: one received Kinesio taping and the other a placebo material. A pre- and post-intervention measurement was performed. The post-measurement was carried out 24 hours later so as to completely eliminate the fatigue effect produced by the first day measurements, as well as to ensure that the intervention was effective, and not immediate. The measurements were made using a dynamometer. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the application of Kinesio taping and placebo material in subjects with lateral epicondylalgia regarding the variation of muscle strength in any of the study variables (p> 0.05 for all studied variables). CONCLUSIONS: Kinesio taping produces no change in strength after application and exerts an effect similar to that of a placebo.

Artificial intelligence prediction of the effect of rehabilitation in whiplash associated disorder.

The active cervical range of motion (aROM) is assessed by clinicians to inform their decision-making. Even with the ability of neck motion to discriminate injured from non-injured subjects, the mechanisms to explain recovery or persistence of WAD remain unclear. There are few studies of ROM examinations with precision tools using kinematics as predictive factors of recovery rate. The present paper will evaluate the performance of an artificial neural network (ANN) using kinematic variables to predict the overall change of aROM after a period of rehabilitation in WAD patients. To achieve this goal the neck kinematics of a cohort of 1082 WAD patients (55.1% females), with mean age 37.68 (SD 12.88) years old, from across Spain were used. Prediction variables were the kinematics recorded by the EBI® 5 in routine biomechanical assessments of these patients. These include normalized ROM, speed to peak and ROM coefficient of variation. The improvement of aROM was represented by the Neck Functional Holistic Analysis Score (NFHAS). A supervised multi-layer feed-forward ANN was created to predict the change in NFHAS. The selected architecture of the ANN showed a mean squared error of 308.07-272.75 confidence interval for a 95% in the Monte Carlo cross validation. The performance of the ANN was tested with a subsample of patients not used in the training. This comparison resulted in a medium correlation with R = 0.5. The trained neural network to predict the expected difference in NFHAS between baseline and follow up showed modest results. While the overall performance is moderately correlated, the error of this prediction is still too large to use the method in clinical practice. The addition of other clinically relevant factors could further improve prediction performance.

Local and Contralateral Effects after the Application of Neuromuscular Electrostimulation in Lower Limbs.

Neuromuscular electrostimulation (NMES) has been used mainly as a method to promote muscle strength, but its effects on improving blood flow are less well known. The aim of this study is to deepen the knowledge about the local and contralateral effects of the application of symmetric biphasic square currents on skin temperature (Tsk). An experimental pilot study was developed with a single study group consisting of 45 healthy subjects. Thermographic evaluations were recorded following the application of NMES to the anterior region of the thigh. The results showed an increase in the maximal Tsk of 0.67% in the anterior region of the thigh where the NMES was applied (p < 0.001) and an increase of 0.54% (p < 0.01) due to cross-education effects, which was higher when the NMES was applied on the dominant side (0.79%; p < 0.01). The duration of the effect was 20 min in the dominant leg and 10 min in the nondominant one. The application of a symmetrical biphasic current (8 Hz and 400 µs) creates an increase in the maximal Tsk at the local level. A temperature cross-education effect is produced, which is greater when the NMES is applied on the dominant side. This could be a useful noninvasive measurement tool in NMES treatments.

Emotional Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown Among the Spanish Population.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some populations being confined to their homes as part of infection control measures. This situation can be hard to cope with due to separation from loved ones, prohibition of regular activities, fear of infection, loss of freedom, and so on. These negative impacts cause considerable psychological stress, and all the more so when the situation continues for an extended period, as was the case in Spain. The present study was aimed at investigating the effects of COVID-19 quarantine on the emotional functioning of confined Spanish individuals after 8 weeks of lockdown by means of a cross-sectional study. The possible associations between changes in emotional functioning and demographic variables (age and sex), health habits (physical exercise, following a routine, and smoking), social support, and resilience were also analyzed. METHODS: A total of 906 Spanish adults completed an online survey to gather information about their prevailing mood and affects (before and after 8 weeks of lockdown), using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) (Watson et al., 1988), and other variables related to their habits and protective factors. FINDINGS: As expected, the data indicated an increase in negative affects (e.g., "upset," "afraid," "distressed") and a decrease in positive affects after 8 weeks under lockdown, as well as a general decline in overall mood. The largest increases in negative affects were observed in young adults (18-35 years) and women. We did not find any differences between people who were or were not diagnosed with COVID-19. Adhering to a routine, maintaining the same weight, and moderate physical exercise were associated with fewer negative affects, which indicates they are important protective factors, as are perceived social support and resilience. CONCLUSION: In order to mitigate the psychological impact of confinement, it is important to develop psychoeducational measures that encourage subjects to adhere to health habits and promote social support and resilience as protective factors. A special preventive focus should be placed on the most vulnerable population groups, namely women and young adults. For a public health lockdown to succeed, its negative consequences must be minimized insofar as possible through adequate knowledge of the risk factors and protective factors, and by means of prevention-oriented organization.