Analysis of the competitive demands in 7-a-side football players with cerebral palsy

Inertial devices allow for obtaining a large amount of information related to external load during official competitions. The study aimed to analyse fatigue in different functional classification players of a Football 7-a-side for people with cerebral palsy or acquired brain injury team, considering the movements, speed changes and impacts during the 2020 Spanish National League matches (n = 12). The analyzed independent variables were the different functional classifications (FC) of the players, FC1, FC2 and FC3, and also time. Regarding the dependent variables, kinematic objective external load (displacements and speed changes), and neuromuscular objective external load (impacts) were considered. This study is an empirical investigation that follows an associative and descriptive analysis, ANOVA test, and a Bonferroni post hoc test (multiple comparisons) were carried out between the external load variables based on FC and time. The results show differences between FC1 for people with greater functional limitation to FC3, and athletes with less functional limitation depending on the time of the match. FC2 players presented greater competitive demands in specific moments of the match than FC3 athletes because of the requirements of the competition. Furthermore, evaluating different FC players with inertial devices in official competitions provides useful information regarding the demands of Fa7PC players, which is fundamental for daily training tasks management and injury risk prevention in Fa7PC. The large number of variables associated with inertial devices data collection during training sessions and official competitions in Fa7PC allows us to understand the demands of CP players, as well as how to make decisions during the games and training process, namely for reducing the injury risk. (AU)

Effects of vibration therapy on hormone response and stress in severely disabled patients: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial.

PURPOSE: To assess the effects of vibration therapy (VT) on quality of life and hormone response in severely disabled patients compared with placebo. DESIGN: A longitudinal prospective, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial, with pre and postintervention assessments. METHODS: A total of 20 severely disabled individuals were recruited from a National Reference Centre in Spain: 13 (65%) men and 7 (35%) women, 45.5 ± 9.32 years of age (range 41: 22-63). We evaluated their physical stress and state anxiety. RESULTS: No statistically significant changes were found in the socio-psychological variables studied, while in the experimental group state anxiety decreased significantly with p < 0.01 (Z = 2.38; one-tailed p = .009) and, among the biological variables, the level of cortisol fell (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Short periods of exposure to low-frequency and low-amplitude local vibration are a safe and effective mechanical stimulus that can have a positive effect in terms of hormone response. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: VT can be considered to have an anti-stress effect.