The Psychophysiological Effects of Different Tempo Music on Endurance Versus High-Intensity Performances.

The use of music during training represents a special paradigm for trainers to stimulate people undertaking different types of exercise. However, the relationship between the tempo of music and perception of effort during different metabolic demands is still unclear. Therefore, the aim of this research was to determine whether high intensity exercise is more sensitive to the beneficial effects of music than endurance exercise. This study assessed 19 active women (age 26.4 ± 2.6 years) during endurance (walking for 10' at 6.5 km/h on a treadmill) and high intensity (80% on 1-RM) exercise under four different randomly assigned conditions: no music (NM), with music at 90-110 bpm (LOW), with music at 130-150 bpm (MED), and with music at 170-190 bpm (HIGH). During each trial, heart rate (HR) and the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were assessed. Repeated analysis of variance measures was used to detect any differences between the four conditions during high intensity and low intensity exercise. RPE showed more substantial changes during the endurance exercises (11%), than during high intensity exercise (6.5%), between HIGH and NM conditions. The metabolic demand during the walking exercise increased between NM and HIGH bpm conditions. This study indicates the benefits of music under stress conditions as well as during endurance and high intensity training. The results demonstrate that the beneficial effects of music are more likely to be seen in endurance exercise. Consequently, music may be considered an important tool to stimulate people engaging in low intensity physical exercise.

Age-related progressive increase of lower back pain among male dance sport competitors.

BACKGROUND: Occurrence of musculoskeletal pain in dance sport dancers is often a cause for longer discontinuation of training, which affects the competition results. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the research project was to determine the age-specific pain experience among male dance sport competitors by defining the proportions of pain status of fourteen body regions. METHODS: The subject sample of 200 male dancers from 44 different countries and with international competitive experience was divided into three subsamples according to age. Three online questionnaires translated into eight world languages were used for data collection: (1) basic data questionnaire, (2) self-estimated functional inability because of pain questionnaire designed for dancers, and (3) health care-related questionnaire. RESULTS: After examining the 14 topological regions, it was established that dancers most often report pain in the lower back region (53.5%), followed by knee (43%) and toe regions (40.5%). Significant differences were found using the Chi-square test between the groups of dancers of different ages in the prevalence of pain in the lower back (χ 2 = 12.6), shoulders (χ 2 = 9.7), and hip region (χ 2 = 7), with the highest, age-related progressive differences in the lower back region (36.2-54.9-63.4%) so older dancers had more pain. Often reported reasons for discontinuation of training increased with age are overuse syndrome/tendinitis (6.4-15.9-22.5%) and strain (14.9-29.3-31%). Most common causes for longer discontinuation of training are absence of partner (37%), injuries (24%), and overuse syndrome (10%). CONCLUSION: Lower back pain is propounding health problem in male dancers and increases with age that cannot be resolved by decreasing training intensity. This research reveals that only 28% of male dancers will seek medical help because of occurrence of musculoskeletal pain. Multidisciplinary approach with the aim of long-term health protection and prolongation of dancing careers is required in future studies.

Impact of body mass index on body image dimensions: results from a body-image questionnaire designed for dancers.

This investigation was conducted to test the reliability and validity of the Multidimensional Body Image Questionnaire (MBIQD) designed for dancers. The newly constructed MBIQD was administered to 393 female and male participants (average age 21.8 yrs) from three European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia). The scale consisted of 43 items in a 5-point response scale. Factorial analysis yielded eight factors (attractiveness, strength, joy, bad health/weakness, flexibility, body efficacy, nervousness, and masculinity) and explained 56.6% of the total variance. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) of the items assigned to each of the eight MBIQD subscales was high and satisfactory (from 0.71 to 0.89). The second aim was to identify gender differences within the MBIQD subscales. According to independent-sample t-tests, female dancers showed significantly higher results on the MBIQD scales of joy and flexibility, while male dancers scored significantly higher on the masculinity scale. The third aim was to identify differences between the group of dancers defined by body mass index (BMI) and the eight MBIQD subscales separately by gender. According to the Wilks test, there was a significant multivariate effect for female subjects (F = 2.06, p<0.01) and for male subjects (F = 3.05, p<0.00). According to post-hoc Fisher LSD test, significant differences in BMI groups among female dancers were found in attractiveness, strength, and masculinity MBIQD scales, while the male dancers, divided by BMI, showed significant differences in bad health/weakness, body efficacy, and flexibility MBIQD scales. This is the first research that has reported specific gender differences in body image self-perception among dancers.