Differences in Cardiorespiratory Responses with Three Set-Paced Submaximal Endurance Tests in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

A variety of submaximal exercise tests are commonly used in clinical practice to determine an individual's exercise capacity and cardiorespiratory fitness. This study explored differences in cardiorespiratory and perceived exertion responses following the completion of three set-paced exercise tests. A prospective, observational, cross-sectional design assessed 30 healthy communityd-welling older adults, who participated in three submaximal exercise tests, including seated marching (SM), standing marching (STM), and standing stepping (STS). Each test was three minutes in length and required the participant to step at a set pace. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and submaximal oxygen uptake (VO2) were measured before and after each test. Repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni correction tested for differences. Statistically significant differences between pre and post exercise values were noted for HR, SBP, RPE and VO2 (p < 0.01) between the three activities. Additionally, 3-minutes of standing stepping triggered the highest cardiorespiratory responses with a mean metabolic equivalent (MET) of 6.18 compared to seated stepping that triggered the lowest responses with a mean MET value of 1.98. The results of this study provide meaningful data on significant differences noted in cardiorespiratory and perceived exertion elicited following the completion of three set-paced stepping exercises. Based on the results, STM and STS can be categorized as moderate intensity activities, while three minutes of set paced SM is light intensity activity. Further research is warranted to validate these findings in older adults with multiple comorbidities and in those consuming cardiac medications that alter hemodynamic responses.

Physical Therapist Management of Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthritis: A Clinical Practice Guideline from the American Physical Therapy Association.

A clinical practice guideline on glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis was developed by an American Physical Therapy Association volunteer guideline development group that consisted of physical therapists, an occupational therapist, and a physician. The guideline was based on systematic reviews of current scientific and clinical information and accepted approaches for physical therapist management of glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis. This clinical practice guideline is available in Spanish; see Supplementary Appendix 8.

Lower limb muscle activity during forefoot and rearfoot strike running techniques.

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND: Distance running offers a method to improve fitness but also has a risk of lower limb overuse injuries. Foot strike technique has been suggested as a method to alter loading of the lower limb and possibly minimize injury risk. However, there is a dearth of information regarding neuromuscular response to variations in running techniques. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the EMG activity that occurs during FFS running and RFS running, focusing on the biceps femoris, semitendenosis, rectus femoris, vastus medialis oblique, tibialis anterior (TA), medial head of gastrocnemeus (MGas), lateral head of gastrocnemius (LGas), and soleus. METHODS: healthy adults (6 male, 8 female; age, 24.2 ± 0.8 years, height 170.1 ± 7.8 cm; mass 69.8 ±10.9 kg; Body Mass Index 24.1 ± 3.0 kg·m2) participated in the study. All participants performed a RFS and FFS running trial at 8.85 kph. A 3D motion capture system was used to collect kinematic data and electromyography was used to define muscle activity. Two-tailed paired t-tests were used to examine differences in outcomes between RFS and FFS conditions. RESULTS: The ankle was significantly more plantarflexed during FFS running (p = .0001) but there were no significant differences in knee and hip angles (p = .618 & .200, respectively). There was significantly less activity in tibialis anterior (TA) (p < .0001) and greater activity in the MGas (p= .020) during FFS running. The LGas and soleus did not change activity (p = .437 & .490, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: FFS running demonstrated lower muscular activity in the TA and increased activation in the MGas. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: FFS and RFS running have the potential to off-load injury prone tissues by changing between techniques. However, future studies will be necessary to establish more direct mechanistic connections between running technique and injury.