Exercise Physiology at "Conversational Level" Is Not Impaired in Healthy Young Subjects Wearing Masks or Respirators.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the use of both surgical masks and FFP2 respirators on the inspiratory muscle strength, metabolic parameters, heart rate, subjective perceived exertion, and dyspnea perception, before and during 30 min stable load exercise at "conversational level". METHODS: A randomized cross-over study was carried out. Nineteen healthy adults completed 3 conditions (without a mask, with a surgical mask or an FFP2 respirator) during a 30-min steady-state test at the lactate threshold intensity. Inspiratory muscle strength was measured before and after the test, and metabolic parameters, heart rate, subjective perceived exertion, and dyspnea perception were collected at baseline, during, and after the test. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in inspiratory muscle strength after the 30-min test in all conditions (control: 6.26 mm Hg, p < 0.5; surgical mask: 8.55 mm Hg, p < 0.01; FFP2 respirator: 12.42 mm Hg, p < 0.001), but without significant differences between them (p = 0.283). Data showed a statistically significant effect for time, but did not show a statistically significant interaction between condition and time for heart rate (p = 0.674), oxygen saturation (p = 0.297), blood lactate level (p = 0.991), rating perceived exertion (p = 0.734) and dyspnea (p = 0.532) comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: The present study findings suggested that inspiratory muscle strength and physiological parameters during "conversational level" exercise were not impaired under wearing masks in healthy, nonsmoking young adults.

Transcultural adaptation of the revised caregiving appraisal scale (RCAS) in the Spanish population.

AIM: To develop a transcultural adaptation of the Revised Caregiving Appraisal Scale among Spanish caregivers of dependent older people and to test the psychometric properties of the scale. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: The Revised Caregiving Appraisal Scale was transculturally adapted to the Spanish population following the methodology of direct and back translation. The Spanish version of the Revised Caregiving Appraisal Scale was administered to a total of 182 family caregivers of older dependent people. The study began in January 2016 and ended in December of the same year. The construct validity was studied by means of the scree plot and parallel analysis. The exploratory factorial analysis was carried out, and the correlation between factors was studied. To verify the reliability of the process, Cronbach's alpha and homogeneity were calculated by the corrected total item correlation. The validity of the convergent criterion was studied by means of the Pearson correlation coefficient, using the Zarit Caregiver Load Interview and the Family Satisfaction Scale as the gold standard. RESULTS: The construct validity revealed three factors: 'Subjective Burden' (15 items), 'Satisfaction' (7 items) and 'Competence' (3 items). The Cronbach alpha was .86 for 'Subjective Burden', .74 for 'Satisfaction' and .74 for 'Competence'. The corrected total item correlation was greater than .25. The validity of the convergent criterion of the 'Subjective Burden' and 'Competence' factors with the 'Zarit Caregiver's Load Interview' presented a very high statistically significant correlation, unlike 'Satisfaction' which presented a low positive correlation with the 'Family Satisfaction Scale'. CONCLUSION: The Spanish version of the Revised Caregiving Appraisal Scale is a valid and reliable scale according to the tests performed on a random sample of family caregivers of older dependent people in Spain. IMPACT: This scale will enable the simultaneous assessment of negative ('Subjective Burden' and 'Competence') and positive ('Satisfaction') perceptions among family caregivers of older dependent people.

The Use of Disposable Tampons as Visual Biofeedback in Pelvic Floor Muscle Training.

Background: Urinary incontinence represents a complex problem which commonly affects women and influences their physical, mental and social wellbeing. The objective was to determine the effect of pelvic floor muscle training using a tampon as visual biofeedback. Methods: A non-randomized clinical trial involving 60 women >18 years of age, both with, and without, urinary incontinence. All women exercised with a program involving visual biofeedback using disposable tampons at home for three months. The compliance rate was 76.8 ± 24.1 An electromyographic assessment of the pelvic floor was performed and assessments of the impact of the exercise program. Results: 54.5% of women without incontinence and 81.6% of women incontinence reported improvements (p = 0.041). In both groups, there was increased quality life (p > 0.05). The women without incontinence experienced greater improvement in the quality of their sexual relations (Pre 6.8 ± 1.4-Post 7.2 ± 1.0). Conclusions: After the intervention, a high percentage of women showed a statistically significant improvement in their symptoms. The participants reported an increase in quality of life and the women without incontinence reported an improvement in quality of their sexual relations. Our findings suggest that visual BFB for training the PFM may be beneficial for women with or without incontinence.