Peak Vertical Jump Power as a Marker of Bone Health in Children.

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the accuracy of peak vertical jump power (VJP) to identify children with bone mineral density (BMD) below average, defined as BMD measured by DXA and adjusted for body height at the whole body less head≤- 1.0 standard deviation (SD). The sample included 114 boys and girls aged 8.5±0.4 years old. VJP was estimated from a countermovement jump performed on a contact mat using the measured flight time to calculate the height of rise of the center of gravity. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds ratio of having BMD≤1.0 SD decreased 1.2% per watt of power and the probability of BMD below average was 75.6% higher in boys than in girls with the same peak power jump. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the best trade-off between sensitivity and specificity to identify children with BMD<- 1.0 SD was 635 watts in boys (sensitivity=63.3%; specificity=69.2%; AUC=0.816, 95% CI: 0.681-0.95; p<0.001) and 515 watts in girls (sensitivity=75.0%; specificity=77.0%; AUC=0.849, 95% CI: 0.698-0.999; p=0.002). These cut-off values correspond to a vertical jump of 19.9 cm and 20.5 cm in 8-year-old boys and girls, respectively. The VJP showed a reasonable sensitivity and specificity as well good discriminant ability to identify children with BMD below average.

Morphological and physical fitness characteristics of under-16 Portuguese male handball players with different levels of practice.

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare the morphology and physical fitness of 104 under-16 male handball athletes with different competitive levels in function of their bone maturation. METHODS: Athletes were divided into two groups, 59 competed in the NL-national league, with higher competitive level (14.06±0.66 years) and 45 competed in the RL-regional league (14.24±0.60 years). The morphology was evaluated by measuring body mass, height, sitting height, arm span, four lengths, four breadths, five girths and eleven skinfolds. The physical fitness assessment used eight tests (20-m shuttle run; 30-m sprint; sit-and-reach; horizontal and vertical jump with counter movement; overhead medicine ball throw-3 kg; handgrip; handball specific agility test). Bone age was determined using the TW3 method. RESULTS: In morphological terms, NL athletes showed greater dimensions for all anthropometric variables except for hand length (transversal and longitudinal), biepicondylar femur breadth, mid-thigh girth and skinfolds. In physical fitness terms, these athletes have better results for VO2max, velocity, agility, arm strength and handgrip than athletes competing in the RL. Maturational differences explain the morphological profile superiority of NL athletes in terms of arm span, lower limb length, biacromial breadth and physical fitness profile for VO2max and arm strength. CONCLUSION: Maturation should be considered as a covariate when one intends to distinguish the morphological characteristics and physical fitness of under-16 athletes with different levels of practice.

Clinical and neurocognitive correlates of insight in patients with bipolar I disorder in remission.

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between insight and neurocognition in bipolar disorder has not been clearly established. METHOD: A neuropsychological battery assessing attention, mental control, perceptual-motor skills, executive functions, verbal fluency and abstraction, and visuo-spatial attention was administered to 50 bipolar remitted patients and 50 healthy controls. Insight was assessed with the Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder. RESULTS: Patients presented significantly worse neurocognitive performance. Insight was impaired in 60% of patients, and age, educational level, manic symptoms, age of disease onset, number of admissions, and performance on several neurocognitive tests correlated significantly with insight. A regression model revealed that age and Trail Making Test part B (TMT-B) performance accounted for 32% of the variance in overall illness awareness, while performance on the TMT-B alone accounted for 28% of the variance. CONCLUSION: Impaired insight and neurocognitive dysfunction seem to be present in euthymic bipolar patients. Insight in bipolar disorder may be partially dependent on intact neurocognition.

The effects of training and detraining after an 8 month resistance and stretching training program on forward head and protracted shoulder postures in adolescents: Randomised controlled study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a 32-week resistance and stretching training program applied in Physical Education classes on forward head posture and protracted shoulder posture of Portuguese adolescents (15-17 years old). The detraining effects after a 16-week period were also measured. METHODS: This prospective, randomized and controlled study was conducted in two secondary schools in Portugal. One hundred and thirty adolescents with forward head and protracted shoulder posture were randomly assigned to a control or experimental group. The sagittal head, cervical and shoulder angle were measured before and after a 32-week time intervention period. The control group (n = 46) did only the Physical Education classes whereas the exercise group (n = 42) received a posture corrective exercise programme in addition to Physical Education classes. A 16 week detraining period followed the 32-week. RESULTS: Significant increase were observed in the cervical and shoulder angle in the experimental group following the 32 week-intervention period. After the 16-week detraining period no significant differences were observed in the three postural angles in the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: The exercise intervention was successful at decreasing forward head and protracted shoulder in adolescents. Detraining period was not sufficient to reduce the overall training effects. This study supports the postural training and rehabilitation performed during Physical Education classes, with the aim of preventing and managing upper quadrant musculoskeletal pain. CLINICALTRIALS. GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT02190331.