Effects of Whole-Body Electromyostimulation on Physical Fitness in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Whole-body electromyostiulation (WB-EMS) has experienced a boom in recent years, even though its effectiveness is controversial. A sedentary lifestyle is deeply rooted in the European population, mainly in the elderly. This experimental study analyzed the impact of WB-EMS on the physical fitness of postmenopausal women. Thirty-four healthy sedentary women between 55 and 69 years followed an experimental design pre-post-test. Both groups conducted a ten-week aerobic and strength training program. The experimental group overlaid the WB-EMS during exercise. At the end of the intervention, both groups improved upper and lower body strength, lower extremity flexibility, agility, and speed levels (pBonferroni < 0.05). Significant interactions were observed at upper and lower body strength, agility, speed, and cardiovascular endurance (p < 0.05). The WB-EMS group scored better agility than the control group at the end of the intervention (pBonferroni < 0.05) and was the only group that improved cardiovascular endurance. WB-EMS shows a favorable isolate effect on the development of dynamic leg strength, agility, and cardiovascular endurance but did not in dynamic arm strength, gait speed, balance, or flexibility of postmenopausal women.

Effects of whole-body ELECTROMYOSTIMULATION on health and performance: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Whole-body electrical myostimulation (WB-EMS) is a relatively recent training methodology that has been extraordinarily used in recent years. However, there is a lack of consensus on the effectiveness of WB-EMS in the situations in which its use has been largely popularized. The objective of this systematic review was to determine the effects produced by WB-EMS. METHODS: A search of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Cochrane was performed to identify all the studies that have applied electrical stimulation in lower and upper limbs simultaneously and that have clearly presented their protocols for the training and application of the stimulation. The last search was performed on September 9, 2018. Studies written in English or German were included. RESULTS: A total of 21 articles met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed following the guidelines of the Cochrane Guide for Systematic Reviews. Nineteen studies analyzed the chronic effects of WB-EMS, and 2 analyzed acute effects with a total of 505 subjects (310 men and 195 women). In total, 35% were moderately trained, and 65% were sedentary subjects. Different dependent variables were studied, such as anthropometric parameters, strength parameters, energy expenditure, psychophysiological parameters and blood parameters. There is a lack of randomized controlled studies, and the studies included exhibit a moderate to high level of risk of bias. CONCLUSIONS: Given the limited number of available studies on WB-EMS, the scarce amount of scientific evidence found does not allow definitive conclusions about its effects; therefore, future studies about WB-EMS are necessary.

The importance of a multidisciplinary team and the conditioning services in elite clubs of roller hockey.

[Purpose] This study describes and compares the conditioning services of the roller hockey teams of the two most important leagues in Spain: the OK Liga and the First Division. [Subjects and Methods] A survey was administered to the people responsible for physical preparation. The response rate was 93%. [Results] 75% of the OK Liga teams have hired someone full time exclusively for training, with a university degree. The percentage was significantly lower in the First Division, at a 43.7%. A low percentage of the physical trainers continued with their academic training, and the consultation of scientific journals. The main deficiencies are associated with the strength training equipment and facilities. In the First Division teams, significant deficiencies were found in most of the variables associated with the training environment. These results show significant deficiencies in the conditioning services offered by the teams to their players, especially in non-professional and lower performance level teams. [Conclusion] Spanish physical trainers should take advantage of advances in scientific knowledge in the area of conditioning by studying Masters and consulting scientific journals. The clubs directors and/or coaches should be aware of the importance of conditioning to improve the training environment. Both aspects would offer a better training and rehabilitation procedure in the club.

Global research trends on cardiac troponin and physical activity among pediatric populations: a bibliometric analysis and science mapping study.

Background: Cardiac troponin (cTn) is a reliable marker for evaluating myocardial damage. cTn is a very specific protein involved in myocardial injury, and it is a key factor in the diagnosis of coronary syndromes. Bibliometric analysis was applied in the present work, with the main goal of evaluating global research on the topic of cardiac troponin in pediatric populations. Methods: Publications about cardiac troponin and physical activity in pediatric populations were retrieved from the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) of the Web of Science Core Collection, and they were then analyzed. The study was able to identify the key bibliometric indicators, such as publications, keywords, authors, countries, institutions, and journals. For the analysis, VOSviewer, R-based Bibliometrix (4.2.2), and MapChart were used. Results: Initially, 98 documents were identified; however, once inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, the number of documents decreased to 88. The search yielded 79 original research articles and 9 reviews, almost all of which were published in the past 2 decades. The total number of citations (Nc) of the retrieved publications was 1,468, and the average number of citations per article (Na) was 16.68. In general, 508 authors were found to have participated in research about troponin; they were associated with 256 institutions, and their work was published in 65 different journals from around the world. The authors hailed from 30 countries and/or regions. The year 2022 was the most productive year for the publication of the selected documents. The bibliometric analysis provided information regarding levels of cooperation among authors and institutions. In fact, China, the United States, and England were the most productive nations, and the journal with the greatest number of publications on the topic was Pediatric Cardiology. Summary: The number of publications and the trend line show that research on this topic has not yet reached a stage of maturity. There are referent investigators, countries, and institutions that have laid the foundations for subsequent studies on the analyzed topic.

Cardiac Troponin Release after Exercise in Healthy Young Athletes: A Systematic Review.

Cardiac troponin (cTn) is a recognized marker used to assess damage to the heart muscle. Actual research has indicated that the levels of cTn increase after doing exercise in individuals who are in good health, and this is believed to be a result of a normal cellular process rather than a pathological one. The main goal of this study was to investigate the evidence of a postexercise release of cTn in child and adolescent athletes (6-17.9 years old) of different ages, sex, and sports disciplines. The Web of Science, MEDLINE, and Scopus databases were used to conduct the research up to March 2023. Three hundred and twenty-eight records were identified from the databases, however, only twenty-three studies were included in the review after being screened and quality-assessed by two independent authors. The gender, age of the participants, maturational status, and training level of the participants, the timing of sample collection, the exercise modality, and the number of participants with values above the cut-off reference were the data analyzed. Males, older young people, and individual sports seemed to have higher levels of serum cTn after practice exercise. Different methodologies, analyzers, and cut-off reference values make it difficult to compare the data among studies.

Physical Activity and Sleep Quality in Spanish Primary School Children: Mediation of Sex and Maturational Stage.

BACKGROUND: sleep is a physiological process that is critical for physical and mental health in children. Childhood encompasses diverse developmental stages that may affect the impact of physical activity on sleep quality, which may also be influenced by sex. The purpose of this study was to examine the mediation effect of sex and, as well as maturational stage on the association between physical activity and sleep quality, among primary school children. METHODS: this was a cross-sectional study of 954 Spanish primary school students (437 early childhood and 517 middle childhood) with a mean age of 10.5 ± 1.2 years. Participants reported their sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and their physical activity levels using the Physical Activity Questionnaire. RESULTS: our study found that physical activity is associated with improved sleep quality in children, particularly during middle childhood. Higher physical activity was linked to better sleep quality and reduced sleep latency (p = 0.044). Sleep quality was generally better in males than in females (p = 0.002) and was also better in early than middle childhood (p = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: especially in middle childhood, physical activity promotes children's sleep quality. Thus, educational institutions should promote or improve the implementation of physical activity in the school context in order to benefit children's sleep quality and, hence, improve their quality of life and wellbeing.

The Top 100 Most Cited Scientific Papers in the Public, Environmental & Occupational Health Category of Web of Science: A Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis.

(1) Background: The main basis for the public recognition of the merits of scientists has always been the system of scientific publications and citations. Our goal is to identify and analyze the most cited articles in the Public, Environmental & Occupational Health category. (2) Methods: We searched the Web of Science for all articles published in the "Public, Environmental & Occupational Health" category up to March 2022 and selected the 100 most cited articles. We recorded the number of citations, the journal, the year of publication, quartile, impact factor, institution, country, authors, topic, type of publication and collaborations. (3) Results: 926,665 documents were analyzed. The top 100 had 401,620 citations. The journal with the most articles was the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology and the one with the highest number of citations was Medical Care. The year with the highest number of articles in the top 100 was 1998. The country with the highest percentage of publications was the USA and the most productive institution was Harvard. The most frequent keywords were bias, quality, and extension. The largest collaboration node was between the USA, Canada, Germany, Spain, Australia, France, and Sweden. (4) Conclusions: This bibliometric study on Public, Environmental & Occupational Health provides valuable information not only to identify topics of interest in the analyzed category, but also to identify the differences in the topics they study.

Effects of Whole Body Electromyostimulation on Physical Fitness and Health in Postmenopausal Women: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Age-related problems such as chronic diseases, functional limitation and dependence, reduce the quality of life in the elderly, and increase public spending in health. It has been established that physical activity plays a fundamental role in the health of the elderly. The whole body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) could be a successful methodology as high-intensity training to improve the physical fitness of older people. Methods: A minimum of 13 women between 55 and 70 years old will be randomized in two groups. The exercise with WB-EMS group (EX + WB-EMS) will conduct a resistance strength training program with superimposed WB-EMS while the exercise group (EX) will perform only resistance strength and aerobic training. Balance, strength, flexibility, agility, speed, and aerobic performance (EXERNET battery and progressive resistance test), as well as body composition, blood parameters and physical activity reporting (IPAQ-E) will be assessed to analyze the effects of whole body electromyostimulation in the physical fitness and the health in postmenopausal women. Discussion: Innovative and scientifically well-designed protocols are needed to enhance the knowledge of the body's responses within this training methodology which is being used by a big quantity of population. This trial will provide evidence on the effectiveness of whole-body electromyostimulation in physical fitness and health in elderly women. Trial Registration: ISRCTN15558857 registration data: 27/11/2019 (retrospectively registered).

Cardiac Troponin T Release after Football 7 in Healthy Children and Adults.

The objective of this study was to compare the release of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) after a football 7 match between two cohorts of children and adult players. Thirty-six male football players (children = 24, adult = 12) played a football 7 match, and cTnT was measured before, and 3 h after exercise. Concentrations of cTnT were compared between groups and time, and correlated with participants' characteristics, as well as internal and external exercise load. Cardiac troponin T was elevated in all participants (p < 0.001), and exceeded the upper reference limit for myocardial infarction in 25 (~70%) of them. Baseline concentrations were higher in adults (p < 0.001), but the elevation of cTnT was comparable between the groups (p = 0.37). Age (p < 0.001), body mass (p = 0.001) and height (p < 0.001), and training experience (p = 0.001) were associated to baseline cTnT values, while distance (p < 0.001), mean speed (p < 0.001), and peak (p = 0.013) and mean (p = 0.016) heart rate were associated to the elevation of cTnT. The present study suggests that a football 7 match evoked elevations of cTnT during the subsequent hours in healthy players regardless of their age. However, adults might present higher resting values of cTnT than children. In addition, results suggest that the exercise-induced elevations of cTnT might be mediated by exercise load but not participant characteristics.

Impact of Whole Body Electromyostimulation on Velocity, Power and Body Composition in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Menopause is associated with losses in strength and power along with weight and fat mass gains, which may result from menopause-related hormonal changes, aging-associated diseases, and decreased physical activity time. The objective of this study is to analyze if whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) is suitable for the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal physical deterioration. Thirty-four healthy sedentary women between 55 and 69 years followed an experimental design pre-post test. Both groups conducted 10 weeks of aerobic and strength training program. The experimental group conducted the training with superimposed WB-EMS during exercise. At the end of the intervention, the experimental group obtained better power (Squat: mean difference (MD) = 38.69 W [1.75,75.62], d = 0.81; Bench press: MD = 25.64 W [17.48, 33.82], d = 2.39) and velocity (Squat: MD = 0.04 m·s-1 [0.01, 0.08], d = 0.98; Bench press: MD = 0.10 m·s-1 [0.06, 0.14], d = 1.90) score improvements than the other group (pBonferroni < 0.05). Furthermore, trivial to small effects were found in the body composition of the participants of both groups (p > 0.050). WB-EMS showed a favorable isolated effect on the development of power and velocity, but it induced negligible effects on the body composition of postmenopausal women.

Effect of Training Load on Post-Exercise Cardiac Troponin T Elevations in Young Soccer Players.

Training load (TL) metrics are usually assessed to estimate the individual, physiological and psychological, acute, and adaptive responses to training. Cardiac troponins (cTn) reflect myocardial damage and are routinely analyzed for the clinical diagnosis of myocardial injury. The association between TL and post-exercise cTn elevations is scarcely investigated in young athletes, especially after playing common team sports such as soccer. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between TL measurements during a small-sided soccer game and the subsequent increase in cTn in young players. Twenty male soccer players (age 11.9 ± 2 years, height 151 ± 13 cm, weight 43 ± 13 kg) were monitored during a 5 × 5 small-sided game and had blood samples drawn before, immediately after, and 3 h after exercise for a posterior analysis of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT). Internal, external, and mixed metrics of TL were obtained from the rating of perceived exertion (RPE), heart rate (HR), and GPS player tracking. The results show that the concentration of hs-cTnT peaked at 3 h post-exercise in all participants. The magnitude of hs-cTnT elevation was mainly explained by the exercise duration in the maximal heart rate zone (Maximum Probability of Effect (MPE) = 92.5%), time in the high-speed zone (MPE = 90.4 %), and distance in the high-speed zone (MPE = 90.45%). Our results support the idea that common metrics of TL in soccer, easily obtained using player tracking systems, are strongly associated with the release of hs-cTnT in children and adolescents.

Physical activity, eating habits and tobacco and alcohol use in students of a Catalan university / Actividad física, hábitos alimenticios y consumo de tabaco y alcohol en estudiantes de una universidad catalana

Abstract Introduction: University populations are considered as vulnerable groups when it comes to acquiring health habits. Objective: The aim of this study is to know the levels of physical activity and health habits of the students of the University of Lleida. Methods: Healthy habits and the practice of physical activity in university students were evaluated through the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). Results: 600 students from the University of Lleida participated during the period 2014-2015. 30.7% of them smoked, while 96.7% reported alcohol consupmtion, and 75.5% practiced physical activity. More than 62% of male students practiced physical activity between 3 and 7 days a week compared to 33.5% of women (p=0.000). More than 30% of the students ingested fruit every day and 65% did so at least 4 days a week. 19.4% of women and 7.9% of men consumed fruit daily, finding significant differences (p=0.001). Conclusions: 30% of the participant did not meet the minimum recommendations of physical activity. A high percentage of participants have a low fruits and vegetables consumption and a high prevalence of risk of alcohol consumption. An educational intervention by universities is suggested to encourage the practice of healthy habits in students.

Resumen Introducción. La población universitaria se considera un colectivo vulnerable a la hora de adquirir hábitos de salud. Objetivo. Conocer los niveles de actividad física y los hábitos de salud de los estudiantes de la Universidad de Lleida. Materiales y métodos. Se valoraron los hábitos saludables y la práctica de actividad física en estudiantes universitarios mediante el cuestionario Global Physical Activity Questionnarie. Resultados. Participaron 600 estudiantes de la Universidad de Lleida durante el periodo 2014-2015; 30.7% fumaba, 96.7% consumía alcohol y 75.5% practicaba actividad física. Más del 62% de los hombres practicaban actividad física entre 3 y 7 días a la semana frente al 33.5% de las mujeres (p=0.000). Más del 30% de estudiantes ingirió fruta cada día y 65% lo hizo al menos 4 días a la semana; en específico, 19.4% de las mujeres y 7.9% de hombres consumía fruta a diario, encontrándose diferencias significativas (p=0.001). Conclusiones. El 30% de los estudiantes no cumple con las recomendaciones mínimas de actividad física. Un alto porcentaje de los participantes tiene escaso consumo de frutas y verduras y presenta elevada prevalencia de consumo de riesgo de alcohol. Se sugiere una intervención educativa en estudiantes y por parte de las universidades respecto a la práctica de hábitos saludables.

Análisis bibliometrico de las tesis doctorales españolas en artes marciales y publicaciones científicas de sus autores / Análise bibliométrica das teses de doutorado na Espanha em artes marciais e publicações científicas de seus autores / Bibliometric analysis of Spanish doctoral thesis in martial arts and scientific publications of their authors

El objetivo es verificar si la obtención del título de Doctor es un factor que promueve la formación de nuevos investigadores. Presentar el índice h de los doctores autores así como la relación que hay con medidas utilizadas para evaluar la productividad investigadora, como número de artículos e índice de citas. Mediante la base de datos TESEO y Web of Science se obtuvieron los registros de trabajos. Los resultados mostraron un total de 86 tesis (2,2 tesis/año), más de 285 trabajos en Web of Science, con media de 5,81 trabajos/autor. La media de citas por trabajo es de 4,25, mientras que la de citas por autor se sitúa en 24,73. La media general de índice h es de 2,02 por autor. Se concluyen baja producción de tesis doctorales en España en Artes Marciales. Más de la mitad de los doctores-autores publican trabajos en Web of Science con notable difusión científica de sus tesis.

O objetivo é verificar se a obtenção do título de Doutor é um fator que promove a formação de novos investigadores. Apresentar o índice h dos doutores-autores, bem como a relação que existe com as medidas utilizadas para avaliar a produtividade da pesquisa, como número de artigos e índice de citações. Mediante o banco de dados TESEO e a Web of Science obteve-se os registros do trabalho. Os resultados mostraram um total de 86 teses (2,2 teses/ano), mais de 285 trabalhos na Web of Science, com uma média de 5,81 trabalhos/autor. O número médio de consultas por trabalho é de 4,25, enquanto o número de consultas por autor é de 24,73. O índice geral h-index é 2.02 por autor. Concluímos baixa produção de teses de doutorado em Espanha em artes marciais. Mais de metade dos autores doutores-autores publicam trabalhos na Web of Science com notável difusão científica de suas teses.

The objective is to verify if obtaining the title of Doctor is a factor that promotes the formation of new investigators. Present of the h-index of the authors-authors as well as the relationship that exists with measures used to evaluate research productivity, such as number of articles and index of citations. The TESEO and Web of Science database obtained the work records. The results showed a total of 86 theses (2.2 theses / year) more than 285 works in Web of Science, with an average of 5.81 works / author. The average number of appointments per work is 4.25, while the number of appointments per author stands at 24.73. The overall mean h-index is 2.02 per author. We conclude a low production of doctoral theses in Spain in Martial Arts. More than half of the doctor-authors publish works in Web of Science with a remarkable scientific diffusion of their theses.

Disponibilidad en abierto de los artículos en web of science y scopus que publican y citan los profesores universitarios de educación física: el caso de España / Open access to the papers in web of science and scopus published and cited by physical education university lecturers: the case of Spain / Acesso aberto a artigos científicos nos repositórios web of science e scopus que publicam e citam os professores universitários de educação física: o caso de Espanha

La publicación en abierto de los artículos y el depósito en repositorios o páginas mejoran el avance de la ciencia. El objetivo de este trabajo es identificar estas prácticas en las revistas que publican y citan los profesores universitarios españoles. En este trabajo, además, se analizan las bases de datos de Web of Science (WoS) y Scopus y la cantidad de artículos por autor y el número de autores por artículo. El estudio pone de manifiesto que las revistas indexadas a Scopus reciben más citas que las indexadas en WoS. Más del 75% del profesorado no publica artículos en revistas indexadas en las bases de datos analizadas. El promedio de autores firmantes por artículo es de 5,4 autores para WoS y 6,4 en Scopus. El número de artículos es de 7,7 en WoS y 9,7 en Scopus. La mayoría de revistas no publican sus trabajos con acceso abierto y pocas revistas disponen de información sobre el depósito en repositorios. En relación con el número total de citas y artículos en WoS y Scopus se dan correlaciones altamente positivas. Por último, se concluye sobre la necesidad de abertura de la información científica a toda la comunidad internacional, esta práctica mejoraría la difusión e impacto de las revistas.

A publicação aberta de artigos e o depósito em repositórios ou páginas contribuem para a divulgação e o debate científico. O objetivo deste trabalho é identificar estas práticas nas revistas que publicam e citam professores universitários espanhóis. Para além disto, neste trabalho, analisa-se as bases de dados da Web of Science (WoS) e Scopus e número de artigos por autor e o número de autores por artigo. O estudo mostra que as revistas indexadas no Scopus recebem mais citações que as indexadas na WoS. Mais de 75 % dos professores não publicam artigos em revistas indexadas nas bases de dados analisadas. O número médio de autores por artigo é de 5,4 autores em WoS e 6,4 en Scopus. E o número de artigos por professor é de 7,7 WoS y 9,7 Scopus. A maiorias das revistas não publica es seus artigos em acesso aberto e poucas dispõem de informação sobre o depósito em repositórios. Em relação ao número total de citações e artigos em WoS e Scopus verificaram-se correlações altamente positivas. Por fim, concluiu-se sobre a necessidade da abertura da informação científica para a comunidade internacional, prática esta que poderia melhorar a difusão e o impacto das revistas.

Open publication of papers and articles in open-access archives or sites contributes to moving science forward. this paper aims to identify this practice in journals published and cited by spanish university lecturers. besides, this study compares databases extracted from web of science (wos) and scopus and analyses the number of papers of author as well as the number of authors for each paper. the study reveals that the journals indexed in scopus receive more citations than those indexed in wos. over 75% of lecturers do not publish papers in journals indexed in the databases under analysis. the average of authors per paper is between 5.4 for wos vs. 6.4 for scopus. while the number of papers for each lecturer ranges between 7.7 for wos vs 9.7 for scopus. most journals do not grant open access to their contents and very few of them have information about archives. as regards the total number of citations and papers in wos and scopus, the study has found highly positive correlations. finally, this paper concludes that there is a need to open up scientific information to the international community as a whole, and that such a practice would contribute to increasing the papers’ circulation and impact on the scientific community.