Perceptual and Motor Skills最新文献

For judo athletes with visual impairments and their coaches, understanding possible muscle adaptations can be challenging. As it is commonplace for these adaptations to include interlimb asymmetry, we analyzed the magnitude and direction of interlimb asymmetry in judo athletes with visual impairments and verified the association of this asymmetry with their unilateral physical performances. Participants were 18 elite judo athletes (10 male, 8 female) with visual impairments. These athletes performed three physical tests: countermovement jump (CMJ), medicine ball throw (MBT), and handgrip strength (HGS), while we conducted unilateral right and left side assessments using the interlimb asymmetry equation for each physical test. Our main results showed that the CMJ and MBT tests presented asymmetry values above 10%; with CMJ significantly higher than HGS (p = 0.050), and with inconsistencies across the three tests in the direction of interlimb asymmetry (k = -0.22-0.26). Unilateral CMJ (left limb) was negatively correlated with asymmetry (r = -0.51; p = 0.031), and unilateral MBT (right limb) was positively correlated with asymmetry (r = 0.52; p = 0.024). Based on these results, coaches should prioritize regular assessments of interlimb asymmetry using these specific tests. This data can guide the construction of training programs aimed at minimizing asymmetry and enhancing overall physical performance. Continuous monitoring and adjustment of training strategies based on asymmetry findings are crucial for optimizing muscle balance in judo athletes with visual impairments.

Recent case reports have emphasized the essential clinical contribution of telerehabilitation in the treatment of facial palsy. However, no randomized controlled trial has yet demonstrated the effects of telerehabilitation-based facial exercise therapy. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of video exercise-based telerehabilitation on motor and non-motor clinical outcomes in adults with facial palsy. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with 40 peripheral facial palsy patients. Those in the experimental group (EG) received four weeks of telerehabilitation-based video exercises and routine care. Those in the control group (CG) received only routine care. All participants were evaluated with the Facial Disability Index (FDI), the Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale (FaCE), Short Form-12 (SF-12), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the House-Brackmann Scale (H-B) and the Telemedicine Satisfaction and Usefulness Questionnaire (TSUQ), both before and after the interventions. Both groups demonstrated a significant improvement in FDI, FaCE, and SF-12 PCS scores (p < .05). In addition, there was a significant improvement only in EG on the SF-12 MCS score (p < .05), and there was a significant gain only in CG on the HADS-Depression score (p < .05). While these results provide a further contribution to our understanding of telerehabilitation benefits in mental health variables related to quality of life for facial palsy patients, we found no EG and CG differences on the physical components of treatment.

High competence in fundamental motor skills (FMS) and adequate physical fitness (PF) levels are a solid foundation for acquiring an active and healthy lifestyle during childhood and adolescence. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to compare gender and age groups and identify correlations between FMS and PF in young elementary school students. We used a structured questionnaire to gather sociodemographic information from parents, and we characterized the children's economic profile with the Brazil Social Economic Status Criterion. We collected FMS data using the Furtado-Gallagher Children Observational Movement Pattern Assessment System (FG-COMPASS), and we used the Brazil Sports Project Battery Test to measure PF levels. Statistical analyses involved descriptive data and inferential tests to determine group differences in FMS and PF levels. Hierarchical regression helped identify the associations between FMS and PF, as controlled by sociodemographic factors. Participants were 720 students (and parents) of both genders (383 girls, 337 boys; M age = 8.8, SD = 1.52 years) from grades 1 to 5 in an elementary school in a municipality in the western region of the Paraná state in Brazil. The results showed significant differences in children's motor skills and PF based on gender and age. The hierarchical regression model showed different combinations of flexibility, abdominal resistance, upper limb strength, agility, speed, and lower limb strength, which explained 33.7% of the variability in the global FMS index, 41% of the variability in manipulative skills, and 12.7% of the variability in locomotor skills. In addition, there was a positive association between FMS and PF related to neuromuscular development for both sexes, regardless of age.

Active movement extent discrimination assessment (AMEDA) is a psychophysical task that evaluates proprioception and tactile acuity of the lower limbs, and it is a method of determining sensorimotor ability. Sensorimotor ability is the ability to judge small differences in movement tasks through the process of receiving sensory messages (sensory input) and producing a response (motor output). Participant attention lapses in prior psychophysical studies have been implicated as a cause for increased measurement variance thresholds in these types of assessments. Since minimizing the time needed for the AMEDA may help to reduce attention lapses, we compared the reliability of the 50-repetition AMEDA protocol (Group 1) with that of a 25-repetition protocol (Group 2). We assessed the split half reliability of these two approaches, using the Spearman-Brown Adjusted Pearson correlation (r). For each method, we calculated Bland-Altman Plots and Intra Class Correlation Coefficients to compare the reliability of the two data sets and determine the 95% confidence intervals. Split-half test re-test Spearman-Brown Adjusted Pearson r (r_full) was Group 1 r_full = 0.83 and Group 2 r_full = 0.85. The Bland-Altman Plots indicated only a small degree of bias from the zero-difference line, with 95% of the difference points lying within the limits of agreement. For Group 1, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) two-way, agreement was 0.83 (95% CI 0.54-0.93) and for Group 2, the ICC, two-way, agreement, was 0.85 (95% CI 0.66-0.93). The MDC90 for Group 1 was 0.082 AUC units and for Group 2, it was 0.086 AUC units. The combined data for Group 1 plus Group 2 Bland-Altman Plot indicated only a small degree of bias from the zero-difference line, with 95% of the difference points lying within the limits of agreement. The MDC90 for the combined groups was 0.08 AUC units. The multiple methods from previous research assessing test re-test reliability that we applied to our two data sets indicate that the 25-response AMEDA was a reliable system for evaluating sensorimotor function in the lower limbs and may be an alternative for the more traditional 50-response protocol in which lapses in participant attention from fatigue or other biases may be a concern. There are also practical advantages in time restricted athletic screenings to a shorter administration of this assessment.

In this study, we expanded on previous research by employing a Multiple Indicators, Multiple Independent Causes (MIMIC) model to investigate how gender, age, body mass index (BMI), and perceived stress may have collectively influenced social physique anxiety (SPA) among 593 college kinesiology students. Our MIMIC model revealed that perceived stress, gender, and BMI were significantly related to SPA scores, with perceived stress being the strongest factor. Moreover, the relationship between gender and kinesiology students' SPA scores was consistent across different ages. These findings broaden the spectrum of the current nomological network regarding predictors of SPA. Based on these findings, future researchers should extend the current MIMIC model by including more predictor variables (e.g., depression, mood, & mental toughness) to gain additional and perhaps deeper insights. Additionally, we advocate for the adoption of the MIMIC model of statistical analysis in future SPA research.

The way a map scale is represented plays a key role in comprehending it. In this research, we examined the relationships between the form of representation of the map's scale (numerical scale, linear graphic scale and circular graphic scale), the user's gender, and the distance between two map objects on user estimates of the distance between two objects on the map (i.e., a 5, 10, 15 and 20-min walk). We gave 183 college students 84 maps of three types: 28 numerical scale, 28 linear graphic scale, and 28 circular graphic scale. Each map presented varied distances to be estimated. We assessed the participants' accurate hits, errors, and their hits minus errors in these distance estimations. Participants had both more hits and more errors on circular scale maps than on linear or numerical scale maps, and the distances between objects and gender also significantly related to the estimated e distance. Both the type of scale and the distance between objects influenced the number of hits minus the number of errors.

Symptoms of "the yips" manifest in various sports and often cause athletes to retire prematurely from competition. While there have been case studies on yips-affected baseballers (YBBs), there has been no comprehensive demographic profile of YBBs, and contributing factors are only partially understood. We aimed to describe youth YBBs' demographic characteristics and explore contributing factors to yips symptoms. We analyzed a self-report questionnaire administered to 285 youth baseballers to investigate yips symptoms and identify both players' psychological characteristics and trigger factors for yips. We defined YBBs as players who exhibited symptoms of involuntary muscle contractions, characterized by jerks, tremors, or freezing during planned movements that resulted in unpredictability when throwing a baseball. Individuals without these symptoms were categorized as non-yips-affected baseballers (NBBs). In our total sample, there was a YBB prevalence of 10.2% with a significantly higher occurrence among pitchers than among players in other positions (p < .05). Additionally, YBBs showed a significantly higher incidence of self-reported anxiety during throwing compared to NBBs (p < .001), and a significantly greater proportion of YBBs than NBBs struggled particularly with gentle or light motion throws (p < .001), especially at short distances (75.0% of the YBBs). Furthermore, 62.1% of YBBs faced difficulties in appropriately releasing the ball. Thus, we found approximately one in 10 youth baseballers experienced yips symptoms that were influenced by throwing distance and high-pressure situations. Our descriptive study advances an understanding of yips-related performance problems in youth baseballers.

The L Test has been developed to assess balance and gait disorders. Our aim in this study was to estimate the test-retest reliability and validity of the L Test when used with 82 persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). For these participants, we examined the degree of agreement between the results of a first and second administration of the L Test (separated by one day), using Bland-Altman analysis and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs). We computed minimal detectable change (MDC) and standard error of measurement (SEM) values for the L Test and evaluated concurrent validity by correlating L Test results with the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) and the 10-minute Walk Test (10MWT). Prior to administering these measurements, we randomized the sequence of the test administrations to our participants. The Bland-Altman analysis showed that L Test was reproducible, with upper and lower limits of agreement of 0.99 and -1.45 seconds, respectively. The L Test demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability, with an ICC value of 0.996 (95% CI: 0.994-0.998). Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.996. The performance of the L Test is measured by seconds required to complete the task, and we found the L Test SEM value to be 0.35 seconds, and its MDC value to be 0.97 seconds. The L Test showed a strong correlation with both the TUG test (rho = 0.936; p < .001) and the 10MWT (rho = 0.925; p < .001). We concluded that the L Test is a reliable and valid tool for assessing functional mobility and balance in PwMS.

The 8-item Passion Scale (PS-8) is a unidimensional instrument used in dual versus single passion research. The PS-8 was validated in Icelandic, Persian, and Turkish student samples. In this study, we translated the PS-8 and validated it with physically active and inactive adults from Hungary. We also evaluated measurement invariance (across gender, physical activity, exercise frequency, and age groups) of the Hungarian version of the Passion scale (PS-8-HU). Data were collected online between fall 2023 and winter 2024, including a test and retest phase. The sample comprised 729 Hungarian physically active and inactive adults (68% females, 32% males; ages 18-78 years), of whom 196 participated in the retest. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), item analysis, correlations, t-test and ANOVA in checking the scale's validity and reliability, and we used a multigroup CFA to test the measurement invariance. The results supperted a univariate structure of the PS-8-HU. The instrument was invariant for gender (at the strict level), exercise frequency (metric), physical activity (metric), and age (scalar). The internal reliability of the PS-8-HU was .93 and test-retest reliability was .77. The PS-8-HU also exhibited good concurrent and construct validities, high homogeneity, and adequate discriminant validity.

The ORTO-15 is a commonly used screening instrument for symptoms of Orthorexia Nervosa (ON), an obsessive overconcern with healthy eating. However, its limitations have been evidenced in several published factorial models. We analyzed the psychometric properties of seven different ORTO-15 factorial models using data from Brazilian adult participants (n = 1455; 71.4% women; M age = 29.5, SD = 8.9 years) from the country's five macro-regions who answered online questions for sample characterization and completed the Portuguese version of the ORTO-15 containing 15 items. We tested the fit of each model separately, analyzing data for men and women with separate confirmatory factor analysis, and using the Weighted Least Squares Mean and Variance Adjusted estimation method and goodness-of-fit indices. We also calculated the average variance extracted and the alpha ordinal and omega coefficients to analyze the convergent validity and reliability of the factors. None of the models tested presented adequate properties of validity and reliability. Although we found some acceptable reliability coefficients, they do not guarantee the validity of the data. Future investigators should be cautious when choosing the ORTO-15 for ON screening.