JOURNAL OF BODYWORK AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES最新文献

Background

Suryanamaskar (SN) is a popular yogic practice due to its health benefits and fitness promises. This study aims to assess the acute effects of different paces of SN on cardiorespiratory responses and heart rate variability (HRV).

Methods

In this self-as-control comparative study, seventeen male yoga practitioners performed three rounds of SN at fast (FSN), slow (SSN), and graded (GSN) pace in a randomly allocated sequence. Cardiorespiratory responses and HRV kinetics were continuously monitored using a metabolic gas analyzer and heart rate sensor, respectively, and were analyzed by repeated-measures ANOVA and paired t-test.

Results

FSN involved the highest VO₂, followed by GSN and SSN. Average HR (AHR) was significantly greater during FSN compared to SSN (p < 0.01; d = 0.81) and GSN (p < 0.05; d = 0.39). GSN demanded significantly higher (p < 0.05; d = 0.41) stroke volume compared to FSN. VO₂, AHR, and energy expenditure (EE) showed a gradual increase across rounds in FSN and SSN, whereas in GSN those significantly reduced. SSN showed significantly lesser EE, fat% utilization, and METS as compared to FSN (p < 0.001) and GSN (p < 0.01). SSN also showed significantly reduced LF power (p < 0.01; d = 0.67), LF/HF ratio, and higher HF power than GSN and FSN.

Conclusion

FSN is more metabolically demanding compared to the other two paces. SSN is more effective in bringing a state of parasympathetic dominance and GSN brings progressive relaxation. The results provide insights into the acute HRV and cardio-metabolic responses to different SN paces suggesting its potential as a complementary therapy and to promote holistic health and well-being.

Background

Radial pressure wave (RPW) has been introduced to sports sites as an alternative tool to massage, and there have been reports of irradiating muscles. This study aimed to clarify the effects of RPW irradiation on muscles, focusing on muscle morphology and muscle/fascial elasticity.

Methods

The participants were 23 healthy, able-bodied participants. Muscle morphology (muscle thickness, pinnate angle, muscle fascicle length), muscle and fascia elasticity (deep fascia, subfascial, muscle, deep intermuscular fascia) of the gastrocnemius medial head using ultrasound imaging equipment before and after RPW irradiation intervention. The maximum ankle dorsiflexion range of motion and isometric maximum plantarflexion muscle strength were also measured.

Results

Before and after RPW irradiation to the triceps surae muscle, muscle thickness, decreased pinnate angle, and increase in maximum ankle dorsiflexion range of motion were observed. No significant changes were observed in muscle fascicle length and maximal isometric plantarflexion strength. In addition, a significant decrease in elasticity was observed in deep fascia, subfascial, and muscle, and the change was particularly large in deep fascia and deep intermuscular fascia.

Conclusion

It was suggested that RPW irradiation to muscles might improve fascial gliding and reduce muscle elasticity. It was also found to improve joint range of motion while maintaining muscle output.

Trial registration number (Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCT))

Current Controlled Trials jRCT1032210104, May 21, 2021.

Introduction

Epimuscular myofascial force transmission can occur bidirectionally between muscles and nerves through a connecting neurovascular tract. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a neurodynamic stress test produces stiffness changes in the adjacent myotendinous complex. The authors also assessed which anatomical variables had an impact on elasticity changes provoked by the maneuver.

Methods

A convenience sample of healthy adults (n = 39) recruited from a university population who met the inclusion criteria participated voluntarily in this study. Using Shear-Wave elastography, stiffness data were obtained for the ulnar nerve, flexor carpi ulnaris tendon and muscle before and after a neural tensioning maneuver.

Results

Following an ulnar nerve stretch, statistically significant differences were obtained in neural stiffness increase in nerve (p < 0.001), tendon (p < 0.001) and muscle (p = 0.046), with a moderate (d = 0.538), small (d = 0.485) and small (d = 0.224) effect sizes, respectively. The changes obtained were greater in those individuals with a smaller anatomical distance between nerve and tendon.

Conclusions

Alterations in peripheral neural tissue tension involves elasticity changes in adjacent musculoskeletal tissue mediated by the neurovascular tract. Collateral force transmission was determined by the individual anatomical differences of each subject.

Future research should assess whether the observed increase in myotendinous stiffness due exclusively to the passive transmission of force through the connective bridges between the two tissues studied or if there is a “neuroprotective” muscle contraction following neural stress.

Research question

This study was designed for kinematic clarification of those characteristics of gait in daily gait behavior which are recognized as beautiful.

Methods

The gait motions of 50 healthy adults across a flat floor were measured using a markerless motion capture system. After skeletal modeled gait animations were created, the gait aesthetics of each were rated using a questionnaire survey. Animations were created from two perspectives: sagittal and frontal planes. We asked a third party to observe these animations and to rate the gait beauty. Raters had received no special gait training. The study examined 166 participants in the sagittal plane survey and 175 participants in the frontal plane survey. From the questionnaire survey results, we produced four gait groups and extracted the kinematic characteristics of the gait groups which were recognized as beautiful. The spatiotemporal parameters including arm swing, joint angles of the lower limbs, and trunk tilt angle were calculated and compared statistically among groups.

Results

The following features were extracted as beautiful gait characteristics: (1) long gait cycle; (2) long double limb support time; (3) narrow step width; (4) large arm swing length; (5) hands and feet located close to the central axis of the body; (6) flexion of the knee joints of both legs suppressed during the double limb support phase, with knees kept in extension; and (7) trunk kept in the median or posterior tilt.

Background

In the realm of research, the single case study has been recognized as a valuable tool for sharing insights, demonstrating new concepts, discovering novel phenomena, consolidating hypotheses, and sparking original ideas. In this physician-guided narrative, phenomena previously unreported in the clinical context are explored. These case studies aim to offer insights that may inform an existing theoretical model that encapsulates a distinct therapeutic intervention. Original research in fascia-focused therapies presents many challenges, including the lack of universal terminology, inconsistent techniques, and difficulties in quantifying treatment effects. Tensegrity-based approaches, which concentrate on tissue tension, also face challenges in establishing their validity within living organisms.

For centuries, fascia was seen only as ribbons and sheets of soft, inert, mostly fatty tissue. Consequently, most anatomy textbooks provide a sterile view of anatomical structures devoid of the context of unifying fascia. Now, however, consensus of research describes fascia as an omnipresent, ubiquitous, body-wide tissue that acts as a system, transmitting mechanical information via tensional force changes.

Methods and results

The clinical outcomes in the cases provided in this narrative report suggest that induction of thigh fascia resulted in immediate anatomically distant therapeutic benefit, as reported by the patients.

Conclusions

Rather than measuring treatment efficacy, these two case studies utilize a specific myofascial induction performed at high velocity to elucidate the possibility of a fascia-based, tensegrity-mediated, mechanism for commonly managed, yet often incurable conditions – Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) symptoms and Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) pain (within the spectrum of Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD)).

Objective

Myofascial neck pain, which strongly affects the upper trapezius muscle, is treated by physiotherapists with dry needling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of upper trapezius trigger points (TrPs) dry needling on postural control and balance in chronic neck pain.

Design

Randomized controlled clinical trial.

Subjects

Thirty individuals with chronic neck pain (more than 3 months), aged 18–40 years, neck disability index (NDI) > 10, and pain intensity (PI) between 3 and 6 who have TrP in the upper trapezius.

Method

Thirty individuals were randomly assigned into 2 groups, (i) 15 receiving intervention (real dry needling), and (ii) 15 in the sham group (sham dry needling). Outcomes were range of neck movements, neck disability index, pain intensity, and the mean and standard deviation as well as maximum velocity of center of pressure displacement in the anterior-posterior and medio-lateral directions during balance task on the force plate (1 leg stance and closed eyes) before the intervention and after the fifth and fifteenth (follow-up) days.

Intervention

Upper trapezius dry needling was applied for 3 sessions occurring every other day in a week.

Result

No significant differences were seen between the 2 groups in mean displacement, standard deviation, or maximum velocity in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral axis and range of motion (ROM) except for left lateral bending; however, a significant difference was observed between the 2 groups in pain intensity and neck disability index.

Conclusion

Dry needling on the upper trapezius TrPs does not change postural control but decreases pain and disability.

Objective

The combination of dry needling and stretching has been proposed for the treatment of myofascial trigger points (MTPs), but it is not currently known whether the combination of both interventions would be of greater interest than the application of stretching alone. Thus, this systematic review aimed to compare the effectiveness of deep dry needling with stretching versus stretching alone on pain among patients with MTPs.

Methods

The PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases were searched to identify studies analysing the effect of deep dry needling in combination with stretching versus stretching alone for the treatment of pain. The Cochrane risk of bias 2 tool (RoB2) was used to assess the risk of bias, and the DerSimonian‒Laird method was applied to estimate the pooled standard effect sizes (ESs) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).

Results

Five randomized controlled trials were included in this systematic review, and their pooled ES for pain was −1.73 (95% CI: −3.06; −0.40). The RoB2 tool revealed that four studies had an unclear risk of bias, and one study had a high risk of bias.

Conclusions

Adding deep dry needling to stretching for the treatment of MTP may be an effective approach for the treatment of pain in patients with MTPs. Further research is needed to clarify the ideal number of local twitch responses to perform during deep dry needling.

Introduction

As individuals age, they experience a gradual decline in strength, flexibility, and precision control. While resistance training has shown positive effects on aging, little is known about how beneficial handicrafts could be in effectively promoting motor improvements in aging. This study aimed to compare manual precision, manual grip strength, and upper limb flexibility among three groups of older adult women: (a) regular practitioners of resistance training, (b) regular practitioners of handicrafts, and (c) insufficiently active participants who did not engage in either regular resistance training or handicraft practice.

Methods

A total of 30 women (mean age = 67.86, SD = 7.01) were divided equally into the three groups (n = 10 per group). The participants were asked to perform a manual manipulative precision test, a manual grip strength test, and an upper limb flexibility test.

Results

The participants in the resistance training group exhibited superior precision and strength compared to those in the handicraft group, as well as better precision, strength, and flexibility compared to the control group participants. The handicraft group demonstrated better precision and upper limb flexibility compared to the control group.

Conclusion

Therefore, while resistance training was particularly beneficial for improving these motor skills, engaging in handicrafts also proved to be an effective means of maintaining and/or enhancing certain important motor abilities.

Objective

One of the main contributors to musculoskeletal pain syndromes are myofascial trigger points (MTrPs), which are characterized by discomfort, tenderness, and restricted range of motion (ROM). In this study, patients with upper trapezius myofascial pain syndrome had their pain intensity, cervical range of motion, and disability evaluated in relation to the effectiveness of high intensity laser therapy and dry needling.

Methods

32 participants with active upper trapezius myofascial trigger points were split into two groups at random: one group received high intensity laser treatment (n = 16), while the other received dry needling (n = 16). All participants got relevant intervention twice weekly throughout the three weeks of treatment sessions (5 sessions). Before and after the intervention, the cervical range of movements, disability and Pain intensity were all assessed by iPhone inclinometer & goniometer, neck disability index and visual analog scale respectively.

Results

The visual analog scale and neck disability index significantly reduced post-intervention in both groups (P < 0.001). Moreover, the cervical range of motions significantly increased in both groups (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in pain intensity, neck disability index and the cervical range of motions between the two groups (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

Active myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle may be effectively treated with dry needling or high-intensity laser therapy.

Introduction

Rugby union has been increasingly attracting a multitude of enthusiasts over the past years. Nevertheless, there is a need for a more profound understanding of body composition, particularly regarding body fluids, and phase angle by playing position in rugby union athletes.

Methods

This study aimed to compare body composition components and phase angle among rugby union athletes based on their playing positions (forwards vs. backs). The sample consisted of 26 male athletes from rugby union clubs in Florianópolis, Brazil. Body composition [fat mass, lean soft tissue mass (LSTM)], body fluids (total body water, intra and extracellular water, and their proportions) and phase angle were evaluated using dual emission X-ray absorptiometry and bioelectrical impedance analysis, respectively. Statistical analysis was carried out using the analysis of covariance to compare body composition, and phase angle between playing positions (forwards vs. backs).

Results

The primary findings indicated that rugby union athletes playing as forwards demonstrated higher values for fat mass, FFBM, and body fluids (total body water, intracellular, and extracellular water) compared to those playing as backs (p < 0.01). No difference was observed between playing positions for the other variables.

Conclusions

Body composition may vary depending on the playing position in rugby union athletes.