Josevan Cerqueira Leal

Background and Purpose: Cognitive impairment manifests early in Parkinson’s disease (PD), adversely affecting patients’ daily activities and mental health. Utilizing exergames via the Xbox 360 Kinect (XBK) console presents a promising therapeutic avenue to mitigate cognitive decline in PD. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of the XBK system in enhancing cognitive performance and reducing anxiety levels among individuals with PD. Method: A non‐randomized controlled trial, controlled, single‐blind clinical trial was conducted. Forty‐three PD participants were selected through convenience sampling and non‐randomly assigned to either the XBK experimental group ( n = 23) or the Control Group ( n = 23). Participants underwent pre, post, and 30‐day post‐intervention evaluations using the Digit Span Tests, Semantics, Verbal Fluency Test, and Beck Anxiety Inventory. The control group received no intervention, while the experimental group underwent 10 sessions employing four XBK games. This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of the University of Brasília (Approval No. 2.109.826). Analysis of variance (ANOVA 2 × 3) with Sidak post hoc test and Bonferroni correction was utilized to examine intergroup outcomes. Results: The XBK‐trained group exhibited enhancements in short‐term memory post‐intervention ( p = 0.04) and at follow‐up ( p = 0.01), as well as operational memory post‐intervention ( p = 0.006) and at follow‐up ( p = 0.001), although without significant between‐group differences. Although no significant interaction effect was observed ( p = 0.126), a reduction in anxiety levels was verified up to 30 days post‐training ( p = 0.03), exclusively within the XBK group, accompanied by a significant between‐group difference ( p = 0.01), also in follow‐up. Discussion: Although the intervention did not demonstrate a superior effect compared with the control group, our findings suggest that training with the Xbox 360 Kinect may have the potential to reduce anxiety in individuals with Parkinson's disease. Further research through randomized clinical trials is necessary to validate these findings and evaluate the long‐term benefits of this intervention. Trail Registration: University of Brasília, CAAE: 12248513.9.0000.0030. N°: 2.109.826 https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR‐7h6b8mg .

Objetivo: Avaliar o equilíbrio dinâmico de atletas de voleibol universitário em comparação com mulheres sedentárias. Métodos: A amostra total foi constituída por 24 participantes, com idades entre 18 e 35 anos, distribuídas em dois grupos: 12 atletas de voleibol feminino universitário e 12 mulheres classificadas como sedentárias, conforme o Questionário Internacional de Atividade Física (IPAQ). Para a avaliação do equilíbrio dinâmico, foram selecionados o Y-Balance Test (YBT) e o Side Hop Test (Teste de salto lateral). Os dados foram analisados no Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) versão 20.0 e o nível de significância adotado foi de 5%. Resultados: As atletas de voleibol feminino universitário apresentaram médias de alcance significativamente maiores para o membro inferior não dominante na direção anterior (p=0,018) e nas direções posteromedial (p=0,009) e posterolateral (p=0,017) com o membro inferior dominante, quando comparadas às mulheres sedentárias. Para as demais variáveis, não foram observadas diferenças estatisticamente significativas. Não houve diferenças significativas entre os valores de alcance do membro inferior dominante em relação ao não dominante em nenhuma das variáveis testadas. Ambos os grupos apresentaram valores de score composto inferiores ao determinado pela literatura. Conclusão: Conclui-se que atletas de voleibol feminino universitário apresentam maiores valores de média de alcance para a direção anterior com o membro não dominante e para as direções posteromedial e posterolateral com o membro dominante, sugerindo que a prática regular do voleibol contribui para a função do equilíbrio.

Handball is a collective sport that involves a large amount and variety of movement associated with ball manipulation and interaction with other athletes. The objective was to verify the incidence of injuries in a university handball team with male and female athletes, as well as to identify the most frequent type of injury and the body segment most affected by it. A cohort study was carried out, related to the incidence of injuries that occurred during the 2019 season in a university team. Were observed 29 injuries, 11 in men (37,93%) and 18 (62,07%) in women. There were more injuries in games than during training and the most affected places were the ankle (24,14%) and the shoulder (17,24%). The most recurrent diagnoses were sprain and contusion (20,69%), followed by muscle injury (17,24%). The study observed that the female team suffered more injuries than the male team and that these occurred mostly in the lower limbs, taking the athletes largely to a few days away. Key words: handball; injury; incidence; physical therapy; sport.

The impact of pain and fatigue on the upper limb (UL) function of people with Multiple Sclerosis (PMS) is well-known, but the relations between them are poorly understood. This study aimed to verify the frequency of the types of pain and the relationship between pain and factors that limit UL function in PMS. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Pain was evaluated by Functional Assessment of Quality of Life in PMS. UL function was evaluated by the hand grip strength and by the Test d’ Evaluation de la performance des Membres Supérieurs des Personnes Âgées (TEMPA), while the fatigue was evaluated by the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale. Correlations between pain and the other variables were analyzed with the Pearson coefficient. A simple linear regression was used to determine the influence of pain on fatigue. Sample was composed of 32 PMS diagnosed with relapsing remitting type. Muscle pain was the most common type of pain reported by participants (40%). Pain correlated strongly only with fatigue and explained 28% (R2 = 0.28) of the variance in fatigue scores. This study showed strong association between muscle pain and fatigue (r = - 0.52; p <0.01), and no association between pain and UL function. Keywords: Demyelination; symptoms; relations The impact of pain and fatigue on the upper limb (UL) function of people with Multiple Sclerosis (PMS) is well-known, but the relations between them are poorly understood. This study aimed to verify the frequency of the types of pain and the relationship between pain and factors that limit UL function in PMS. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Pain was evaluated by Functional Assessment of Quality of Life in PMS. UL function was evaluated by the hand grip strength and by the Test d’ Evaluation de la performance des Membres Supérieurs des Personnes Âgées (TEMPA), while the fatigue was evaluated by the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale. Correlations between pain and the other variables were analyzed with the Pearson coefficient. A simple linear regression was used to determine the influence of pain on fatigue. Sample was composed of 32 PMS diagnosed with relapsing remitting type. Muscle pain was the most common type of pain reported by participants (40%). Pain correlated strongly only with fatigue and explained 28% (R2 = 0.28) of the variance in fatigue scores. This study showed strong association between muscle pain and fatigue (r = - 0.52; p <0.01), and no association between pain and UL function.

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurological condition resulting from the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Impaired manual dexterity and cognitive impairment are common symptoms and are often associated with recurrent adverse events in this population.Objective: To verify the association between cognitive performance and manual dexterity in people with PD.Methods: This is a cross‐sectional observational study, with 29 participants, who underwent cognitive and manual dexterity assessments, and the following tools were used: Trail Making Test, box and block test (BBT), Learning Test of Rey and Nine Hole Peg Test. Descriptive statistics for clinical and demographic data were performed using mean and standard deviation, and data normality was assessed using the Shapiro–Wilk test. Spearman's nonparametric test was used to determine the correlation between variables.Results: Our findings revealed significant associations between cognitive performance and manual dexterity. The nine‐hole peg test positively correlated with TMT—Part A and Part B, establishing a relationship between manual dexterity and cognitive functions such as attention and mental flexibility. On the other hand, BBT showed an inverse relationship with TMT—Part B, indicating that longer time on this task was associated with lower manual dexterity.Conclusion: Fine manual dexterity had a significant correlation with visual search skills and motor speed, while gross motor dexterity had a negative correlation with cognitive skills. No significant results were demonstrated regarding the interaction between manual dexterity and memory.

Durante a prática de taekwondo com movimentos repetitivos, sistematizados e com certa sobrecarga de treino, o indivíduo pode gerar possíveis adaptações orgânicas que resultam em problemas posturais com grandes chances de desencadear desequilíbrio muscular. Objetivo: Verificar a presença de desequilíbrio entre os grupos musculares agonistas e antagonistas da articulação do joelho e entre membros dominantes e não dominantes de praticantes de taekwondo por meio da dinamometria isocinética. Método: Estudo transversal, observacional e descritivo realizado com nove praticantes de taekwondo do sexo masculino. Utilizou-se um dinamômetro isocinético para investigar o pico de torque, pico de torque por peso corporal, trabalho total, potência média, relação agonista/antagonista e índice de fadiga. Os dados dos membros dominante e não dominante foram comparados por meio do teste t-student para amostras pareadas. Foram calculados o intervalo de confiança de 95% da diferença média, o tamanho de efeito e o poder das análises. Resultados: Os músculos extensores dos membros dominante e não dominante apresentaram diferença média significante de 15,49 Nm (IC95% 7,27; 23,70; p=0,002) para pico de torque e de 22,64% (IC95% 11,83; 33,46; p=0,001) para pico de torque por peso corporal a 60°/s, representando tamanho de efeito médio. Conclusão: Os atletas de taekwondo apresentaram maior pico de torque e maior pico de torque por peso corporal dos músculos extensores do joelho a 60º/s no lado dominante. A relação agonista/ antagonista foi inferior a 60% e mais da metade dos atletas apresentaram uma diferença maior que 10% no pico de torque flexor no lado não dominante.

A articulação joelho é local de maior prevalência de lesões em atletas de futevôlei, porém não há estudos acerca do equilíbrio muscular do joelho nesta população. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o equilíbrio entre os grupos musculares agonistas e antagonistas que envolvem a articulação do joelho, bem como o equilíbrio entre os lados dominante e não dominante em atletas de futevôlei. Trata-se de um estudo transversal, observacional e analítico no qual foi utilizado um dinamômetro isocinético para avaliar o pico de torque, trabalho total, potência, índice de fadiga e relação agonista/ antagonista de oito atletas. Foi aplicado o teste t-student pareado e adotado o nível de significância de 5%, bem como uma análise qualitativa. Na comparação entre os lados dominantes e não dominante observou-se diferença estatística significante para o pico de torque por peso corporal (p=0,045) e potência a 60 graus/s (p=0,027) na extensão do joelho e para o trabalho total (p=0,025), potência a 60 graus/s (p=0,007) e fadiga a 300 graus/s (p=0.026) na flexão do joelho. Quatro atletas (50%) apresentaram uma diferença maior do que 10% no pico de torque do grupo muscular extensor e três atletas (37,5%) apresentaram uma diferença maior do que 10% no pico de torque do grupo muscular flexor no lado não dominante. Também se observou desequilíbrio entre os grupos musculares agonista/antagonista no lado dominante de quatro atletas (50%) e no lado não dominante de seis atletas (75%). The knee joint is the place with the highest prevalence of injuries in footvolley athletes, but there are no studies on the knee muscle balance in this population. The aim of the study was to evaluate the balance between the agonist and antagonist muscle groups that involve the knee joint, as well as the balance between the dominant and non-dominant sides in footvolley athletes. This is a cross-sectional, observational and analytical study in which an isokinetic dynamometer was used to assess the peak torque, total work, power, fatigue index and agonist / antagonist ratio of eight athletes. The paired t-student test was applied and a significance level of 5% was adopted, as well as a qualitative analysis. In the comparison between dominant and non-dominant sides, a statistically significant difference was observed for peak torque by body weight (p = 0.045) and power at 60 degrees / s (p = 0.027) in knee extension and for total work (p = 0.025), power at 60 degrees / s (p = 0.007) and fatigue at 300 degrees / s (p = 0.026) in knee flexion. Four athletes (50%) showed a difference greater than 10% in the peak torque of the extensor muscle group and three athletes (37.5%) showed a difference greater than 10% in the peak torque of the flexor muscle group on the non-side. dominant. There was also an imbalance between the agonist / antagonist muscle groups on the dominant side of four athletes (50%) and on the non-dominant side of six athletes (75%). Resumen: La articulación de la rodilla es el lugar con mayor prevalencia de lesiones en deportistas de footvolley, pero no existen estudios sobre el equilibrio muscular de la rodilla en esta población. El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar el equilibrio entre los grupos musculares agonistas y antagonistas que involucran la articulación de la rodilla, así como el equilibrio entre los lados dominantes y no dominantes en atletas de footvolley. Se trata de un estudio transversal, observacional y analítico en el que se utilizó un dinamómetro isocinético para evaluar el torque pico, el trabajo total, la potencia, el índice de fatiga y la relación agonista / antagonista de ocho atletas. Se aplicó la prueba t-student pareada y se adoptó un nivel de significancia del 5%, así como un análisis cualitativo. En la comparación entre lados dominantes y no dominantes, se observó una diferencia estadísticamente significativa para el torque pico por peso corporal (p = 0.045) y potencia a 60 grados / s (p = 0.027) en extensión de rodilla y para trabajo total (p = 0,025), potencia a 60 grados / s (p = 0,007) y fatiga a 300 grados / s (p = 0,026) en flexión de rodilla. Cuatro atletas (50%) mostraron una diferencia superior al 10% en el torque máximo del grupo de músculos extensores y tres atletas (37,5%) mostraron una diferencia superior al 10% en el torque máximo del grupo de músculos flexores en el lado no dominante. También hubo un desequilibrio entre los grupos de músculos agonistas / antagonistas en el lado dominante de cuatro atletas (50%) y en el lado no dominante de seis atletas (75%).

Objetivo: Avaliar se a postura fletida (FFP) está associada à independência funcional, mobilidade e qualidade de vida em pacientes com doença de Parkinson (DP). Métodos: Estudo transversal e comparativo em Brasília/DF. Para avaliar a FFP, foi utilizado o teste de distância occipito-parede (DOP) e este foi comparado com medidas de força muscular (preensão palmar, extensão dorsal e membros inferiores), mobilidade funcional e qualidade de vida para verificar se há associações entre eles. Também foi verificado se havia correlação entre o estágio da doença, medido pela escala de Hoehn e Yahr (HY) e o tempo de diagnóstico. Resultados: Foram observadas correlações fortes entre DOP e HY, tempo de diagnóstico e qualidade de vida, e correlações moderadas entre marcadores de força muscular e mobilidade em indivíduos com DP. Conclusão: O FFP medida pelo DOP está fortemente associada com estágios de gravidade, tempo de diagnóstico e qualidade de vida e moderado com força muscular e mobilidade reduzida em pacientes com doença de Parkinson e representa uma medida simples e de baixo custo para a prática clínica.

Introduction: Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability and death worldwide. Individuals who suffered stroke present numerous functional limitations. Hippo-therapy (HPOT) is proposed as capable of promoting the recovery of postural balance in patients with neurological impairment. Objective: To analyze published articles, seeking the effects of HPOT on changes in postural balance, through the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), in individuals with stroke. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published on the electronic databases PubMed, VHL, SCIELO, Cochrane, SCOPUS, WoS, and Cinahl. Keywords: "hippotherapy", "horseback riding" and "stroke" linked by the OR and AND boolean operators. The research was restricted to clinical trials in an adult population with a history of stroke. Results: Four articles were included in this meta-analysis, which used HPOT as an intervention to improve postural balance. Three studies used a mechanical device (horseback riding), and the horse. The age ranged from 61 to 71 years, being more predominant the male sex. Sessions ranged from 6 to 12 weeks of 20 to 30 minutes per session. Quality analysis using the PEDro scale demonstrated scores ranging from 6 to 8 points in the selected studies. Overall, treatment with mechanical and conventional therapy resulted in an improvement in the total BBS score. As compared with conventional therapy just studies with horseback riding was superior to conventional therapy to improve postural balance in hemiparetic stroke patients. Conclusion: There are few studies of high quality; then, it is not possible to evaluate the effectiveness of HPOT using a horse or a mechanic simulator in patients with stroke when compared with conventional therapy. Future studies could clarify if HPOT has potential benefits as a complementary therapeutic strategy to conventional physiotherapy to promote the improvement of postural balance after stroke.

Objetivo: Verificar a prevalência de sintomas osteomioarticulares em bombeiros militares do Distrito Federal. Metódo: Trata-se de um estudo transversal, realizado com bombeiros militares de idades entre 18 e 55 anos. Foi utilizado o Questionário Nórdico de Sintomas Osteomusculares e os participantes relataram a ocorrência dos sintomas nos 12 meses e nos sete dias precedentes à entrevista, bem como os afastamentos das atividades no último ano. Os dados foram tabulados no programa Microsoft Excel 2016 e foi feita a estatística descritiva. Resultados: Dos 178 bombeiros participantes, 89% eram do sexo masculino, com idade média de 39 anos e média do índice de massa corporal de 25,93. As regiões de maior prevalência foram a região lombar (20,90%), seguida dos joelhos (14,24%) e da região dorsal (12,26%) nos últimos 12 meses e a região lombar (20,35%), seguida dos joelhos (16,48%) e dos ombros (11,97%) nos últimos sete dias. Conclusão: Verificou-se maior prevalência de sintomas osteomioarticulares na região lombar, joelhos e região dorsal para alterações crônicas, e maior prevalência de sintomas na região lombar, joelhos e ombros para alterações agudas. Os bombeiros apontaram como causas a realização de força, fadiga e/ou cansaço, posturas mantidas por um longo período de tempo, movimentos bruscos e movimentos repetitivos.