On the role of ageing and musculoskeletal pain on dynamic balance in manual workers

Association of self-efficacy and mental toughness with sport performance in Brazilian futsal athletes

Introduction

Self-efficacy is considered a component of mental toughness, but there are few studies investigating the relationship of sport self-efficacy with mental toughness in performance athletes, especially in team sports.

Objective

The objective was to examine the impact of sport self-efficacy mediated by mental toughness on the sport performance of Brazilian futsal athletes.

Methods

The sample was composed of five adult male teams participating in the National Futsal League 2020, totaling 77 athletes. As instruments, we used: athlete identification sheet, Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale in Sports (PSES), Mental Toughness Index (MTI) questionnaire and the performance data from the National Futsal League 2020 (NFL). The data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Mann-Whitney "U" test, Spearman's correlation, network analysis (LASSO), with the indicators of centrality: strength, proximity and degree of intermediation (p < 0.05).

Results

The results showed that the investigated sample presented high levels of Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale in Sports (PSES) (Md = 4.66) and mental toughness (MT) (Md = 6.44). PSES presented a positive relationship with the number of wins, and negative relationships with the number of red cards and wrong passes (r = -0.08). MT indirectly influenced these variables through its connection with PSES (r = 0.30). The best ranked teams presented higher amounts of goals for, fouls, shots on goal, tackles, assists, and wins. The time of practice revealed an inverse relationship with the number of defeats, while age was positively related to the number of wrong passes (r = 0.09). The centrality indicators showed that the number of games stood out as the most central variable in the network, due to its degree of strength, proximity and intermediation. Moreover, the high degree of proximity and intermediation of the tackles made presented a connection with the number of assists (γ = 0.25; n = 77).

Conclusion

We can conclude that sport self-efficacy and mental toughness are intervening factors in the sport performance of Brazilian futsal athletes.

Predicting Ability of Dynamic Balance in Construction Workers Based on Demographic Information and Anthropometric Dimensions

Background

Difficulties in walking and balance are risk factors for falling. This study aimed to predict dynamic balance based on demographic information and anthropometric dimensions in construction workers.

Methods

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 114 construction workers in 2020. First, the construction workers were asked to complete the demographic questionnaire determined in order to be included in the study. Then anthropometric dimensions were measured. The dynamic balance of participants was also assessed using the Y Balance test kit. Dynamic balance prediction was performed based on demographic information and anthropometric dimensions using multiple linear regression with SPSS software version 25.

Results

The highest average normalized reach distances of YBT were in the anterior direction and were 92.23 ± 12.43% and 92.28 ± 9.26% for right and left foot, respectively. Both maximal and average normalized composite reach in the YBT in each leg were negatively correlated with leg length and navicular drop and positively correlated with the ratio of sitting height to leg length. In addition, multiple linear regressions showed that age, navicular drop, leg length, and foot surface could predict 23% of the variance in YBT average normalized composite reach of the right leg, and age, navicular drop, and leg length could predict 21% of that in the left leg among construction workers.

Conclusion

Approximately one-fifth of the variability in the normalized composite reach of dynamic balance reach among construction workers using method YBT can be predicted by variables age, navicular drop, leg length, and foot surface.

Workers’ Aging Management—Human Fatigue at Work: An Experimental Offices Study

The aging issue in the work context is becoming a significant element of the future sustainability of service and industrial companies. It is well known that with increasing worker age the problem of maintaining the performance and the safety level when fatigue increases is a crucial point, and fatigue increases with the age. Due to social and political developments, especially in Western countries, the retirement age is increasing and companies operate with a higher workforce mean age. Therefore, the problem of recognizing and measuring fatigue has become a key aspect in the management of aging. Note that in the scientific engineering field, the problem of fatigue evaluation when a worker is performing his/her work activities is an important issue in the industrial and service world and especially in the context of the researchers that are investigating the human reliability assessment. As it is clear from the literature, the industrial operations management are suffering from some misleading concepts that only the medicine scientific context can clarify. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to define what are the open issues and the misleading concepts present in the classical fatigue evaluation methods, and second to define two experimental curves of fatigue that will help the decision makers to minimize the impact of fatigue on the workers, thus maximizing the sustainability of the working tasks assigned. This aim is achieved by examining the medical literature about the measurement of a particular kind of fatigue related to the circadian cycle, i.e., the cognitive one; after that, a survey about the possible technologies for measurements is performed. On the basis of technology selection, an experiment on real work activities is performed and some remarkable results about the fatigue in the workers observed and the technology use and its limitations are defined.

A Novel Fabrication of Dose-Dependent Injectable Curcumin Biocomposite Hydrogel System Anesthetic Delivery Method for Care and Management of Musculoskeletal Pain

Chronic musculoskeletal pain has biological, psychological, and social components. In this article, we have demonstrated the easily injectable nanocomposite carrier for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain. Briefly, the curcumin (Cur) loaded with lipid nanocapsules (LNCs; Cur@LNCs) using the phase invasion method. The synthesized Cur@LNCs were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy, transmittance electron microscopy, and the size of the fabricated nanoparticles confirmed by dynamic light scattering analysis. The synthesized Cur@LNC injectable hydrogel shows excellent results in vivo in the rat model. We have examined the efficiency of the chronic constriction injury in the rat model and induced the pain using thermal paw withdrawal latency. The injectable hydrogels Cur@LNCs display a remarkable reduction in pain 7 days post administrations compared to the untreated group animals. This work could establish the preclinical candidate of the neuropathic pain response in the future.