Cross-cultural adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese of the Waterloo Footedness Questionnaire-Revised: WFQ-R-Brazil

Influence of lower limb isokinetic muscle strength and power on the occurrence of falls in community-dwelling older adults: A longitudinal study

INTRODUCTION

Previous studies have highlighted the association between lower limb muscle strength and falls in older adults. However, a comprehensive understanding of the specific influence of each lower limb muscle group on fall occurrences remains lacking.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the impact of knee, ankle, and hip muscle strength and power on falls in older adults, with the goal of identifying which muscle groups are more predictive of fall risk in this population.

METHODS

This longitudinal observational study enrolled 94 community-dwelling older adults. Muscle strength and power of the ankle's plantiflexors and dorsiflexors, knee flexors and extensors, and hip flexors, extensors, adductors, and abductors were assessed using a Biodex System 4 Pro® isokinetic dynamometer. Fall occurrences were monitored through monthly telephone contact over a year.

RESULTS

Participants, with a median age of 69 years (range 64-74), included 67% women, and 63.8% reported a sedentary lifestyle. Among them, 45,7% of older adults were classified as fallers. Comparative analyses revealed that non-fallers displayed significantly superior isokinetic muscle strength in the hip abductors and adductors, along with higher muscle power in the hip abductors, hip flexors, and knee flexors compared to fallers. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that a 1 Nm/Kg increase in hip abductor strength reduced the chance of a fall by 86.3%, and a 1 Watt increase in hip flexor power reduced the chance of a fall by 3.6%.

CONCLUSION

The findings indicate that hip abductor strength and hip flexor power can be considered protective factors against falls in independent older adults in the community. These findings may contribute to developing effective fall-prevention strategies for this population.

Between-session reliability of dry-land and in-water tests to measure inter-limb asymmetries in swimmers

The aims of the present study were to: i) analyse the between-session reliability of dry-land and in-water swimming tests, and ii) investigate the prevalence of meaningful asymmetries in swimming athletes. Twenty-eight swimmers (21 males, 7 females) performed anthropometric, shoulder range of motion (ROM), countermovement jump, shoulder isokinetic torque, and 15-s tethered swimming tests two times, 1 week apart. Inter-limb asymmetries were calculated for each variable. Raw data reliability was determined using the intraclass coefficient correlation (ICC) and the typical error of measurement (TEM), and effect size (ES) was used to determine systematic bias between test sessions. At an individual level, inter-limb asymmetries were compared to the coefficient of variation (CV) to determine whether they were real. The between-session reliability was good to excellent (0.75 to 1.00) for most of the raw data, except for ROM. Between-session ES was predominately "trivial" or "small" for raw data and asymmetries, reinforcing that the values did not change significantly between the sessions. In addition, real asymmetries were seen in some tested metrics, depending on the test. In conclusion, the tested variables presented good levels of between-session reliability and were able to detect real and consistent asymmetries.

Effects of auriculotherapy on muscle fatigue: A randomized crossover trial

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed investigate the effect of auriculotherapy on exercise-induced muscle fatigue, isometric torque production, and surface electromyographic activity (EMG).

METHODS

Design: Randomized Crossover Trial. The sample consisted of 18 males' volunteers who exercised at least twice a week.

THE SAMPLE WAS RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO TWO GROUPS

Placebo Group (n = 9) and Treated Group (n = 9), and after seven days, the groups were crossed. The data analysis included 18 participants in each group.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

The muscle fatigue index, force production rate, and EMG of the quadriceps were used for evaluation. The evaluation moments included baseline pre-fatigue, baseline post-fatigue, 48 h post-intervention pre-fatigue, and 48 h post-intervention post-fatigue. Mixed two-way test ANOVA was used to compare times and groups.

RESULTS

The fatigue index for peak torque and work showed no significant effect on time, groups, or interaction (p > 0.05). However, for isometric torque, force production rate, and EMG median frequency and average, the results indicate a positive change in values over time (p < 0.05) (with little practical relevance), with no differences observed between the groups or interaction (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, auriculotherapy had no effect on exercise-induced muscle fatigue, isometric torque production, and surface electromyographic activity.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Arabic Version of the Waterloo Footedness Questionnaire-Revised to Assess Footedness in Arabic-Speaking Adults

PURPOSE

 The goal of this research is to translate and analyze the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Waterloo Footedness Questionnaire-Revised (WFQ-R).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Two native Arabic speakers created separate forward translations, which were then merged. Two different multilingual translators were used to translate it back into English from the synthetic version. Experts were gathered for a discussion on how to improve the localization and adaptation processes. A group of specialists was convened to analyze the localization and modification procedures. We now have the Arabic version of the WFQ-R which is "WFQ-R-Ar". Two hundred and ninety Arabic-speaking adults over the age of 18 were surveyed to evaluate the WHQ-R-Ar's characteristics (internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity).

RESULTS

 The WFQ-R-Ar had no collisions with the ground or the sky. The factor analysis showed that the construct validity of the WFQ-R-Ar was dependent on a single factor. The WFQ-R-Ar also has excellent internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.93. The reliability of the examinations was examined, and it was found to have an intraclass correlation value of 0.94.

CONCLUSION

 The WFQ-R-Ar may be relied on to provide accurate results when used to evaluate footedness in Arabic-speaking society.

Cross-cultural adaptation, validity and reliability of Turkish version of the Waterloo Handedness and Footedness Questionnaire-Revised

This study investigated the validity and reliability of Turkish versions of the Waterloo Handedness and Footedness Questionnaire-Revised (WHQ-R and WFQ-R). Turkish versions of the WHQ-R and the WFQ-R, and other assessments (the Handedness Questionnaire and the Footedness Preference Test) were applied to 444 healthy participants aged between 18 and 65 years. The translation and cultural adaptation process of the WHQ-R and the WFQ-R was provided by the following proposed guideline. For test-retest reliability, translated versions were re-applied to 88 participants in a 7-day interval. Cronbach's alpha of the WHQ-R was 0.984 and that of the WFQ was 0.905. The test-retest intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) of the WHQ-R varied from 0.741 to 0.933 and those of the WFQ-R from 0.649 to 0.814. There were moderate to strong correlations between the WHQ-R and the Handedness Questionnaire (r = -853, p < 0.001) and between the WFQ-R and the Footedness Preference Test (r = -0.687, p < 0.001). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure of the WHQ-R and the WFQ-R. The results of this study demonstrated that Turkish versions of the WHQ-R and the WFQ-R are reliable and valid inventories for assessing handedness and footedness in this population.

Virtual Reality Immersion in Healthy Individuals: Ellipse Sway Area of an Electrical Shuttle Balance

To assess indirectly the effects of virtual reality (VR) immersion on postural sway in thirteen healthy individuals. The ellipse sway area was recorded with an accelerometer coupled to an electrical shuttle balance under six conditions, varying Romberg and single leg stance (SLS) position with eyes open and eyes closed. The length of the ellipse traveled over 10 s was measured and Romberg and single leg stance (SLS) ratios were calculated. Ellipse sway area was reduced in all positions after VR intervention. Statistical differences were observed in the left SLS ratio 24 hr after comparison to the baseline. A single VR session could reduce ellipse sway area and decrease the visual dependency of posture control indicating increased ability to maintain stable body sway over the shuttle.

Using Mobile EEG to Investigate Alpha and Beta Asymmetries During Hand and Foot Use

The Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI) and the Waterloo Footedness Questionnaire (WFQ) are two of the most widely used questionnaires to assess lateralized everyday behavior in human participants. However, it is unclear to what extent the specific behavior assessed in these questionnaires elicit lateralized neural activity when performed in real-life situations. To illuminate this unresolved issue, we assessed EEG alpha and beta asymmetries during real-life performance of the behaviors assessed in the EHI and WFQ using a mobile EEG system. This methodology provides high ecological validity for studying neural correlates of motor behavior under more naturalistic conditions. Our results indicate that behavioral performance of items of both the EHI and WFQ differentiate between left- and right-handers and left- and right-footers on the neural level, especially in the alpha frequency band. These results were unaffected by movement parameters. Furthermore, we could demonstrate that neural activity elicited specifically during left-sided task performance provides predictive power for the EHI or WFQ score of the participants. Overall, our results show that these prominent questionnaires not only distinguish between different motor preferences on the behavioral level, but also on the neurophysiological level. Furthermore, we could show that mobile EEG systems are a powerful tool to investigate motor asymmetries in ecologically valid situations outside of the laboratory setting. Future research should focus on other lateralized behavioral phenotypes in real-life settings to provide more insights into lateralized motor functions.

Reliability of upright weight-bearing distribution measures obtained by computed baropodometry for participants with and without post-stroke hemiparesis

Background/Aims

Measurements from force platforms and digital scales have been applied to classify weight-bearing distribution in post-stroke hemiparesis. However, an intermediate tool – computed baropodometry – is breaking new ground in this field of diagnosis, with a need to report its reliability. Intra-test and test/retest reliabilities of the percentage of total body weight borne by the predominantly used hemibody calculated from computed baropodometry in participants with and without chronic hemiparesis was investigated in this study.

Methods

A total of 40 participants were evaluated and combined for age and sex in two different groups. Repeated measures were taken to analyse differences among records obtained from averages during 5, 10 or 20 seconds (intra-test reliability) and between the test and 1-week retest (test/retest reliability) for both groups. The analysis of variance, intra-class correlation coefficient and data plotted by Bland-Altman method were administrated.

Results

The intra-test analysis did not show differences among records obtained from different time durations (5, 10 and 20 seconds). Excellent to moderate intra-class correlation coefficient values (0.794 to 0.644) between test and retest were observed in the hemiparesis group from the records obtained by short to the longer lasting time durations, while for control groups, intra-class correlation coefficient values (0.661 to 0.748) were classified as moderate.

Conclusions

Acceptable reliability was found for all participants. Moreover, improved repeatability was reported when the measures were obtained by shorter time periods for both groups.