Medicine and science in sports and exercise
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Med Sci Sports Exerc · Mar 2014
Self-reported physical activity predicts pain inhibitory and facilitatory function.
Considerable evidence suggests regular physical activity can reduce chronic pain symptoms. The dysfunction of endogenous facilitatory and inhibitory systems has been implicated in multiple chronic pain conditions. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between levels of physical activity and descending pain modulatory function. ⋯ These results suggest that healthy older and younger adults who self-report greater levels of vigorous and total physical activity exhibit enhanced descending pain modulatory function. Improved descending pain modulation may be a mechanism through which exercise reduces or prevents chronic pain symptoms.
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Med Sci Sports Exerc · Jan 2014
Comparative StudyComparison of self-reported versus accelerometer-measured physical activity.
The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) is one of the most widely used questionnaires to assess physical activity (PA). Validation studies for the IPAQ have been executed, but still there is a need for studies comparing absolute values between IPAQ and accelerometer in large population studies. ⋯ The participants report through IPAQ-Short Form more vigorous PA and less sedentary time compared with the accelerometer. The difference between self-reported and accelerometer-measured MVPA increased with higher activity and intensity levels. Associations between the methods were affected by sex, age, and education, but not body mass index.
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Med Sci Sports Exerc · Jan 2014
Validation of a helmet-based system to measure head impact biomechanics in ice hockey.
This study aimed to quantify differences between head acceleration measured by a helmet-based accelerometer system for ice hockey and an anthropometric test device (ATD) to validate the system's use in measuring on-ice head impacts. ⋯ This is the first comprehensive evaluation of peak head acceleration measured by the HIT System for hockey. The HIT System processing algorithm removed 19% of the impacts from the data set, the correlation between HIT System and reference peak resultant acceleration was strong and varied by head surface and impact direction, and the system error was larger than reported for the 6-degree-of-freedom HIT System for football but could be reduced via calibration factors. These findings must be considered when interpreting on-ice data.
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Med Sci Sports Exerc · Jan 2014
Pain relief after isometric exercise is not task-dependent in older men and women.
This study assessed the effect of isometric contractions that varied in intensity and duration on pain perception in adults older than 60 yr. ⋯ Older adults experienced similar reductions in pain after several different intensities and durations of isometric contractions. Both older men and women experienced increases in pain threshold, but only older women experienced reductions in pain ratings.