There have been very few studies involving swan motion during pilates exercises, and there is also insufficient scientific evidence to support the fact that Pilates swan motion strengthens specific muscles.

Firstly, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of 5 types Pilates swan motion (swan basic (SB), swan push-up (SP), swan holding posture (SH), form roller-based swan (SF), and circle-based swan (SC)) on muscle activity of deltoideus p. acromialis (DA), infraspinatus (IP), trapezius (TP), latissimus dorsi (LD), and erector spinae (ES). Secondly, the purpose of this study was to suggest an effective Pilates swan motion for strengthening muscle strength of each targeted muscle.

Twenty-four healthy men in their 20s participated and all participants were measured muscle activity in DA, IP, TP, LD, and ES muscles by electromyography (EMG) during 5 Pilates swan motions (SB, SP, SH, SF, & SC). The measured values were expressed as relative voluntary contraction (%RVC) values based on the SB.

The %RVC values representing the muscle activity of DA and TP were significantly higher in SH and SP than in SC, SF, and SB (p<.001). The %RVC values of IP and LD were significantly higher in SH and SC than in SF, SP, and SB (p<.001). The %RVC value of ES was were significantly higher in SH than in SP, SC, SF, and SB (p<.001).

The application of SP, SC, and SH Pilates swan motion is an effective method to activate the back muscles of the trunk.

The application of SP, SC, and SH Pilates swan motion is an effective method to activate the back muscles of the trunk.

Although both neural mobilization (NM) and cervical traction (CT) are widely used interventions in cervical radiculopathy (CR), there is limited clinical data to support their use.

To evaluate the effects of CT, with or without the addition of NM, on pain, function, and disability in patients with CR.

A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

66 patients with CR were randomly allocated to a group (n=22) received CT combined with NM (CT+NM), a group (n=22) received CT combined with sham NM (CT+shamNM) and a wait-list control (WLC) group (n=22). The Neck Disability Index (NDI), the Patient-Specific Functional Scale, the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), grip strength and cervical spine mobility were used as outcome measures. SAR405 ic50 A two-way analysis of variance was used to evaluate differences between the three groups at baseline and at 4-week follow-up.

Statistically and clinically significant between-group differences at 4-week follow-up were found between CT+NM and WLC groups in favor of CT+NM group in NDI scores (d=1.30), NRPS (d=1.94), and active cervical rotation towards the opposite arm (d=1.18) and between CT+NM and CT+shamNM groups in favor of CT+NM group in NRPS (d=1.21). No significant differences were observed between CT+shamNM and WLC groups in all outcome measures. Clinically significant within-group improvements were found only for the CT+NM group.

At 4-week follow-up, CT in combination with NM resulted in improved outcomes in pain, function and disability in patients with CR.

At 4-week follow-up, CT in combination with NM resulted in improved outcomes in pain, function and disability in patients with CR.

The purpose of this study was to verify the acute effects of different exercise orders and rest intervals between sets on young athletes performance.

Sixteen young male football players (73.2±4.8kg, 177.5±5.1cm, BMI 23.2±1.1, 19.8±0.9 years) completed six experimental strength training (ST) sessions with different exercise order sequences (A and B) and rest interval lengths (1min, 3min, and self-selected).In Sequence A the exercises were bench press (BP), back squat (BS), biceps curl (BC) and plantar flexion (PF); while Sequence B was performed in the opposite order (i.e. PF, BC, BS and BP).The total work volume (TWV) per exercise (sets x repetitions x load) and per training session (sum of the TWV of all exercises) were evaluated for all ST sessions.

BC and PF exercises presented higher TWV in sequence B (p≤0.05). Already, the exercises BP, BS and PF presented higher TWV with 3min and self-selected rest intervals (p≤0.05). The 3-min and self-selected rest intervals presented higher values of TWV per training session compared to the 1-min rest interval (p≤0.05).

The exercise order influenced certain exercises (BC and PF), which presented higher TWV when positioned at the beginning of a sequence. While the longer rest intervals (3min and self-selected) resulted in higher TWV per exercise (BP, BS and PF) and per training session. These results suggest that self-selected rest interval can be implemented to increase training efficiency in young athletes.

The exercise order influenced certain exercises (BC and PF), which presented higher TWV when positioned at the beginning of a sequence. While the longer rest intervals (3 min and self-selected) resulted in higher TWV per exercise (BP, BS and PF) and per training session. These results suggest that self-selected rest interval can be implemented to increase training efficiency in young athletes.

Controlling postural sway relies on the assessment and integration of external sensory stimuli by the central nervous system. When there is a loss of one or more of the sensory stimuli, there is often a decrease in balance performance. Visual biofeedback (VBF) has become a popular method to improve balance because of the supplementation to natural visual information with visual cues of the center of pressure. It is also possible to improve balance even further by increasing the scale of VBF. The aim of this investigation was to determine the effects of VBF and increasing VBF scale on single-limb balance in healthy adults.

Twenty healthy young adults were recruited. Participants underwent 24, 20-s single limb balance trials on both the right and the left leg. These trials were collected under 4 conditions 1) eyes-open (EO) with no VBF, 2) EO with 11 scale VBF, 3) EO with 21 scale VBF, 4) EO with 51 scale VBF. Force plate outcomes included resultant, anterior-posterior, and medial-lateral Sway. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was performed and a Bonferonni post-hoc test was used to determine the effects of VBF and VBF scale size on balance.