Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health and Human Development

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Heart rate variability activity in soccer athletes after a musculoskeletal injury

Publication . Flores, Gonçalo; Monteiro, Diogo; Silva, Fernanda; Duarte-Mendes, Pedro

Objectives: The aim of this study is to analyse the adaptations of the autonomic nervous system after a musculoskeletal injury, obtained by measuring heart rate variability in athletes. It was hypothesized that there is an alteration in heart rate variability after a musculoskeletal injury. Study design: Cohort study. Subjects: 15 semi-professional soccer players from three football teams, aged between 21 and 33 (mean age: 29.4 ± 3.31 years), with a recent musculoskeletal injury. Methods: Heart rate variability was collected using the Polar m200 and the chest strap H10 in two moments: within 72 h after the injury and between 5 and 7 days after full return-to-play. Results: Results show differences between T1 and T2 (p ≤ 0.05) in low-frequency power (n.u.) (p = 0.001) and high-frequency power (n.u.) (p = 0.001), in low-frequency/high-frequency ratio (p = 0.001) and in high-frequency power (ms2) (p = 0.017) measures. No statistical differences were found in low-frequency power (ms2) (p = 0.233). The low frequency power (n.u.) was significantly lower after injury compared with LF power (n.u.) values after full return-to-play. In high-frequency power there was a significant difference between both moments with high values after injury. Conclusions: The use of heart rate variability therefore seems to be promising to detect an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system and help clinical departments to identify a possible non-traumatic musculoskeletal injury. Further research should be performed considering a wide range of musculoskeletal injuries and to establish baseline values of the athletes.

2024-09-10Journal article

Open access

Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour on Cardiovascular Risk and Health-Related Quality of Life in Adults: A Systematic Review

Publication . Santos, Beatriz; Monteiro, Diogo; Silva, Fernanda; Flores, Gonçalo; Bento, T.; Duarte-Mendes, Pedro

Background: This systematic review analysed the association between objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour with cardiovascular risk and HRQoL in adults without previous CVD. Additionally, we analysed the impact of the intensity of the physical activity in this association. Methods: The search was carried out in three electronic databases with access until February 2023 to find studies with an observational design. For quality assessment, we used The National Institute of Health (NIH) Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Results: We identified 5819 references, but only five studies were included. One study shows a positive association between physical activity and HRQoL, while sedentary behaviour was negatively related to HRQoL. Another study showed an association between high-intensity physical activity with a better physical component of HRQoL and low-intensity physical activity with a better mental component of HRQoL. Three studies concluded that higher levels of physical activity are associated with lower levels of cardiovascular risk and higher levels of sedentary behaviour are associated with higher levels of cardiovascular risk. Conclusion: Our findings suggested that people who spend more time being active and spend less time being sedentary appear to have lower cardiovascular risk and higher HRQoL.

2024-09-16Journal article

Open access

Examining the Effects of a 24-Week Exercise Program on Functional Capacity, Cognitive Capacity, and Quality of Life in Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Publication . Jacinto, Miguel; Antunes, Raul; Monteiro, Diogo; Rodrigues, Filipe; Amaro, Nuno; Campos, Maria João; Ferreira, José Pedro; Matos, Rui

This study investigated the effects of two physical exercise programs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Twenty-one participants were assigned to an indoor group (IG, n = 7; 24-week gym intervention with machine), an outdoor group (OG, n = 7; 24-week outdoor intervention with low-cost materials) or a control group. The outcomes assessed included quality of life, dementia, and functional capacity. The IG significantly improved physical well-being compared with the control group (p = .017). There were no significant differences in dementia score between groups and moments. Postintervention, the IG showed improvements compared with the control group for the 30-s sit-to-stand test (p = .03), timed up-and-go (p = .00), and 6-min-walk test (p = .033) and between moments in the IG for 30-s sit-to-stand test (pre ≠ post; p = .007) and 6-min-walk test (pre ≠ post; p = .007). Outdoor interventions appeared effective for physical well-being, while indoor interventions using weight-training machines benefited functional capacity. No significant effects were observed for dementia/cognitive decline.

2024-09-14Journal article

Embargoed access

Exploring the Relationship Between Wall Drop Punt Kick and Catch (Tripela Sports) Performance and Manipulative Tests of the Motor Competence Assessment Battery in Early Adolescents

Publication . Matos, Rui; Amaro, Nuno; Lopes, Nataniel; Costa, Pedro; Jacinto, Miguel; Rodrigues, Filipe; Antunes, Raul; Coelho, Luís; Ibáñez, Sergio J.; Estevan, Isaac; Monteiro, Diogo

Our aim in this study was to analyze associations between the two manipulative tests of the Motor Competence Assessment (MCA) battery and the Wall Drop Punt Kick & Catch (WDPK&C) motor task. One hundred and twelve early adolescents (60 boys; 52 girls; M age = 12.67, SD = 1.78 years) participated. Overall, strong correlations were found between the WDPK&C and the MCA manipulative tests, either separately (r = .802 for kicking, r = .762 for throwing) or collectively (r = .835). In boys, correlations between WDPK&C and MCA kicking (r = .722) and MCA throwing (r = .754) were similar. In girls, MCA kicking was more closely related to WDPK&C performance (r = .612) than MCA throwing (r = .330). These results reinforce the possible use of WDPK&C as a gross manipulative coordination test, either by itself or when integrated into motor competence batteries.

2025-01-30Journal article

Embargoed access