In June 2017 a group of experts in anthropology, biology, kinesiology, neuroscience, physiology, and psychology convened in Canterbury, UK, to address questions relating to the placebo effect in sport and exercise. The event was supported exclusively by Quality Related (QR) funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The funder did not influence the content or conclusions of the group. No competing interests were declared by any delegate. During the meeting and in follow-up correspondence, all delegates agreed the need to communicate the outcomes of the meeting via a brief consensus statement. The two specific aims of this statement are to encourage researchers in sport and exercise science to 1. Where possible, adopt research methods that more effectively elucidate the role of the brain in mediating the effects of treatments and interventions. 2. Where possible, adopt methods that factor for and/or quantify placebo effects that could explain a percentage of inter-individual variability in response to treatments and intervention.
Ninety-two runners completed the study during a 168 km mountain ultramarathon (MUM). Sleepiness, self-reported sleep duration, and cognitive performance were assessed the day before the race and up to eight checkpoints during the race. Sleepiness was assessed using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale. Cognitive performance was also assessed using the Digital Symbol Substitution Task (DSST). Runner reported 23.40 ± 22.20 minutes of sleep (mean ± SD) during the race (race time: 29.38 to 46.20 hours). Sleepiness and cognitive performance decrements increased across this race, and this was modulated by time-of-day with higher sleepiness and greater performance decrements occurring during the early morning hours. Runners who slept on the course prior to testing had poorer cognitive performance, which may suggest that naps on the course were taken due to extreme exertion. This study provides evidence that cognitive performance deficits and sleepiness in MUM are sensitive to time into race and time-of-day.
This longitudinal study aims to compare the role of stride time variability (STV) and EDSS for predicting falls in 50 patients with multiple sclerosis with low disability. 21.7 % developed falls (follow-up: 22 months). STV (IRR: 1.73, 95 % CI: 1.23-2.41, p = 0.001) and EDSS (IRR: 2.29, 95 % CI: 1.35-3.90, p = 0.002) were associated with the number of falls. Adding STV to EDSS improves the predictive power of the model from 21 to 26 %, but not adding EDSS to STV.
Fear of falling (FOF) and gait disorders represent both prevalent symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS); however, the association between FOF and higher level of gait control (HLGC) has not been studied in MS. This study aims to assess the association between FOF and HLGC in patients with MS. HLGC was assessed by stride time variability (STV) during single and dual-tasks (forward counting, backward counting, categorical verbal fluency and literal verbal fluency) and FOF was quantified by the falls efficacy scale-international (FES-I). Seventy-one patients (age: 39.27 ± 9.77 years; 63 % female) were included in this cross-sectional study (Expanded Disability Status Scale (median): 2.00) with a low prevalence of FOF (FES-I: 21.52 ± 8.37). The mean gait speed was 1.19 ± 0.23 m/s with a STV of 2.35 ± 1.68 % during single walking task. STV during single task and the dual tasks of forward counting and backward counting were associated with the FES-I in the univariable linear regression models (p ≤ 0.001), but only STV while backward counting (β: 0.42, [0.18;0.66]) was associated with FOF in the multivariable model (adjusted for age, gender, previous fall, Expanded Disability Status Scale and gait speed). These findings indicate that FOF is associated with STV while backward counting, a marker of HLGC in relationship with working memory in a MS population including a majority of low disabled patients.
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