The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a six week exercise program to reduce the muscle tone of the trapezius and musculoskeletal discomfort (MED) of office workers. Twenty-six workers performed an exercise program based on: (1) stretching of cervical and/or dorsal region; (2) joint mobility of shoulders and rachis; (3) strengthening deep stabilizer and core muscles; and (4) scapula stabilizing exercises. A Myoton device was used to evaluate trapezius tone and the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire was used to assess changes in MED at three points of evaluation: at the beginning (Pre_1) and at the end of the workday (Post_1), and after the training program (Pre_2). The Wilcoxon test and Cohen’s d were performed to examine differences and effect sizes between evaluations. Main results show that trapezius tone remained constant during the workday, but decreased in the dominant upper trapezius (p = 0.003, ES = −0.60) and increased in the non-dominant middle trapezius (p = 0.016, ES = 0.45) after the exercise program, which eliminated significant muscle asymmetries. MED significantly decreased in the neck (p = 0.027, ES = −0.60) and upper back (p = 0.046, ES = −0.67). In conclusion, MED appears to improve in office workers after a six week training program, which may be explained by a decrease in trapezius tone and increase in the left middle trapezius tone.

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Goalball is a sport for visually impaired athletes, where the roles of attack and defense change continuously during the game. Performance evaluation should consider the variables that determine the throwing and the stop and clearance of the ball. The aim of this study is to evaluate the precision and velocity of the ball throwing in goalball, besides core stability and balance as variables that determine an optimal throwing. Moreover, a novel acoustic reaction time is applied to analyze the defense performance. Eight goalball players (33 ± 9 years old; 77.8 ± 22.7 kg; 174 ± 13 cm; 10 ± 5 years of experience) were recruited to assess ball velocity, with a radar gun, and throwing accuracy. Anthropometry, static balance, and core stability were assessed using a computerized pressure platform. Acoustic reaction time was measured with a photoelectric system. A significant positive correlation was found between throwing speed and the years of experience (Ƿ = 0.714, p = 0.047), height (Ƿ = 0.786, p = 0.021), dominant leg surface area of the stabilogram (Ƿ = 0.738, p = 0.037), and non-dominant leg center of pressure mean velocity (Ƿ = 0.714, p = 0.017). In the present pilot study, height and years of experience are correlated to throwing velocity. This is also the first test proposal to assess throwing precision and complex acoustic reaction in goalball players, which could be used to assess the level of performance in future studies.

En línea con las teorías de aprendizaje actuales, la enseñanza en la Educación Superior emplea cada vez más enfoques y actividades que sitúan al alumno en el centro del proceso de aprendizaje-enseñanza. Uno de estos enfoques es la gamificación: el uso de principios normalmente encontrados en juegos en un contexto ajeno al juego con fines educativos. Este trabajo considera el uso de una actividad de gamificación, Room Escape. La actividad se utiliza dentro de la asignatura Procedimientos Generales en Fisioterapia en el Grado de Fisioterapia de la Universidad San Jorge. Se adoptó un enfoque de Aprendizaje Basado en Casos y las características habituales del Room Escape fueron adaptadas para facilitar los resultados de aprendizaje deseados. Se realizó un cuestionario anónimo online para evaluar las percepciones de los estudiantes sobre sus ganancias de aprendizaje y la eficacia de la actividad como herramienta de aprendizaje. Los resultados muestran una evaluación positiva, particularmente en términos del grado de motivación y esfuerzo, aspectos clave para el éxito del aprendizaje. Los estudiantes reconocieron que podrían haberse preparado mejor pero que la actividad facilitó el aprendizaje con su enfoque de estudio de casos permitiéndoles consolidar su comprensión de conceptos relacionados con el tema. Palabras clave: gamificación; room escape; aprendizaje basado en casos; electroterapia; fisioterapia

No abstract