BackgroundUrbanization and aging are global phenomena that offer unique challenges in different countries. A supportive environment plays an important role in addressing the issues of health behavioral change and health promotion (e.g., prevent chronic illnesses, promote mental health) among older adults. With the development of the socio-ecological theoretical model, studies on the impact of supportive environments on physical activity have become popular in the public health field in the EU and US. Meanwhile, very few Chinese studies have examined the relationship between built environment features and older adults’ physical activity at the ecological level. The purpose of the study is to investigate how the factors part of the built environment of Nanjing’s communities also influence leisure time physical activity among the elderly.MethodsUsing a socio-ecological model as a theoretical framework, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 399 elderly people from 19 communities in Nanjing, China, using a one-on-one questionnaire to collect data, including participants’ perceived built environment and self-reported physical activity. A multivariate linear regression method was used to analyze the factors influencing their recreational physical activity.ResultsThis study found that compared to older people with low average monthly income, the recreational physical activity of the elderly with average monthly incomes between 1001 and 2000 ¥ (β = 23.31, p < 0.001) and 2001 ¥ or more (β = 21.15, p < 0.001) are significantly higher. After controlling for individual covariates, street connectivity (β = 7.34, p = 0.030) and street pavement slope (β = − 7.72, p = 0.020), we found that two out of ten built environment factors indicators influence their physical activity. The importance of each influencing factor ranked from highest to lowest are monthly average income, street pavement slope, and street connectivity. Other factors were not significantly related to recreational physical activity by the elderly.ConclusionsOlder adults with a high income were more likely to participate in recreational physical activity than those with a low income. In order to positively impact physical activity in older adults and ultimately improve health, policymakers and urban planners need to ensure that street connectivity and street pavement slope are factored into the design and development of the urban environment.

Background Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a common overuse injury among runners. It is not only a hindrance to the runner’s training, but also to the runner’s quality of life. PFP runners may strategize different running strategies to reduce patellofemoral joint stress, release pain, and improve function. Purpose This study aimed to determine the changes in joint coordination and variability under combinations of foot strike pattern and cadence for runners with patellofemoral pain. Methods Twenty male runners with PFP performed six running strategies which were two strike patterns named forefoot (FFS) and rearfoot (RFS) accompanied by three running cadences named slow10%, normal, and fast10%. A modified vector coding technique and circular statistics were respectively used to identify the coordination pattern and variability between hip sagittal-knee frontal (HsKf), hip sagittal-knee sagittal (HsKs) and knee transverse-ankle frontal (KtAf) during stance phase. Coordination patterns which were conformed with anatomical motion pattern was classified as mechanically sound, and the distribution frequency of each coordination pattern was quantified. Results Switching to FFS, the HsKf couples (p < 0.001, ES = 1.34) and the HsKs couples (p = 0.001, ES = 0.82) displayed significantly greater frequency in mechanically unsound coordination pattern during the initial stance phase. The effect of increasing running cadence on RFS displayed significantly greater frequency in mechanically unsound hip dominancy (p = 0.042, ES = 0.65) and knee dominancy (p = 0.05, ES = 0.70) coordination patterns for HsKf couples as well as for HsKs couples (p = 0.023, ES = 0.86) during the initial stance phase. Combined with FFS and fast10% cadence, HsKs couples showed more hip-dominated mechanical sound coordination pattern (p = 0.002, ES = 1.25). Further, altering footstrike pattern and cadence failed to change the coordination variability. Conclusions Changing running cadence (± 10%) combined with transfer strike pattern from RFS to FFS could not increase the distribution frequency in mechanically sound coordination patterns and change coordination variability for PFP runners.

BackgroundAlthough many studies have reported the association between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary time (ST), and the built environment (BE) among older adults, little is known about these associations in the Chinese older adult population. The purpose of this study was to investigate how various factors in the built environment of Nanjing's communities influence leisure moderate-tovigorous physical activity and sedentary time among the elderly. MethodsA multilevel cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2016 to April 2017. Altogether, thirty neighborhoods were selected and 586 individuals aged 60 years or older living in the urban zone of NanJing in Southern China were surveyed. Physical activity was measured using Actigraph GT3 Accelerometer. Built environment variables were measured using ArcGIS software. A multivariate linear regression method was used to analyze the factors influencing leisure moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary time among the elderly. ResultsThe percentage of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity of urban elderly within a 1000-m distance reached 76.12%, indicating this zone as appropriate for the study of urban elderly moderate-tovigorous physical activity. We found that land-use mix (β=8.800, p=0.001) and distance to fitness venue (β=-5.876, p=0.004) influenced moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Population density (β=13.998, p=0.004) and land-use mix (β=-21.62, p=0.033) use influenced sedentary time. ConclusionsOur findings provide support for the association between the built environment and physical activity among the Chinese elderly. Some characteristics of the built environment including land-use mix and distance to fitness venue may affect MVPA, while other characteristics including population density and land-use mix may impact ST. In formulating urban planning policies, the above factors should be taken into account to promote physical activity in older people, encouraging them to modify their sedentary lifestyle and improving their overall health.