METHODS: The electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and SPORTDiscus were systematically searched up to June 2023 without placing any restrictions on the publication dates. The PICOS method was adopted to establish the inclusion criteria: (a) healthy athletes who participate in racket sports; (b) a PT program; (c) a control group; (d) assessment of physical fitness components pre- and post-PT; and (e) RCTs. The records' methodological quality was assessed utilizing the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. The certainty in the evidence related to each outcome was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) assessment. A random-effects model was used to calculate effect sizes (ES; Hedges' g) between experimental and control groups.
RESULTS: There were 14 eligible studies of moderate-to-high-quality, involving 746 athletes in total. The results revealed small-to-moderate effects (p < 0.05) of PT on muscle power (ES = 0.46), muscle strength (ES = 0.50), sprint speed (ES = 0.45), change of direction ability (ES = 0.76), and reaction time (ES = 0.67), while no clear evidence was found on balance and flexibility. The training-induced changes in muscle power showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) between youth (ES = 0.72) and adults (ES = 0.40). There were also similar muscle power improvements (ES = 0.36-0.54 vs 0.38-0.56, all p > 0.05) for a length of ≤7 weeks with ≤14 total PT sessions vs >7 weeks with >14 total PT sessions, and ≤2 weekly sessions vs >2 sessions. No adverse effects were reported in the included studies regarding the PT intervention. The certainty of evidence varied from very low to moderate. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that PT has positive effects on important indices of physical fitness among athletes participating in racket sports. Future studies are required to clarify the optimal doses and examine interactions among training variables to further promote the physical fitness of this specific population.
OBJECTIVE: This review aims to synthesize current studies and formulate conclusions regarding the impact of AVGs on the health-related physical fitness of older adults.
METHODS: Seven databases (PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, SPORTDiscus, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and CINAHL) were searched from inception to January 21, 2024. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials examining the effect of AVGs compared to control conditions on health-related physical fitness outcomes in older adults. The methodological quality of the included trials was assessed using the PEDro scale, and the certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE approach. A random-effects model was used to calculate effect sizes (ES; Hedge's g) between experimental and control groups.
RESULTS: The analysis included 24 trials with a total of 1428 older adults (all ≥ 60 years old). Compared to controls, AVGs produced significant increases in muscular strength (moderate ES = 0.64-0.68, p < 0.05) and cardiorespiratory fitness (moderate ES = 0.79, p < 0.001). However, no significant effects were found for body composition (trivial ES = 0.12-0.14; p > 0.05) and flexibility (trivial ES = 0.08; p = 0.677). The beneficial effects of AVGs were greater after a duration of ≥ 12 vs. < 12 weeks (cardiorespiratory fitness; ES = 1.04 vs. 0.29, p = 0.028) and following ≥ 60 minutes vs. < 60 minutes of session duration (muscular strength; ES = 1.20-1.24 vs. 0.27-0.42, p < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: AVGs appear to be an effective tool for enhancing muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults, although their impact on improving body composition and flexibility seems limited. Optimal improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with a longer duration of AVGs (≥ 12 weeks). Moreover, a session duration of ≥ 60 minutes may provide greater benefits for the muscular strength of older adults.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=482568, identifier CRD42023482568.
OBJECTIVE: This review aimed to assess the influence of tai chi on postural stability and quality of life in older adults with abnormal gait.
METHOD: According to the literature retrieval principles, the works published from the inception date to May 2023 were retrieved, including the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar. Subsequently, literature screening and quality assessment were performed.
RESULTS: A total of 16 randomized controlled trials were included in this study, Tai Chi intervention can affect populations with Parkinson's disease (PD), no exercise, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), chronic stroke, sedentary, fear of falling, or history of falling. Postural instability is associated with balance, gait, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Motor Subscale 3 (UPDRS III), mobility, lower body strength, and falls. Only two articles looked at quality of life. The Yang style is the most commonly used in the intervention. Nonetheless, most studies were performed on female participants, hence, more research on older male populations is needed.
CONCLUSION: Tai Chi intervention benefits postural balance in patients with gait disorders. 12 weeks is the most common intervention period for patients with gait disorders. The frequency of intervention is seven articles twice a week, and the intervention time is about 60 minutes. The Tai Chi intervention methods in this study involve Yang Style, Sun Style, Taoist Tai Chi, and Health Qigong Tai Chi, but the Yang Style Tai Chi intervention is the most widely used.
METHODS: This study aimed to compile and synthesize the existing studies on the effects of PT on healthy athletes' technical skill performance. A comprehensive search of SCOPUS, PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, and SPORTDiscus databases was performed on 3rd May 2023. PICOS was employed to establish the inclusion criteria: 1) healthy athletes; 2) a PT program; 3) compared a plyometric intervention to an active control group; 4) tested at least one measure of athletes' technical skill performance; and 5) randomized control designs. The methodological quality of each individual study was evaluated using the PEDro scale. The random-effects model was used to compute the meta-analyses. Subgroup analyses were performed (participant age, gender, PT length, session duration, frequency, and number of sessions). Certainty or confidence in the body of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE).
RESULTS: Thirty-two moderate-high-quality studies involving 1078 athletes aged 10-40 years met the inclusion criteria. The PT intervention lasted for 4 to 16 weeks, with one to three exercise sessions per week. Small-to-moderate effect sizes were found for performance of throwing velocity (i.e., handball, baseball, water polo) (ES = 0.78; p < 0.001), kicking velocity and distance (i.e., soccer) (ES = 0.37-0.44; all p < 0.005), and speed dribbling (i.e., handball, basketball, soccer) (ES = 0.85; p = 0.014), while no significant effects on stride rate (i.e., running) were noted (ES = 0.32; p = 0.137). Sub-analyses of moderator factors included 16 data sets. Only training length significantly modulated PT effects on throwing velocity (> 7 weeks, ES = 1.05; ≤ 7 weeks, ES = 0.29; p = 0.011). The level of certainty of the evidence for the meta-analyzed outcomes ranged from low to moderate.
CONCLUSION: Our findings have shown that PT can be effective in enhancing technical skills measures in youth and adult athletes. Sub-group analyses suggest that PT longer (> 7 weeks) lengths appear to be more effective for improving throwing velocity. However, to fully determine the effectiveness of PT in improving sport-specific technical skill outcomes and ultimately enhancing competition performance, further high-quality research covering a wider range of sports is required.
METHODS: This study followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). A systematic search of electronic databases was also conducted, including EBSCOhost, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, Google Scholar, and Wanfang. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale was an effective indicator to evaluate the quality of studies included in the systematic review.
RESULTS: This systematic review included 474 participants aged 8-24 years old. The intervention period for most studies was 12 weeks. Among the included studies, 6 focused on muscle strength, 4 on jumping performance, and 11 on functional movement screen.
CONCLUSION: These articles have been analysed, and the positive impact of functional training interventions on muscle strength, jumping, and functional movement screen of wushu athletes has been verified.
METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in five well-known academic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, and the Cochrane Library) up to July 1, 2023. The literature screening criteria included: (1) studies involving healthy athletes, (2) a HIFT program, (3) an assessment of outcomes related to athletes' physical fitness or sport-specific performance, and (4) the inclusion of randomized controlled trials. The Physical Therapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale was used to evaluate the quality of studies included in the meta-analysis.
RESULTS: 13 medium- and high-quality studies met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review, involving 478 athletes aged between 10 and 24.5 years. The training showed a small to large effect size (ES = 0.414-3.351; all p < 0.05) in improving upper and lower body muscle strength, power, flexibility, and sport-specific performance.
CONCLUSION: High-intensity functional training effectively improves athletes' muscle strength, power, flexibility, and sport-specific performance but has no significant impact on endurance and agility. Future research is needed to explore the impact of high-intensity functional training on athletes' speed, balance, and technical and tactical performance parameters.