BacKGrouNdː little is known about the changes in biomechanical risk factors for an anterior cruciate ligament (acl) injury after participation in a pelvic and core strength training (pcST) program in female team players. MeThodSː This is a randomized controlled trial for which a total of 29 female soccer players were recruited from a soccer club and split into two groups, namely, experimental group (eG, N.=18; mean [Sd] age, 17.8±2.0 years, weight 64.0 [6.6 kg and height 1.7 [0.0] m) and control group (control, N.=11; mean [Sd] age, 16.2 [1.2] years, weight 61.6 [7.3] kg and height 1.7 [0.0] m). The eG participated in an in-season 8-week pcST program (twice/week). participants in the cG performed their normal training without additional pelvic and core strengthening. pre-and postintervention knee frontal plane projection angle (fppa), hip, knee and ankle peak flexion angles and jump height were collected during bilateral and unilateral drop jumps. reSulTSː pcST significantly reduced fppa at dynamic landing, in both dominant (-7.1º) and non-dominant lower extremities (-8.01º). further, this training significantly increased the peak hip (24.43º) and knee flexion angles (14.94º), but not the peak ankle dorsiflexion angle (p>0.05) which, significantly decreased in the cG (-3.5º). following the intervention, eG significantly increased measures obtained for both bilateral (2.84 cm) and unilateral jumps (1.33 cm for the dominant leg and 1.22 cm for the non-dominant leg) (p<0.05), not so for cG (p>0.05). coNcluSioNSː pcST resulted in improvements on acl injury risk factors and vertical drop jump performance, suggesting that strengthening this body part warrants not only injury prevention, but increases jumping performance.(Cite this article as: ferri-caruana a, prades-insa B, Serra-añó p. effects of pelvic and core strength training on biomechanical risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

Background: Motivation could be considered as a critical factor for being and staying physically active in the spinal cord–injured population. Objectives: Our goals were (1) to describe motivation to exercise in people with paraplegia, comparing those who engage in regular physical exercise with those who do not and (2) to establish whether such motivation is related to the type of physical exercise practiced. Methods: This study was quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive research. One-hundred and six participants with chronic paraplegia completed the Spanish version of the Exercise Motivations Inventory (EMI-2). Participants were divided into the non-exerciser group (NEG) and the exerciser group (EG). EG was subclassified into sports players (SPs) and physical exercisers (PEs). Results: Participants in both EG and NEG presented a similar motivation toward physical exercise. The most important motive to practice or to adhere to exercise in participants with SCI was ill-health avoidance (mean, 8.45; SD, 1.33). Fitness was the second most important motive (ie, nimbleness, flexibility, strength, and endurance). Motives that distinguished EG from NEG included enjoyment and revitalization [ t(41.9) = −2.54, p < .05, r = 0.36], competition [ t(56.8) = 2.24, p < .05, r = 0.28], and health pressure [ t(104) = 3.22, p < .01, r = 0.30]. Furthermore, we found that motivation was related to the type of physical exercise performed. SPs showed a statistically significantly higher score for competition and enjoyment and revitalization than PEs ( p < .05). Conclusion: Ill-health avoidance and fitness are the key motivational factors to practice and adhere to physical exercise. Motivation is related to the type of physical exercise performed. Health providers need to understand these factors to promote and sustain long-term adherence to exercise in the SCI population.

Objective: Our main goal was to measure physical activity (PA) in people with paraplegia. Secondarily, we aimed to establish the relationship between being engaged in physical exercise (PE) and reaching the recommended moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) level. We further analyzed the effect of being engaged in PE on the PA levels. Design: Descriptive cross-sectional. Setting: Spanish associations for individuals with spinal cord injury. Participants: Ninety-six manual wheelchair users with chronic paraplegia. Interventions: Participants wore a wrist accelerometer for one week. Outcome Measures: Levels of PA and sedentary behavior. In addition, participants were classified into two groups, exercisers (EG) and non-exercisers (NEG) to analyze the effect of PE enrollment on the variables. Results: For all participants, a mean (SD) of 5,341.70 (966.4) minutes per week were spent engaged in sedentary behaviors, 2,188.99 (723.9) minutes were spent engaged in light activity, and 206.24 (180.0) minutes were spent engaged in MVPA. There was a significant relationship between PE and reaching the minimum levels of MVPA recommended [x 2 (1) = 25.03, P < 0.01]. NEG showed a greater number of minutes per week for sedentary behavior [t (94) = 2.50, P < 0.05, r = 0.25]. The EG spent more than twice as much time doing MVPA than the NEG (263.8 min vs 114.3 min, respectively). Conclusions: MVPA levels are low in manual wheelchair users who are not regular exercisers, but most of those who self-reported being regular exercisers reach the minimum levels recommended for health benefits. Sedentary behavior is a concern in this population.

Resistance training is one key method for improving physical conditioning. With this purpose, Menatechpro System® has designed an avant-garde garment that includes elastomeric technology that may stimulate the neuromuscular system in a better way, but a deeper knowledge of its effects is needed. Objective: To explore the effects of a new garment with elastomeric technology on upper-limb performance, and neuromuscular, perceptual, and cardiovascular responses in two upper-extremities exercises. Methodology: Fit young men trained in resistance exercises performed a seated shoulder press (80% of one-repetition maximum) and push up (bodyweight) until muscle failure with the garment that incorporates the elastomeric technology versus a placebo garment without it. The number of repetitions, mean propulsive velocity, mean and peak muscle activation, rate of perceived effort and perceived velocity, and heart rate were analysed. Possible differences were obtained with a two-way mixed ANOVA of repeated measures with post-hoc analysis. Results: Compared with a placebo garment, the use of this new garment with elastomeric technology improved positively the physical performance and muscular activation during the exercises analysed (p ≤ .05). Conclusion: Menatechpro System®'s elastomeric technology integrated into the garment could provide an optimal neuromuscular stimulus for the development of the performance during the upper extremity training.