The purpose of this study was to determine the long-term impact of surgical repair and subsequent 6-week immobilization of an Achilles tendon rupture on muscle strength, muscle strength endurance and muscle activity. 63 patients participated in this study on average 10.8 ± 3.4 years after surgically repaired Achilles tendon rupture and short-term immobilization. Clinical function was assessed and muscle strength, strength endurance and muscle activity were measured using a dynamometer and electromyography. Ankle ROM, heel height during heel-raise tests and calf circumference were smaller on the injured than on the contralateral side. Ankle torques during the concentric dorsiflexion tasks at 60 °/sec and 180 °/sec and ankle torques during the eccentric plantarflexion task and during the concentric plantarflexion task at 60 °/sec for the injured leg were significantly lower than those for the contralateral leg. The total work during a plantarflexion exercise at 180 °/sec was 14.9% lower in the injured compared to the contralateral leg (p < 0.001). Muscle activity for the gastrocnemius muscle during dorsiflexion tasks was significantly higher in the injured than in the contralateral limb. Limited ankle joint ROM and increased muscle activity in the injured leg suggest compensatory mechanisms to account for differences in muscle morphology and physiology caused by the injury.

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BackgroundProcrastination affects a large number of individuals and is associated with significant mental health problems. Despite the deleterious consequences individuals afflicted with procrastination have to bear, there is a surprising paucity of well-researched treatments for procrastination. To fill this gap, this study evaluated the efficacy of an easy-to-use smartphone-based treatment for procrastination.MethodN = 31 individuals with heightened procrastination scores were randomly assigned to a blended smartphone-based intervention including two brief group counseling sessions and 14 days of training with the mindtastic procrastination app (MT-PRO), or to a waitlist condition. MT-PRO fosters the approach of functional and the avoidance of dysfunctional behavior by systematically utilizing techniques derived from cognitive bias modification approaches, gamification principles, and operant conditioning. Primary outcome was the course of procrastination symptom severity as assessed with the General Procrastination Questionnaire.ResultsParticipating in the smartphone-based treatment was associated with a significantly greater reduction of procrastination than was participating in the control condition (η2 = .15).ConclusionA smartphone-based intervention may be an effective treatment for procrastination. Future research should use larger samples and directly compare the efficacy of smartphone-based interventions and traditional interventions for procrastination.

We found preliminary evidence that an app-based intervention may significantly reduce body dissatisfaction. Further research using larger samples and targeting clinical populations is necessary to evaluate the potential of interventions such as MT-BD. (PsycINFO Database Record

The studies provide evidence that deficits in ER are associated with various forms of psychopathology. However, mental disorders seem to differ with regard to how strongly they are linked to ER skills.