BACKGROUND: Upper limb (UL) impairment is the most common disabling deficit following a stroke. Previous studies have suggested that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) enhances the effect of conventional therapies. OBJECTIVE: This pilot double-blind randomized control trial aimed to determine whether or not tDCS, combined with Wii virtual reality therapy (VRT), would be superior to Wii therapy alone in improving upper limb function and quality of life in chronic stroke individuals. METHODS: Twenty participants were randomly assigned either to an experimental group that received VRT and tDCS, or a control group that received VRT and sham tDCS. The therapy was delivered over 15 sessions with 13 minutes of active or sham anodal tDCS, and one hour of virtual reality therapy. The outcomes included were determined using the Fugl-Meyer scale, the Wolf motor function test, the modified Ashworth scale (MAS), grip strength, and the stroke specific quality of life scale (SSQOL). Minimal clinically important differences (MCID) were observed when assessing outcome data. RESULTS: Both groups demonstrated gains in all evaluated areas, except for the SSQOL-UL domain. Differences between groups were only observed in wrist spasticity levels in the experimental group, where more than 50% of the participants achieved the MCID. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support that tDCS, combined with VRT therapy, should be investigated and clarified further.

Introduction The increased number of people who choose running as a form of exercise has been associated with a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries. Objectives To determine the prevalence and the factors that could be correlated with injuries among amateur runners in Recife, in the State of Pernambuco (PE), Brazil. Methods An observational, cross-sectional study, in which 300 (three hundred) amateur runners answered a social demographic questionnaire, as well as questions about training characteristics, footstrike and landing pattern, and history of running injuries. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, the student-t test to compare means, and the Chi-squared to compare prevalences. Results The prevalence of injuries amongst runners in Recife-PE was 58.5% (n= 175), the knee being the most commonly injured site (37.3%). In both groups - runners with and without injuries – there was a higher number of male runners, with 72.4% and 72.6% respectively. There was no difference in relation to the weekly frequency of running between the groups (p<0.63). However, runners with a history of injuries ran around 7 kmh a week more than the runners without injuries (p<0.03). A neutral footstrike (F=0.87; p=0.99) and hindfoot landing (F=4.13; p=0.90) were the most reported running patterns in both groups. It was found that wear was the main criterion used for changing running shoes in both groups (F = 8.35, p = 0.4). Conclusion There was a high prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries among amateur runners in Recife-PE. Among the factors associated with the injuries, one variable was significant: a higher weekly volume of training. Level of evidence II; Study type: Cross-sectional study.

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Aim: the purpose of this review is to evaluate the effect of lower limb neuromotor exercises on static and dynamic balance in basketball players. Methods: the search strategy was carried out in the following databases: Medline/Pubmed, LILACS, Scopus, and PEDRO. Certainty of evidence was assessed by GRADE for posteromedial, posterolateral, and anterior directions, and composite score of the Star Excursion Balance Test. Results: the initial search identified 520 studies. Of them, six studies were included in this review, and three of them were included in the meta-analysis (n = 64). GRADE evaluation indicated low level of certainty of evidence for posteromedial (MD = 4.92%; 95% CI = -1.44 to 11.29; P = 0.13; I2 = 55%), posterolateral (MD = 6.08%; 95% CI = 2.76 to 9.40; P = 0.0003; I2 = 19%) and anterior (MD = 4.87%; 95% CI: 2.84 to 6.89; p<0.00001; I2= 0%) directions. Very low level of certainty of evidence was found for composite score (MD = 6.42%; 95% CI: 5.03 to 7.82 P < 0.00001; I2 = 1%). Conclusions: neuromotor exercises improve dynamic balance in basketball players. Although, the certainty of evidence is still very low. So, our data should be cautiously interpreted.

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