The role of physical activity in improving overall aspects of health regardless of age is well documented. Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, preventive measures to limit airborne infection have been introduced, with people, especially older adults, advised to stay at home, thus increasing sedentary lifestyle and the risk of chronic diseases. As one of the few possible ways to stay active is home-based training, this review aims to provide evidence on alternative and feasible home-based activity programs as a tool to improve the fitness level in older adults, especially when preventive measures are needed to ensure isolation and limit interpersonal contacts. During quarantine, older adults, especially those with chronic diseases, are recommended to regularly exercise. Combined balance and muscle-strengthening training has proven to be particularly useful in limiting falls and mobility limitations. In addition, the use of virtual reality systems seems to be a potential strategy in remaining physically active, reducing physical inactivity time and significantly increasing the compliance of the older adults with physical activity programs. In conclusion, home-based programs induce improvements in physical functions in general and quality of life in older people with or without co-morbidities, and it can be considered in the future as one of the feasible and economic ways to increase physical well-being. This may be of unique importance in the setting of coronavirus disease 2019 enforced limitations in out-of-home activity.

Computerized wobble boards (WB) are used to objectively assess balance in healthy and chronic ankle instability individuals. As in field setting health professionals might not own WB, objective evaluations are not always feasible. Therefore, the aim of this tudy was to investigate the contribution of sagittal plane joints angular-displacement and anthropometrics to predict equations to estimate WB performance by portable two-dimensional motion analysis (2D-MA) and cross-validate the developed equations in chronic ankle instability individuals. Thirty-nine healthy and twenty chronic ankle instability individuals stood on a WB in single stance position. The balance test consisted of three 30s trials per limb keeping the platform flat at 0°. Trials were video recorded, and three time-segments joints angular-displacement analyzed with 2D-MA: segment 1 (T1) including 30s data, segment 2 (T2) from second 0 to 10, segment 3 (T3) only the first 5s. Mixed regression for multilevel models was used to estimate WB performance for each time-segment and to examine limb differences for the predicted WB performance in chronic ankle instability sample. The accuracy of the equations to detect injured limbs was calculated via area under the curve for receiver operating characteristic. Ankle and knee angular-displacement parameters, body height and lower limb length were the major predictors of WB performance for the extrapolated models (p < 0.05; R 2 = 0.83–0.56). The measured WB performance and T1 model showed significant (p < 0.05) performance differences between the injured and uninjured limbs. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed an asymptotic significance of 0.03 for T1 equation with area under the curve of 0.70. The proposed models provide different methods to quantify the performance and accurately detect the injured limb in individuals with unilateral chronic ankle instability, when measuring balance via WB might not be feasible. App-makers may use the equations to provide an automatic all-in-one system to monitor the performance status and progress.

Anthropometrics and sex influence balance performances, and visual information can change anthropometrics’ relation and the postural sway. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of anthropometric characteristics, sex, and visual biofeedback and/or their interaction on a computerized wobble board. Twenty-seven (14 females, 13 males) young adults performed three 30-s double leg stance trials on a wobble board during two conditions: with visual and without visual biofeedback. Visual biofeedback improved (p = 0.010) balance on a wobble board with respect to the condition without visual biofeedback. Regardless of sex, no differences between conditions were found (p = 0.088). When investigating the effect of anthropometrics variables, sex, and their interactions on conditions, a significant main effect of the lower limb/height ratio, sex, and their interaction on the condition without visual biofeedback was found (p = 0.0008; R2 = 0.57). For the visual biofeedback condition, significant effects for sex and body mass (p = 0.0012; R2 = 0.43) and sex and whole-body moment of inertia (p = 0.0030; R2 = 0.39) were found. Results from the present study showed (1) visual biofeedback improved wobble board balance performance; (2) a significant main effect of lower limb/height ratio, sex, and their interaction on the wobble board performances without visual biofeedback emerged; (3) significant effects were found for sex and body mass and sex and moment of inertia in the visual biofeedback condition. Findings from the present study could have an impact on training and evaluations protocols, especially when several populations such as children, athletes, older adults and people with balance disorders are involved.

Inter-limb asymmetry is defined as the performance imbalance of a limb with respect to the other one. Studies demonstrated how plyometric training could minimize inter-limb imbalance by reducing asymmetries and the relative risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Among the different plyometric training modalities, SuperJump® represented a reliable method. This study aimed to evaluate the acute effects of SuperJump® training on dynamic balance Unilateral Asymmetry and Bilateral Asymmetry Indexes. Thirty-seven subjects were randomly allocated in two groups: SuperJump® (N = 20) and Control (N = 17). The SuperJump® group participated in the SuperJump® session, whereas the Control group did not receive any workout session. Before (PRE) and after (POST) the SuperJump® session, both groups performed the Wobble Board balance test. A significant difference (p < 0.003) between the SuperJump® in POST and Control groups in PRE intervention for dominant leg was found. No significant differences (p > 0.05) emerged between groups in testing time on Bilateral Asymmetry Index. Significant differences (p = 0.005) between PRE and POST in the SuperJump® group and an 18.9% Unilateral Asymmetry Index threshold reduction for the subjects were found. A strong relationship (R2 = 0.79) between delta (∆) change Unilateral Asymmetry Index and Unilateral Asymmetry Index baseline parameters was tested. Lastly, no significant differences (p > 0.05) in Unilateral Asymmetry Indexes between the Bilateral Asymmetry equal and change categories in the SuperJump® group was found. In conclusion, SuperJump® training played a key role in reducing Unilateral Asymmetry Index.

Chronic muscle pain (CMP) is a primary complaint of US Veterans of the Persian Gulf War (GWV) currently suffering from Gulf War illness, a chronic multisymptom condition. Although the research literature often characterizes Veterans as stoic, previous research in our lab has demonstrated that GWV with CMP report greater perceived exertion (RPE) and muscle pain during exercise compared to healthy GWV. Given the potential use of these ratings as tools for monitoring and prescribing exercise intensity in patient groups, it is important to quantify their dependability and relationships to symptoms as training progresses. PURPOSE: To evaluate the dependability (i.e., reliability) and sources of variance in RPE and muscle pain ratings across 16 weeks of resistance exercise training (RET), as well as their association with self-reported pain symptoms in GWV with CMP. METHODS: Twenty-six GWV with CMP completed 16 weeks of individualized RET initiated at a low intensity (25-35% of est. max.) with progression as tolerated. Each session consisted of 10 exercises with 2 sets of each. RPE (6-20) and muscle pain (0-10) were reported for each set at its completion. Ratings at weeks 2, 9, and 15 were evaluated separately using generalizability theory, a technique which quantifies the dependability of responses and apportions their variability to the conditions of the testing procedure (i.e., respondents, sets, and exercises). Daily pain symptoms were also recorded for each session. Associations between symptom scores and RPE and muscle pain were calculated using Spearman's rho. RESULTS: Generalizability coefficients were very high for both measures at each time point (ξρ 2 >0.89) indicating a high level of dependability. Respondents were the greatest source of variance throughout. Variance due to exercises, however, was reduced with training progression. No significant relationships between pain symptoms and RPE or muscle pain were noted at any time point (ρ: -0.28 -0.34; p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: RPE and muscle pain ratings exhibit a high degree of dependability for GWV with CMP during exercise, even with training adaptations. This finding supports the use of these ratings as tools for monitoring and prescribing exercise intensity in this population.