TY - JOUR A1 - Hortobagyi, Tibor A1 - Uematsu, Azusa A1 - Sanders, Lianne A1 - Kliegl, Reinhold A1 - Tollar, Jozsef A1 - Moraes, Renato A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Beam Walking to Assess Dynamic Balance in Health and Disease BT - a Protocol for the "BEAM" Multicenter Observational Study JF - Gerontology N2 - Background: Dynamic balance keeps the vertical projection of the center of mass within the base of support while walking. Dynamic balance tests are used to predict the risks of falls and eventual falls. The psychometric properties of most dynamic balance tests are unsatisfactory and do not comprise an actual loss of balance while walking. Objectives: Using beam walking distance as a measure of dynamic balance, the BEAM consortium will determine the psychometric properties, lifespan and patient reference values, the relationship with selected “dynamic balance tests,” and the accuracy of beam walking distance to predict falls. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study will examine healthy adults in 7 decades (n = 432) at 4 centers. Center 5 will examine patients (n = 100) diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and balance disorders. In test 1, all participants will be measured for demographics, medical history, muscle strength, gait, static balance, dynamic balance using beam walking under single (beam walking only) and dual task conditions (beam walking while concurrently performing an arithmetic task), and several cognitive functions. Patients and healthy participants age 50 years or older will be additionally measured for fear of falling, history of falls, miniBESTest, functional reach on a force platform, timed up and go, and reactive balance. All participants age 50 years or older will be recalled to report fear of falling and fall history 6 and 12 months after test 1. In test 2, seven to ten days after test 1, healthy young adults and age 50 years or older (n = 40) will be retested for reliability of beam walking performance. Conclusion: We expect to find that beam walking performance vis-à-vis the traditionally used balance outcomes predicts more accurately fall risks and falls. Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT03532984. KW - Aging KW - Gait KW - Balance KW - Dual tasks KW - Falls Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000493360 SN - 0304-324X SN - 1423-0003 VL - 65 IS - 4 SP - 332 EP - 339 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Beurskens, Rainer A1 - Haeger, Matthias A1 - Kliegl, Reinhold A1 - Roecker, Kai A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Postural Control in Dual-Task Situations: Does Whole-Body Fatigue Matter? JF - PLoS one N2 - Postural control is important to cope with demands of everyday life. It has been shown that both attentional demand (i.e., cognitive processing) and fatigue affect postural control in young adults. However, their combined effect is still unresolved. Therefore, we investigated the effects of fatigue on single-(ST) and dual-task (DT) postural control. Twenty young subjects (age: 23.7 +/- 2.7) performed an all-out incremental treadmill protocol. After each completed stage, one-legged-stance performance on a force platform under ST (i.e., one-legged-stance only) and DT conditions (i.e., one-legged-stance while subtracting serial 3s) was registered. On a second test day, subjects conducted the same balance tasks for the control condition (i.e., non-fatigued). Results showed that heart rate, lactate, and ventilation increased following fatigue (all p < 0.001; d = 4.2-21). Postural sway and sway velocity increased during DT compared to ST (all p < 0.001; d = 1.9-2.0) and fatigued compared to non-fatigued condition (all p < 0.001; d = 3.3-4.2). In addition, postural control deteriorated with each completed stage during the treadmill protocol (all p < 0.01; d = 1.9-3.3). The addition of an attention-demanding interference task did not further impede one-legged-stance performance. Although both additional attentional demand and physical fatigue affected postural control in healthy young adults, there was no evidence for an overadditive effect (i.e., fatigue-related performance decrements in postural control were similar under ST and DT conditions). Thus, attentional resources were sufficient to cope with the DT situations in the fatigue condition of this experiment. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0147392 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 11 SP - 1379 EP - 1384 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Beurskens, Rainer A1 - Mühlbauer, Thomas A1 - Grabow, Lena A1 - Kliegl, Reinhold A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Effects of Backpack Carriage on Dual-Task Performance in Children During Standing and Walking JF - Journal of motor behavior KW - attentional demand KW - cognitive performance KW - gait analysis KW - load carriage KW - postural control Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.2016.1152137 SN - 0022-2895 SN - 1940-1027 VL - 48 SP - 500 EP - 508 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Puta, Christian A1 - Steidten, Thomas A1 - Baumbach, Philipp A1 - Woehrl, Toni A1 - May, Rico A1 - Kellmann, Michael A1 - Herbsleb, Marco A1 - Gabriel, Brunhild A1 - Weber, Stephanie A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Gabriel, Holger H. W. T1 - Standardized assessment of resistance training-Induced subjective symptoms and objective signs of immunological stress responses in young athletes JF - Frontiers in physiology N2 - From a health and performance-related perspective, it is crucial to evaluate subjective symptoms and objective signs of acute training-induced immunological responses in young athletes. The limited number of available studies focused on immunological adaptations following aerobic training. Hardly any studies have been conducted on resistance-training induced stress responses. Therefore, the aim of this observational study was to investigate subjective symptoms and objective signs of immunological stress responses following resistance training in young athletes. Fourteen (7 females and 7 males) track and field athletes with a mean age of 16.4 years and without any symptoms of upper or lower respiratory tract infections participated in this study. Over a period of 7 days, subjective symptoms using the Acute Recovery and Stress Scale (ARSS) and objective signs of immunological responses using capillary blood markers were taken each morning and after the last training session. Differences between morning and evening sessions and associations between subjective and objective parameters were analyzed using generalized estimating equations (GEE). In post hoc analyses, daily change-scores of the ARSS dimensions were compared between participants and revealed specific changes in objective capillary blood samples. In the GEE models, recovery (ARSS) was characterized by a significant decrease while stress (ARSS) showed a significant increase between morning and evening-training sessions. A concomitant increase in white blood cell count (WBC), granulocytes (GRAN) and percentage shares of granulocytes (GRAN%) was found between morning and evening sessions. Of note, percentage shares of lymphocytes (LYM%) showed a significant decrease. Furthermore, using multivariate regression analyses, we identified that recovery was significantly associated with LYM%, while stress was significantly associated with WBC and GRAN%. Post hoc analyses revealed significantly larger increases in participants' stress dimensions who showed increases in GRAN%. For recovery, significantly larger decreases were found in participants with decreases in LYM% during recovery. More specifically, daily change-scores of the recovery and stress dimensions of the ARSS were associated with specific changes in objective immunological markers (GRAN%, LYM%) between morning and evening-training sessions. Our results indicate that changes of subjective symptoms of recovery and stress dimensions using the ARSS were associated with specific changes in objectively measured immunological markers. KW - immune system KW - strength training KW - track and field KW - youth KW - Acute Recovery and Stress Scale (ARSS) Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.00698 SN - 1664-042X VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Prieske, Olaf A1 - Chaabene, Helmi A1 - Puta, Christian A1 - Behm, David George A1 - Büsch, Dirk A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Effects of Drop Height on Jump Performance in Male and Female Elite Adolescent Handball Players JF - International journal of sports physiology and performance N2 - Purpose: To examine the effects of drop height on drop-jump (DJ) performance and on associations between DJ and horizontal-jump/sprint performances in adolescent athletes. Methods: Male (n = 119, 2.5 [0.6] y post-peak-height velocity) and female (n = 120, 2.5 [0.5] y post-peak-height velocity) adolescent handball players (national level) performed DJs in randomized order using 3 drop heights (20, 35, and 50 cm). DJ performance (jump height, reactive strength index [RSI]) was analyzed using the Optojump Next system. In addition, correlations were computed between DJ height and RSI with standing-long-jump and 20-m linear-sprint performances. Results: Statistical analyses revealed medium-size main effects of drop height for DJ height and RSI (P <.001, 0.63 <= d <= 0.71). Post hoc tests indicated larger DJ heights from 20 to 35 and 35 to 50 cm (P <=.031, 0.33 <= d <= 0.71) and better RSI from 20- to 35-cm drop height (P <.001, d = 0.77). No significant difference was found for RSI between 35- and 50-cm drop height. Irrespective of drop height, associations of DJ height and RSI were small with 5-m-split time (-.27 <= r <=.05), medium with 10-m-split time (-.44 <= r <=.14), and medium to large with 20-m sprint time and standing-long-jump distance (-.57 <= r <=.22). Conclusions: The present findings indicate that, irrespective of sex, 35-cm drop heights are best suited to induce rapid and powerful DJ performance (ie, RSI) during reactive strength training in elite adolescent handball players. Moreover, training-related gains in DJ performance may at least partly translate to gains in horizontal jump and longer sprint distances (ie, >= 20-m) and/or vice versa in male and female elite adolescent athletes, irrespective of drop height. KW - stretch-shortening cycle KW - plyometric training KW - strength training KW - tendon stiffness KW - young athletes Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2018-0482 SN - 1555-0265 SN - 1555-0273 VL - 14 IS - 5 SP - 674 EP - 680 PB - Human Kinetics Publ. CY - Champaign ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Saidi, Karim A1 - Zouhal, Hassane A1 - Rhibi, Fatma A1 - Tijani, Jed M. A1 - Boullosa, Daniel A1 - Chebbi, Amel A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Bideau, Benoit A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf T1 - Effects of a six-week period of congested match play on plasma volume variations, hematological parameters, training workload and physical fitness in elite soccer players JF - PLOS ONE N2 - Objectives The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of a six-week in-season period of soccer training and games (congested period) on plasma volume variations (PV), hematological parameters, and physical fitness in elite players. In addition, we analyzed relationships between training load, hematological parameters and players’ physical fitness. Methods Eighteen elite players were evaluated before (T1) and after (T2) a six-week in-season period interspersed with 10 soccer matches. At T1 and T2, players performed the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (YYIR1), the repeated shuttle sprint ability test (RSSA), the countermovement jump test (CMJ), and the squat jump test (SJ). In addition, PV and hematological parameters (erythrocytes [M/mm3], hematocrit [%], hemoglobin [g/dl], mean corpuscular volume [fl], mean corpuscular hemoglobin content [pg], and mean hemoglobin concentration [%]) were assessed. Daily ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were monitored in order to quantify the internal training load. Results From T1 to T2, significant performance declines were found for the YYIR1 (p<0.001, effect size [ES] = 0.5), RSSA (p<0.01, ES = 0.6) and SJ tests (p< 0.046, ES = 0.7). However, no significant changes were found for the CMJ (p = 0.86, ES = 0.1). Post-exercise, RSSA blood lactate (p<0.012, ES = 0.2) and PV (p<0.01, ES = 0.7) increased significantly from T1 to T2. A significant decrease was found from T1 to T2 for the erythrocyte value (p<0.002, ES = 0.5) and the hemoglobin concentration (p<0.018, ES = 0.8). The hematocrit percentage rate was also significantly lower (p<0.001, ES = 0.6) at T2. The mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin content and the mean hemoglobin content values were not statistically different from T1 to T2. No significant relationships were detected between training load parameters and percentage changes of hematological parameters. However, a significant relationship was observed between training load and changes in RSSA performance (r = -0.60; p<0.003). Conclusions An intensive period of “congested match play” over 6 weeks significantly compromised players’ physical fitness. These changes were not related to hematological parameters, even though significant alterations were detected for selected measures. KW - body density KW - performance KW - exercise KW - blood KW - hematocrit KW - responses KW - physiology KW - schedule KW - recovery KW - fatigue Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219692 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 14 IS - 7 PB - Public Library of Science CY - San Francisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Albert, Justin Amadeus A1 - Owolabi, Victor A1 - Gebel, Arnd A1 - Brahms, Clemens Markus A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Arnrich, Bert T1 - Evaluation of the Pose Tracking Performance of the Azure Kinect and Kinect v2 for Gait Analysis in Comparison with a Gold Standard BT - A Pilot Study JF - Sensors N2 - Gait analysis is an important tool for the early detection of neurological diseases and for the assessment of risk of falling in elderly people. The availability of low-cost camera hardware on the market today and recent advances in Machine Learning enable a wide range of clinical and health-related applications, such as patient monitoring or exercise recognition at home. In this study, we evaluated the motion tracking performance of the latest generation of the Microsoft Kinect camera, Azure Kinect, compared to its predecessor Kinect v2 in terms of treadmill walking using a gold standard Vicon multi-camera motion capturing system and the 39 marker Plug-in Gait model. Five young and healthy subjects walked on a treadmill at three different velocities while data were recorded simultaneously with all three camera systems. An easy-to-administer camera calibration method developed here was used to spatially align the 3D skeleton data from both Kinect cameras and the Vicon system. With this calibration, the spatial agreement of joint positions between the two Kinect cameras and the reference system was evaluated. In addition, we compared the accuracy of certain spatio-temporal gait parameters, i.e., step length, step time, step width, and stride time calculated from the Kinect data, with the gold standard system. Our results showed that the improved hardware and the motion tracking algorithm of the Azure Kinect camera led to a significantly higher accuracy of the spatial gait parameters than the predecessor Kinect v2, while no significant differences were found between the temporal parameters. Furthermore, we explain in detail how this experimental setup could be used to continuously monitor the progress during gait rehabilitation in older people. KW - motion capture KW - evaluation KW - human motion KW - RGB-D cameras KW - digital health Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/s20185104 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 20 IS - 18 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhou, Lin A1 - Fischer, Eric A1 - Tunca, Can A1 - Brahms, Clemens Markus A1 - Ersoy, Cem A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Arnrich, Bert T1 - How We Found Our IMU BT - Guidelines to IMU Selection and a Comparison of Seven IMUs for Pervasive Healthcare Applications JF - Sensors N2 - Inertial measurement units (IMUs) are commonly used for localization or movement tracking in pervasive healthcare-related studies, and gait analysis is one of the most often studied topics using IMUs. The increasing variety of commercially available IMU devices offers convenience by combining the sensor modalities and simplifies the data collection procedures. However, selecting the most suitable IMU device for a certain use case is increasingly challenging. In this study, guidelines for IMU selection are proposed. In particular, seven IMUs were compared in terms of their specifications, data collection procedures, and raw data quality. Data collected from the IMUs were then analyzed by a gait analysis algorithm. The difference in accuracy of the calculated gait parameters between the IMUs could be used to retrace the issues in raw data, such as acceleration range or sensor calibration. Based on our algorithm, we were able to identify the best-suited IMUs for our needs. This study provides an overview of how to select the IMUs based on the area of study with concrete examples, and gives insights into the features of seven commercial IMUs using real data. KW - inertial measurement unit KW - pervasive healthcare KW - gait analysis KW - comparison of devices Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/s20154090 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 20 IS - 15 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Trautmann, Justin A1 - Zhou, Lin A1 - Brahms, Clemens Markus A1 - Tunca, Can A1 - Ersoy, Cem A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Arnrich, Bert T1 - TRIPOD BT - A treadmill walking dataset with IMU, pressure-distribution and photoelectric data for gait analysis JF - Data : open access ʻData in scienceʼ journal N2 - Inertial measurement units (IMUs) enable easy to operate and low-cost data recording for gait analysis. When combined with treadmill walking, a large number of steps can be collected in a controlled environment without the need of a dedicated gait analysis laboratory. In order to evaluate existing and novel IMU-based gait analysis algorithms for treadmill walking, a reference dataset that includes IMU data as well as reliable ground truth measurements for multiple participants and walking speeds is needed. This article provides a reference dataset consisting of 15 healthy young adults who walked on a treadmill at three different speeds. Data were acquired using seven IMUs placed on the lower body, two different reference systems (Zebris FDMT-HQ and OptoGait), and two RGB cameras. Additionally, in order to validate an existing IMU-based gait analysis algorithm using the dataset, an adaptable modular data analysis pipeline was built. Our results show agreement between the pressure-sensitive Zebris and the photoelectric OptoGait system (r = 0.99), demonstrating the quality of our reference data. As a use case, the performance of an algorithm originally designed for overground walking was tested on treadmill data using the data pipeline. The accuracy of stride length and stride time estimations was comparable to that reported in other studies with overground data, indicating that the algorithm is equally applicable to treadmill data. The Python source code of the data pipeline is publicly available, and the dataset will be provided by the authors upon request, enabling future evaluations of IMU gait analysis algorithms without the need of recording new data. KW - inertial measurement unit KW - gait analysis algorithm KW - OptoGait KW - Zebris KW - data pipeline KW - public dataset Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/data6090095 SN - 2306-5729 VL - 6 IS - 9 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Teich, Paula A1 - Fühner, Thea Heidi A1 - Baehr, Florian A1 - Puta, Christian A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Kliegl, Reinhold T1 - Covid pandemic effects on the physical fitness of primary school children BT - results of the german EMOTIKON project JF - Sports Medicine - Open N2 - BackgroundIn spring of 2020, the Sars-CoV-2 incidence rate increased rapidly in Germany and around the world. Throughout the next 2 years, schools were temporarily closed and social distancing measures were put in place to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Did these social restrictions and temporary school lockdowns affect children's physical fitness? The EMOTIKON project annually tests the physical fitness of all third-graders in the Federal State of Brandenburg, Germany. The tests assess cardiorespiratory endurance (6-min-run test), coordination (star-run test), speed (20-m sprint test), lower (powerLOW, standing long jump test), and upper (powerUP, ball-push test) limbs muscle power, and static balance (one-legged stance test with eyes closed). A total of 125,893 children were tested in the falls from 2016 to 2022. Primary analyses focused on 98,510 keyage third-graders (i.e., school enrollment according to the legal key date, aged 8 to 9 years) from 515 schools. Secondary analyses included 27,383 older-than-keyage third-graders (i.e., OTK, delayed school enrollment or repetition of a grade, aged 9 to 10 years), who have been shown to exhibit lower physical fitness than expected for their age. Linear mixed models fitted pre-pandemic quadratic secular trends, and took into account differences between children and schools.ResultsThird-graders exhibited lower cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, speed and powerUP in the Covid pandemic cohorts (2020-2022) compared to the pre-pandemic cohorts (2016-2019). Children's powerLOW and static balance were higher in the pandemic cohorts compared to the pre-pandemic cohorts. From 2020 to 2021, coordination, powerLOW and powerUP further declined. Evidence for some post-pandemic physical fitness catch-up was restricted to powerUP. Cohen's |ds| for comparisons of the pandemic cohorts 2020-2022 with pre-pandemic cohorts 2016-2019 ranged from 0.02 for powerLOW to 0.15 for coordination. Within the pandemic cohorts, keyage children exhibited developmental losses ranging from approximately 1 month for speed to 5 months for cardiorespiratory endurance. For powerLOW and static balance, the positive pandemic effects translate to developmental gains of 1 and 7 months, respectively. Pre-pandemic secular trends may account for some of the observed differences between pandemic and pre-pandemic cohorts, especially in powerLOW, powerUP and static balance. The pandemic further increased developmental delays of OTK children in cardiorespiratory endurance, powerUP and balance.ConclusionsThe Covid-19 pandemic was associated with declines in several physical fitness components in German third-graders. Pandemic effects are still visible in 2022. Health-related interventions should specifically target those physical fitness components that were negatively affected by the pandemic (cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, speed). KW - Sars-CoV-2 KW - Cohort study KW - Cardiorespiratory endurance KW - Muscle power KW - Physical fitness KW - Youth KW - EMOTIKON KW - Linear mixed models Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-023-00624-1 SN - 2198-9761 VL - 9 IS - 1 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bouamra, Marwa A1 - Zouhal, Hassane A1 - Ratel, Sébastien A1 - Makhlouf, Issam A1 - Bezrati, Ikram A1 - Chtara, Moktar A1 - Behm, David George A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Chaouachi, Anis T1 - Concurrent Training Promotes Greater Gains on Body Composition and Components of Physical Fitness Than Single-Mode Training (Endurance or Resistance) in Youth With Obesity JF - Frontiers in Physiology N2 - The prevalence of obesity in the pediatric population has become a major public health issue. Indeed, the dramatic increase of this epidemic causes multiple and harmful consequences, Physical activity, particularly physical exercise, remains to be the cornerstone of interventions against childhood obesity. Given the conflicting findings with reference to the relevant literature addressing the effects of exercise on adiposity and physical fitness outcomes in obese children and adolescents, the effect of duration-matched concurrent training (CT) [50% resistance (RT) and 50% high-intensity-interval-training (HIIT)] on body composition and physical fitness in obese youth remains to be elucidated. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 9-weeks of CT compared to RT or HIIT alone, on body composition and selected physical fitness components in healthy sedentary obese youth. Out of 73 participants, only 37; [14 males and 23 females; age 13.4 ± 0.9 years; body-mass-index (BMI): 31.2 ± 4.8 kg·m-2] were eligible and randomized into three groups: HIIT (n = 12): 3-4 sets×12 runs at 80–110% peak velocity, with 10-s passive recovery between bouts; RT (n = 12): 6 exercises; 3–4 sets × 10 repetition maximum (RM) and CT (n = 13): 50% serial completion of RT and HIIT. CT promoted significant greater gains compared to HIIT and RT on body composition (p < 0.01, d = large), 6-min-walking test distance (6 MWT-distance) and on 6 MWT-VO2max (p < 0.03, d = large). In addition, CT showed substantially greater improvements than HIIT in the medicine ball throw test (20.2 vs. 13.6%, p < 0.04, d = large). On the other hand, RT exhibited significantly greater gains in relative hand grip strength (p < 0.03, d = large) and CMJ (p < 0.01, d = large) than HIIT and CT. CT promoted greater benefits for fat, body mass loss and cardiorespiratory fitness than HIIT or RT modalities. This study provides important information for practitioners and therapists on the application of effective exercise regimes with obese youth to induce significant and beneficial body composition changes. The applied CT program and the respective programming parameters in terms of exercise intensity and volume can be used by practitioners as an effective exercise treatment to fight the pandemic overweight and obesity in youth. KW - weight loss KW - adolescents KW - high-intensity-interval training KW - resistance training KW - DXA KW - matched time Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.869063 SN - 1664-042X VL - 13 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Frontiers CY - Lausanne, Schweiz ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jebabli, Nidhal A1 - Zouhal, Hassane A1 - Boullosa, Daniel A1 - Govindasamy, Karuppasamy A1 - Tourny, Claire A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf T1 - The effects of preferred music and its timing on performance, pacing, and psychophysiological responses during the 6-min test JF - Journal of human kinetics N2 - The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of listening to preferred music during a warm up or exercise, on performance during a 6-min all-out exercise test (6-MT) in young adult males. Twenty-five healthy males volunteered to participate in this study. Following a within subject design, participants performed three test conditions (MDT: music during the test; MDW: music during the warm-up; WM: without music) in random order. Outcomes included mean running speed over the 6-min test (MRS6), total distance covered (TDC), heart rate responses (HRpeak, HRmean), blood lactate (3-min after the test), and the rating of perceived exertion (RPE); additionally, feeling scale scores were recorded. Listening to preferred music during running resulted in significant TDC (Delta up arrow 10%, p=0.006, ES=0.80) and MRS6 (Delta up arrow 14%, p=0.012, ES=1.02) improvement during the 6-MT, improvement was also noted for the warm-up with music condition (TDC:Delta up arrow 8%, p=0.028, ES=0.63; MRS6:Delta up arrow 8%, p=0.032, ES=0.61). A similar reverse "J-shaped" pacing profile was detected during the three conditions. Blood lactate was lower in the MDT condition by 8% (p=0.01, ES=1.10), but not the MDW condition, compared to MW. In addition, no statistically significant differences were found between the test sessions for the HR, RPE, and feeling scale scores. In conclusion, listening to music during exercise testing would be more beneficial for optimal TDC and MRS6 performances compared to MDW and WM. KW - rating of perceived exertion KW - work-rate distribution KW - blood lactate; KW - aerobic exercise Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2022-0038 SN - 1640-5544 SN - 1899-7562 VL - 82 IS - 1 SP - 123 EP - 133 PB - Academy of Physical Education CY - Katowice ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Saidi, Karim A1 - Zouhal, Hassane A1 - Boullosa, Daniel A1 - Dupont, Gregory A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Bideau, Benoit A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Ben Abderrahman, Abderraouf T1 - Biochemical markers and wellness status during a congested match play period in elite soccer players JF - International journal of sports physiology and performance : IJSSP N2 - Objectives: To analyze biochemical markers, wellness status, and physical fitness in elite soccer players in relation to changes in training and match exposure during a congested period of match play. Methods: Fourteen elite soccer players were evaluated 3 times (T1, T2, and T3) over 12 weeks (T1-T2: 6-wk regular period of match play and T2-T3: 6-wk congested period of match play). Players performed vertical jump tests, repeated shuttle sprint ability test, and the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test at T1, T2, and T3. Plasma C-reactive protein, creatinine, and creatine kinase were analyzed at T1, T2, and T3. Wellness status was measured daily using the Hopper questionnaire (delayed onset of muscle soreness, stress, fatigue, and sleep quality). Training session rating of perceived exertion was also recorded on a daily basis. Results: A significant increase was found in stress, fatigue, delayed onset of muscle soreness scores, and Hopper index during the congested period (between T2 and T3) compared with the regular period (between T1 and T2) (.001 < P < .008, 0.8 < ES < 2.3). Between T2 and T3, significant relationships were found between the percentage variations (Delta%) of C-reactive protein, and Delta% of creatine kinase with the Hopper Index, and the Delta% of fatigue score. In addition, the Delta% of fatigue score and Delta% of delayed onset of muscle soreness score correlated with Delta% Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test and Delta% best of repeated shuttle sprint ability test (.49 < r < P < .01). Conclusions: An intensive period of congested match play significantly compromised elite soccer players' physical fitness and wellness status. Elite soccer players' wellness status reflects declines in physical fitness during this period while biochemical changes do not. KW - training KW - congested calendar KW - overtraining KW - overreaching KW - recovery Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2020-0914 SN - 1555-0265 SN - 1555-0273 VL - 17 IS - 4 SP - 605 EP - 620 PB - Human Kinetics Publ. CY - Champaign ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bohle, Hannah A1 - Rimpel, Jérôme A1 - Schauenburg, Gesche A1 - Gebel, Arnd A1 - Stelzel, Christine A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Cognitive-Motor Interference during Multitasking in Young and Old Adults JF - Neural Plasticity N2 - The concurrent performance of cognitive and postural tasks is particularly impaired in old adults and associated with an increased risk of falls. Biological aging of the cognitive and postural control system appears to be responsible for increased cognitive-motor interference effects. We examined neural and behavioral markers of motor-cognitive dual-task performance in young and old adults performing spatial one-back working memory single and dual tasks during semitandem stance. On the neural level, we used EEG to test for age-related modulations in the frequency domain related to cognitive-postural task load. Twenty-eight healthy young and 30 old adults participated in this study. The tasks included a postural single task, a cognitive-postural dual task, and a cognitive-postural triple task (cognitive dual-task with postural demands). Postural sway (i.e., total center of pressure displacements) was recorded in semistance position on an unstable surface that was placed on top of a force plate while performing cognitive tasks. Neural activation was recorded using a 64-channel mobile EEG system. EEG frequencies were attenuated by the baseline postural single-task condition and demarcated in nine Regions-of-Interest (ROIs), i.e., anterior, central, posterior, over the cortical midline, and both hemispheres. Our findings revealed impaired cognitive dual-task performance in old compared to young participants in the form of significantly lower cognitive performance in the triple-task condition. Furthermore, old adults compared with young adults showed significantly larger postural sway, especially in cognitive-postural task conditions. With respect to EEG frequencies, young compared to old participants showed significantly lower alpha-band activity in cognitive-cognitive-postural triple-task conditions compared with cognitive-postural dual tasks. In addition, with increasing task difficulty, we observed synchronized theta and delta frequencies, irrespective of age. Taskdependent alterations of the alpha frequency band were most pronounced over frontal and central ROIs, while alterations of the theta and delta frequency bands were found in frontal, central, and posterior ROIs. Theta and delta synchronization exhibited a decrease from anterior to posterior regions. For old adults, task difficulty was reflected by theta synchronization in the posterior ROI. For young adults, it was reflected by alpha desynchronization in bilateral anterior ROIs. In addition, we could not identify any effects of task difficulty and age on the beta frequency band. Our results shed light on age-related cognitive and postural declines and how they interact. Modulated alpha frequencies during high cognitive-postural task demands in young but not old adults might be reflective of a constrained neural adaptive potential in old adults. Future studies are needed to elucidate associations between the identified age-related performance decrements with task difficulty and changes in brain activity. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/9478656 SN - 2090-5904 SN - 1687-5443 PB - Hindawi CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stelzel, Christine A1 - Schauenburg, Gesche A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Age-Related Interference between the Selection of Input-Output Modality Mappings and Postural Control BT - a Pilot Study JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Age-related decline in executive functions and postural control due to degenerative processes in the central nervous system have been related to increased fall-risk in old age. Many studies have shown cognitive-postural dual-task interference in old adults, but research on the role of specific executive functions in this context has just begun. In this study, we addressed the question whether postural control is impaired depending on the coordination of concurrent response-selection processes related to the compatibility of input and output modality mappings as compared to impairments related to working-memory load in the comparison of cognitive dual and single tasks. Specifically, we measured total center of pressure (CoP) displacements in healthy female participants aged 19–30 and 66–84 years while they performed different versions of a spatial one-back working memory task during semi-tandem stance on an unstable surface (i.e., balance pad) while standing on a force plate. The specific working-memory tasks comprised: (i) modality compatible single tasks (i.e., visual-manual or auditory-vocal tasks), (ii) modality compatible dual tasks (i.e., visual-manual and auditory-vocal tasks), (iii) modality incompatible single tasks (i.e., visual-vocal or auditory-manual tasks), and (iv) modality incompatible dual tasks (i.e., visual-vocal and auditory-manual tasks). In addition, participants performed the same tasks while sitting. As expected from previous research, old adults showed generally impaired performance under high working-memory load (i.e., dual vs. single one-back task). In addition, modality compatibility affected one-back performance in dual-task but not in single-task conditions with strikingly pronounced impairments in old adults. Notably, the modality incompatible dual task also resulted in a selective increase in total CoP displacements compared to the modality compatible dual task in the old but not in the young participants. These results suggest that in addition to effects of working-memory load, processes related to simultaneously overcoming special linkages between input- and output modalities interfere with postural control in old but not in young female adults. Our preliminary data provide further evidence for the involvement of cognitive control processes in postural tasks. KW - cognitive-postural dual task KW - postural stability KW - working memory KW - modality compatibility KW - aging Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00613 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 8 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stelzel, Christine A1 - Bohle, Hannah A1 - Schauenburg, Gesche A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Heinzel, Stephan T1 - Contribution of the Lateral Prefrontal Cortex to Cognitive-Postural Multitasking JF - Frontiers in psychologie N2 - There is evidence for cortical contribution to the regulation of human postural control. Interference from concurrently performed cognitive tasks supports this notion, and the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) has been suggested to play a prominent role in the processing of purely cognitive as well as cognitive-postural dual tasks. The degree of cognitive-motor interference varies greatly between individuals, but it is unresolved whether individual differences in the recruitment of specific lPFC regions during cognitive dual tasking are associated with individual differences in cognitive-motor interference. Here, we investigated inter-individual variability in a cognitive-postural multitasking situation in healthy young adults (n = 29) in order to relate these to inter-individual variability in lPFC recruitment during cognitive multitasking. For this purpose, a oneback working memory task was performed either as single task or as dual task in order to vary cognitive load. Participants performed these cognitive single and dual tasks either during upright stance on a balance pad that was placed on top of a force plate or during fMRI measurement with little to no postural demands. We hypothesized dual one-back task performance to be associated with lPFC recruitment when compared to single one-back task performance. In addition, we expected individual variability in lPFC recruitment to be associated with postural performance costs during concurrent dual one-back performance. As expected, behavioral performance costs in postural sway during dual-one back performance largely varied between individuals and so did lPFC recruitment during dual one-back performance. Most importantly, individuals who recruited the right mid-lPFC to a larger degree during dual one-back performance also showed greater postural sway as measured by larger performance costs in total center of pressure displacements. This effect was selective to the high-load dual one-back task and suggests a crucial role of the right lPFC in allocating resources during cognitivemotor interference. Our study provides further insight into the mechanisms underlying cognitive-motor multitasking and its impairments. KW - balance KW - dual task KW - fMRI KW - postural control KW - working memory Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01075 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 9 PB - Frontiers CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stelzel, Christine A1 - Schauenburg, Gesche A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Age-Related Interference between the Selection of Input-Output Modality Mappings and Postural Control-a Pilot Study JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Age-related decline in executive functions and postural control due to degenerative processes in the central nervous system have been related to increased fall-risk in old age. Many studies have shown cognitive-postural dual-task interference in old adults, but research on the role of specific executive functions in this context has just begun. In this study, we addressed the question whether postural control is impaired depending on the coordination of concurrent response-selection processes related to the compatibility of input and output modality mappings as compared to impairments related to working-memory load in the comparison of cognitive dual and single tasks. Specifically, we measured total center of pressure (CoP) displacements in healthy female participants aged 19-30 and 66-84 years while they performed different versions of a spatial one-back working memory task during semi-tandem stance on an unstable surface (i.e., balance pad) while standing on a force plate. The specific working-memory tasks comprised: (i) modality compatible single tasks (i.e., visual-manual or auditory-vocal tasks), (ii) modality compatible dual tasks (i.e., visual-manual and auditory-vocal tasks), (iii) modality incompatible single tasks (i.e., visual-vocal or auditory-manual tasks), and (iv) modality incompatible dual tasks (i.e., visual-vocal and auditory-manual tasks). In addition, participants performed the same tasks while sitting. As expected from previous research, old adults showed generally impaired performance under high working-memory load (i.e., dual vs. single one-back task). In addition, modality compatibility affected one-back performance in dual-task but not in single-task conditions with strikingly pronounced impairments in old adults. Notably, the modality incompatible dual task also resulted in a selective increase in total CoP displacements compared to the modality compatible dual task in the old but not in the young participants. These results suggest that in addition to effects of working-memory load, processes related to simultaneously overcoming special linkages between input-and output modalities interfere with postural control in old but not in young female adults. Our preliminary data provide further evidence for the involvement of cognitive control processes in postural tasks. KW - cognitive-postural dual task KW - postural stability KW - working memory KW - modality compatibility KW - aging Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00613 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 8 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Brahms, Markus A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Rapp, Michael A. A1 - Mückstein, Marie A1 - Hortobágyi, Tibor A1 - Stelzel, Christine A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - The acute effects of mental fatigue on balance performance in healthy young and older adults – A systematic review and meta-analysis JF - Acta Psychologica N2 - Cognitive resources contribute to balance control. There is evidence that mental fatigue reduces cognitive resources and impairs balance performance, particularly in older adults and when balance tasks are complex, for example when trying to walk or stand while concurrently performing a secondary cognitive task. We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science and Google Scholar to identify eligible studies and performed a random effects meta-analysis to quantify the effects of experimentally induced mental fatigue on balance performance in healthy adults. Subgroup analyses were computed for age (healthy young vs. healthy older adults) and balance task complexity (balance tasks with high complexity vs. balance tasks with low complexity) to examine the moderating effects of these factors on fatigue-mediated balance performance. We identified 7 eligible studies with 9 study groups and 206 participants. Analysis revealed that performing a prolonged cognitive task had a small but significant effect (SMDwm = −0.38) on subsequent balance performance in healthy young and older adults. However, age- and task-related differences in balance responses to fatigue could not be confirmed statistically. Overall, aggregation of the available literature indicates that mental fatigue generally reduces balance in healthy adults. However, interactions between cognitive resource reduction, aging and balance task complexity remain elusive. KW - Cognitive fatigue KW - Exertion KW - Tiredness KW - Postural control KW - Gait KW - Sway Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103540 SN - 1873-6297 VL - 225 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -