View clinical trials related to Motor Activity.
Filter by:The present literature supports the importance of the motor activity since the early stages of the human development. The children with poor motor skills are at greater risk for psychosocial, internalizing, and metabolic diseases. In Italy data about obesity and inactivity are increasing, anyway there is lack of motor program for pre-schoolers. The movement program Animal Fun seems to be a valid tool to support these children. The aim of this study is to verify the feasibility of using Animal Fun with Italian pre-schoolers. 119 preschool children (3-6 years old) from 3 Italian kindergartens were included in this study. The schools were randomly allocated to intervention and control group. Movement Assessment Battery for Children - 2 (MABC-2) was administered to all the children at the baseline and at one-month follow-up. During this month, the schools assigned to the control group followed the normal curriculum; the schools assigned to the Animal Fun group, followed the Animal Fun activity (thirty minutes, thrice a week). The investigators expect that the Animal Fun program demonstrates valid and feasible even in the Italian context, where there is lack of movement program supporting the development of the pre-school children.
These studies test the hypothesis that frontal areas of the brain participate in the cortical networks involved in the somotosensory processing that happens during speech motor learning.
The quadratus lumborum block is widely used in abdominal surgery for post-operative analgesia. It is now also used for pain relief after hip surgery. Under the traditional blocking method, a high concentration of long-acting local anesthetic is used in order to achieve a long-term blocking effect. However, this is also likely to cause the patient's quadriceps weakness during the block period, increasing the risk of the patient falling during rehabilitation. It also increases systemic local anesthetic poisoning and may even trigger the risk of serious side effects such as cardiac arrest. Ropivacaine is a novel long-acting topical amine anesthetics that lasts long and has anesthetic and analgesic effects. Its pharmacological characteristics are low cardiotoxicity, sensory block and motor block separation at low concentrations more obvious, and with the external peripheral vasoconstriction. Therefore, the drug is especially suitable for postoperative analgesia. Dexamethasone is a synthetic corticosteroid for the treatment of a wide range of symptoms including rheumatic diseases, certain skin diseases, severe allergies, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cerebral edema, and may also be combined with antibiotics for tuberculosis patients. It is becoming more common to use steroids as an adjuvant to local anesthetics in peripheral nerve block. Steroids have neurological blockade effects by blocking the nociceptive transmission of pith-type C-fibers and inhibiting the release of ectopic neurons. Dexamethasone, as a local anesthetic adjuvant in peripheral nerve block, has also been widely studied recently. In order to reduce the incidence of long-acting topical anesthetics from the nerve block in the quadratus lumborum block, reducing the local anesthetic concentration is a feasible method. However, this will also result in a shorter time to neurological block. The investigators hypothesized that the addition of Dexamethasone 5 mg to low concentrations (0.25%) of Ropivacaine would prolong postoperative analgesia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the postoperative analgesia and the side effects of postoperative quadratus lumborum block with the addition of Dexamethasone 4mg to Ropivacaine (0.25%) in low concentrations and Ropivacaine (0.5%) alone.
In recent years, suprainguinal fascia iliaca block (SFIB) has emerged as a reliable analgesic option for primary total hip arthroplasty (THA). In 2018, a new block was described, termed pericapsular nerve group block or PENG block, that selectively targets the articular branches of the femoral and obturator nerves while sparing their motor components. In this randomized trial, the investigators will compare US-guided SFIB and PENG block in patients undergoing primary THA. Since the main benefit of PENGB stems from its quadriceps-sparing effect, it was selected the incidence of quadriceps motor block (at 6 hours) as the primary outcome and the hypothesis that PENG block will result in significantly less motor block compared to SFIB.
The objective of this research is to 1) determine the impact of a physical literacy training workshop for parents of preschool children (3-5 years) on their knowledge and confidence levels in regards to engaging in meaningful physical activity with their child(ren) in order to promote physical literacy. 2) Evaluate workshop reach and implementation facilitators and barriers. In this pilot study, interested participants will be randomized into the intervention group or the wait-list control group. Participants will complete two brief surveys regarding their knowledge and confidence in doing physically activities with their children. The intervention group will receive a 75 minute physical literacy workshop at baseline, and complete a 2 month follow-up interview. The wait-list control group will receive the workshop after questionnaires have been completed. Statistical analysis will be conducted to compare change in knowledge and confidence levels in between intervention and control groups. Findings will contribute to promoting and improving parental confidence in providing opportunities for children to develop their physical literacy and advance future research regarding physical activity promotion for children.
The purpose of this study is to determinate whether the application of transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation produce changes in the excitability of alpha moto neurone in healthy volunteers. Moreover evidence whether the effect of the electric currents can increase muscle strength.
This randomized controlled trial shows for the first time that focused musical instrumental practice as compared to traditional sensitization to music provokes multiple transfer effects in the cognitive and sensorimotor domain. Over the last two years of primary school (10-12-year-old children), sixty-nine children received biweekly musical instruction in a group setting by professional musicians within the regular school curriculum. The intervention group learned to play string instruments, whereas the control group, peers in parallel classes, was sensitized to music via listening, theory, and some practice. Broad benefits manifested in the intervention group as compared to the control group for working memory, attention, processing speed, cognitive flexibility, matrix reasoning, sensorimotor hand function and bimanual coordination Apparently, learning to play a complex instrument in a dynamic group setting impacts development much stronger than classical sensitization to music. Our results therefore highlight the added value of intensive musical instrumental training in a group setting, encouraging general implementation in public primary schools, better preparing children for secondary school and for daily living activities.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) positively influences motor rehabilitation in stroke recovery. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has shown effects on cortical plasticity. We investigate whether combination of TMS and taVNS is more effective at motor cortex excitability than either modality alone.
Recent evidence suggested that Action Observation Therapy (AOT), based on observation of actions followed by immediate reproduction, could be a useful rehabilitative strategy for promoting functional recovery of children affected by Unilateral Cerebral Palsy (UCP). The AOT is based on the discovery of mirror neurons, a class of visuomotor neurons that are activated when the individual performs a targeted action, both when observing the same action performed by another individual. An important assumption of AOT is that the mirror system, thanks to its visuomotor properties, is able to coordinate visual information with the observer's motor experience. Indeed, the actions outside the individual's behavioral repertoire are elaborated and categorized only on the basis of visual characteristics, without inducing any phenomenon of motor resonance in the observer's brain. Therefore, given the deficiency of their motor repertoire, children affected by UCP could have a reduced activation of the mirror system during the observation of actions performed by healthy subjects. Nevertheless, this activation could increase during the observation of the same actions performed by a subject with similar motor strategies, due to a similar form of hemiplegia. The present project is a randomized controlled clinical trial to verify the influence of the observed model on the effectiveness of AOT in the rehabilitation of the affected upper limb in children with UCP. In particular, the study will verify whether the rehabilitation through AOT based on a pathological model (improving the patient's current abilities) gives more results than AOT based on a typical (healthy) development model, as reported by all the documented researches in literature. Furthermore, to investigate the functional reorganization of the sensorimotor system after rehabilitative treatment, a subgroup of participants will be subjected to a fMRI session (Functional Magnetic Resonance), to verify functional changes, comparing data before and after AOT.
Myelomeningocele is a neural tube defect that occurs between the third and fourth week of gestation. Functional impairment occurs due to dysplasia of the nerve roots, which can lead to flaccid paralysis and sensory-motor dysfunction below the level of the lesion. Although advances in the multidisciplinary treatment of myelomeningocele have led to functional improvements in affected children, novel therapeutic modalities, such as photobiomodulation (PBM), could be a promising complement to treatment. Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of PBM combined with physiotherapeutic exercises on the sensory-motor response in individuals with myelomeningocele at the lower lumbar and sacral level. Participants will be recruited from the Integrated Health Clinic of University Nove de Julho and randomized into two groups: Grupo 1 - treatment with PBM at a wavelength of 808 nm + physical therapy; Grupo 2 - sham PBM + physical therapy. Evaluations will involve electromyography of the gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior and rectus femoris muscles of both lower limbs. Balance will be evaluated using the Pediatric Balance Scale. The sensory evaluation will be performed using the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament kit (Smiles®). BDNF levels will be determined using ELISA. The data will be analyzed with the aid of GraphPad PRISM version 7.0. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test will be used to determine the normality of the data. Variables that fit the Gaussian curve will be expressed as mean and standard deviation values. The t-test will be used for the comparisons between groups, with the level of significance set to 95% (p < 0.05).