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The referent control theory (RCT) for action and perception is an advanced formulation of the equilibrium-point hypothesis. The RCT suggests that rather than directly specifying the desired motor outcome, the nervous system controls action and perception indirectly by setting the values of parameters of physical and physiological laws. This is done independently of values of kinematic and kinetic variables including electromyographic patterns describing the motor outcome. One such parameter—the threshold muscle length, λ, at which motoneurons of a given muscle begin to be recruited, has been identified experimentally. In RCT, a similar parameter, the referent arm position, R, has been defined for multiple arm muscles as the threshold arm position at which arm muscles can be quiescent but activated depending on the deflection of the actual arm position, Q, from R. Changes in R result in reciprocal changes in the activity of opposing muscle groups. We advanced the explanatory power of RCT by combining the usual biomechanical descriptions of motor actions with the identification of the timing of R underlying arm movements made with reversals in three directions and to three different extents. We found that in all movements, periods of minimization of the activity of multiple muscles could be identified at ∼61%–86% of the reaching extent in each direction. These electromyographic minimization periods reflect the spatial coordinates at which the R and Q overlap during the production of movements with reversals. The findings support the concept of the production of arm movement by shifting R.

There has been a paucity of literature discussing how to address consent procedures as part of ethics, practitioner development, and best practice in applied sport psychology. Several researchers have addressed ethical challenges (e.g., out-of-session contact, overidentification, time, and space). However, none have substantially considered the sport-specific issues related to consent, which sits at the heart of best practice. The scarcity of discussing consent is limiting sport psychology’s potential to establish itself as a more recognized profession. This article highlights some contextual issues that challenge the idea and efficacy of informed consent. It proposes adapting consent procedures in the collaboration between sport psychology practitioners and clients to better address the current contextual challenges in applied sport psychology. In doing so, the current paper introduces Empowered Consent, which is specifically designed to empower athletes and address challenges related to choosing interventions, contractual obligations, visibility in the environment, and staff trying to gain insights into confidential information. The author offers a model to enhance applied practice for those collaborating with athletes and other clients in sport.

Although the ability to recover balance in the lateral direction has important implications with regard to fall risk in older adults, the effect of visual input on balance recovery in response to lateral perturbation and the effect of age are not well studied. We investigated the effect of visual input on balance recovery response to unpredictable lateral surface perturbations and its age-related changes. Ten younger and 10 older healthy adults were compared during balance recovery trials performed with the eyes open and eyes closed (EC). Compared with younger adults, older adults showed increased electromyography (EMG) peak amplitude of the soleus and gluteus medius, reduced EMG burst duration of the gluteus maximus and medius, and increased body sway (SD of the body’s center of mass acceleration) in EC. In addition, older adults exhibited a smaller % increase (EC—eyes open) of the ankle eversion angle, hip abduction torque, EMG burst duration of the fibularis longus, and a greater % increase of body sway. All kinematics, kinetics, and EMG variables were greater in EC compared with eyes open in both groups. In conclusion, the absence of visual input negatively affects the balance recovery mechanism more in older adults compared with younger adults.

In sports situations, players may be required to throw at different speeds. The question of how skilled players throw the ball accurately to the desired location under different speed conditions is of interest to biomechanics researchers. Previous research suggested that throwers use different types of joint coordination. However, joint coordination with a change in throwing speed has not been studied. Here, we show the effects of changes in throwing speed on joint coordination during accurate overhead throwing. Participants were seated on a low chair with their trunk fixed and threw a baseball aimed at a target under 2 different speed conditions (slow and fast). In the slow condition, the elbow flexion/extension angle coordinated with other joint angles and angular velocities to reduce the variability of the vertical hand velocity. In the fast condition, the shoulder internal/external rotation angle and the shoulder horizontal flexion/extension angular velocity coordinated with other joint angles and angular velocities to reduce the variability of the vertical hand velocity. These results showed that joint coordination differed with changes in throwing speed, indicating that joint coordination is not always fixed, but may differ depending on the task constraints, such as throwing speed.

A comprehensive evaluation of physical activity (PA) engagement and policy implementation among Filipino children and adolescents with disabilities is vital in the promotion of an active healthy lifestyle. This is the first Para Report Card of the Philippines that presents the available evidence on the 10 commonly used PA indicators. Published and gray literature were searched for country-specific evidence on PA behaviors, physical fitness, and sources of influence. Stakeholders representing relevant national institutions, special education schools, and advocacy groups also provided input on the grades. Only Organized Sport and Government indicators had sufficient data to be graded F and B, respectively. The rest of the indicators were graded as incomplete due to the limited availability of nationally representative data. Findings of the Philippines 2022 Para Report Card on PA highlight the need to strengthen the documentation and evaluation of these indicators among Filipino children and adolescents with disabilities.

In-lab, marker-based gait analyses may not represent real-world gait. Real-world gait analyses may be feasible using inertial measurement units (IMUs) in combination with open-source data processing pipelines (OpenSense). Before using OpenSense to study real-world gait, we must determine whether these methods estimate joint kinematics similarly to traditional marker-based motion capture (MoCap) and differentiate groups with clinically different gait mechanics. Healthy young and older adults and older adults with knee osteoarthritis completed this study. We captured MoCap and IMU data during overground walking at 2 speeds. MoCap and IMU kinematics were computed with OpenSim workflows. We tested whether sagittal kinematics differed between MoCap and IMU, whether tools detected between-group differences similarly, and whether kinematics differed between tools by speed. MoCap showed more anterior pelvic tilt (0%–100% stride) and joint flexion than IMU (hip: 0%–38% and 61%–100% stride; knee: 0%–38%, 58%–89%, and 95%–99% stride; and ankle: 6%–99% stride). There were no significant tool-by-group interactions. We found significant tool-by-speed interactions for all angles. While MoCap- and IMU-derived kinematics differed, the lack of tool-by-group interactions suggests consistent tracking across clinical cohorts. Results of the current study suggest that IMU-derived kinematics with OpenSense may enable reliable evaluation of gait in real-world settings.

A systematic search was performed of online databases for any anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries within the NBA. Video was obtained of injuries occurring during competition and downloaded for 2-dimensional video analysis. Thirty-five in-game videos were obtained for analysis. Of the reviewed cases, 19% were noncontact ACL injuries where there was no player-to-player contact from an opposing player. Three injury mechanism categories were found based on the events at the point of initial ground contact of the foot of the injured limb: single-leg casting (mean dorsiflexion angle 18.9° (14.4°); mean knee flexion angle 15.6° (7.8°); and mean trunk lateral flexion 18.2° (8.4°)); bilateral hop (mean dorsiflexion angle 18.2° (15.2°), mean knee flexion angle 21° (14.5°), mean trunk extension angle 6.9° (11.4°), and landing angle from the athlete’s center of mass 47.9° (10.1°)); and single-leg landing after contact (mean abduction angle of the swing leg 105.4° (18.1°), mean knee flexion angle of the injured limb 34.2° (8.0°), and mean trunk ipsilateral flexion angle 22.2° (7.0°)).

Spatiotemporal gait kinematics and their variability are commonly assessed in clinical and laboratory settings to quantify fall risk. Although the Hawthorne effect, or modifications in participant behavior due to knowledge of being observed, has the potential to impact such assessments, it has received minimal attention in the study of gait—particularly gait variability. The purpose of this study was to quantify the Hawthorne effect on variability and central tendency measures of fall-related spatiotemporal gait parameters. Seventeen healthy young adults walked on a treadmill at a self-selected velocity for 2 minutes under covert evaluation (ie, without awareness of being evaluated) and 2 minutes under overt evaluation. The movement was recorded using motion capture technology, from which we calculated mean value and step-to-step variability (using standard deviation and mean absolute deviation) of step length, step width, percent double support, percent stance phase, and stride time. Although central tendencies were unaffected by evaluation type, four-of-five measures of variability were significantly lower during overt evaluation for at least one-of-two metrics. Our results suggest a Hawthorne effect on locomotor control. Researchers should be aware of this phenomenon when designing research studies and interpreting gait assessments.