1. Investigación

Objective: To investigate the effects of adding stretching to a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise programme in women with fibromyalgia. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Subjects: Sixty-four female patients who were diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome based on the American College of Rheumatology criteria were recruited (mean age: 54.27 ± 6.94 years). Interventions: The control group (n = 32) underwent supervised moderate-intensity cycling (50%-70% of the age-predicted maximum heart rate) three times per week for 12 weeks. The experimental group (n = 32) underwent the same exercise programme plus a stretching programme once per week for 12 weeks. Main measures: The main measures of this study were sleep quality assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the impact of fibromyalgia on quality of life assessed by the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, and pain perception assessed by the visual analogue scale at baseline, after 4 weeks, and after 12 weeks. Results: The experimental group experienced significant improvements at 4-week measure compared with control group: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (P < 0.001); Epworth Sleepiness Scale (P = 0.002); Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (0.93 ± 7.39, P < 0.001); and visual analogue scale (0.52 ± 0.05, P < 0.001). Also at 12-week measure, experimental group experienced significant improvements compared with control group: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (P < 0.001), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (P < 0.001); Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (1.15 ± 9.11, P < 0.001); and visual analogue scale (0.81 ± 0.62, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Adding stretching to a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise programme increased sleep quality, decreased the impact of fibromyalgia on the quality of life, and reduced pain compared with just a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise programme in our sample of women with fibromyalgia.

The purpose of this study was to perform the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation Questionnaire to Spanish language and evaluate its reliability and validity. The translation and cultural adaptation into Spanish was done in accordance with the published guidelines. One-hundred fifty Spanish-speaking patients with unilateral chronic lateral epicondylalgia competed the questionnaire. Test-retest reliability was established by the intraclass correlation coefficient. Internal consistency was established with Cronbach's α. To establish convergent validity, we used the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Questionnaire using the Spearman's correlation coefficient. Error estimation in the measurements was calculated with the standard error of measurement. Our results showed a high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .96) and high test-retest reliability (intraclass coefficient = .9; .89-.94; P < .001). The Spearman's correlation coefficient (r = .765; P < .001) showed a good relationship between the Spanish version of the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation Questionnaire and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Questionnaire. The standard error of measurement (11.9%) showed little variability of measurements. In conclusion, the Spanish version of the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation Questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool that can be used to assess lateral epicondylalgia in Spanish-speaking individuals in order to implement the best treatment and reduce time with pain and disability.

The aim of this study was to identify Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle from lambs with high IMF content (≥3%) using wool FA. The FA composition was characterized in two sections of wool from Suffolk Down lambs, and its relationship with IMF content assessed. One hundred and forty lambs of similar body weight, body condition score, and age were selected. IMF content from LL muscle, and the wool fat and FA composition of the wool were determined. The proportions of FAs in the wool of lambs with low IMF were 51.96 ± 7.3% of saturated, 31.96 ± 7.7% polyunsaturated, and 16.08 ± 2.3% monounsaturated. Similar proportions of FAs were observed in wool samples of lambs with high IMF. Significant differences were found only in the SFA proportion between groups (p < 0.05). The predominant FAs in the wool samples were C16:0, C17:0, C18:0, C18:1n9c and C18:2n6c, representing over 60% of total FA methyl esters. Correlations were found between the wool FAs C16:1, C17:0, C18:0, C18:1n9c, C24:0, and C22:6n3 in wool samples divided into two sections. Discriminant analysis identified SFAs, particularly FAs C22:0 and C24:0, as potential candidate for predicting lambs with high IMF content with an accuracy of over 92%. These results provide to our knowledge evidence that IMF content could potentially be determined using wool FAs as a non-invasive method.

Objectives To evaluate the effects of a cardiac rehabilitation programme based on neuromuscular training (NMT) compared with classic rehabilitation strength training (CRST) in patients diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Design Preliminary randomised, double-blinded, parallel clinical trial. Setting University health clinic in Valencia, Spain. Participants Thirty patients with ACS. Interventions Patients were assigned to one of two groups at random: the NMT group (n = 15) and the CRST group (n = 15). All patients attended the 20 sessions of the exercise programme. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT). The secondary outcomes were the Chester Step Test (CST), the 30-Second Chair Stand Test (30CST), and hip flexor dynamometry. Assessments were made at baseline, immediately post-treatment, and at 6-month follow-up. Results The NMT group showed a greater improvement in the ISWT than the CRST group, both at post-treatment {mean 648 [standard deviation (SD) 197] vs 493 (SD 219), mean difference 155, 95% confidence interval (CI) −1 to 310} and at follow-up [732 (SD 183) vs 518 (SD 222), mean difference 214, 95% CI 61 to 367]. The secondary outcomes showed significant between-group differences in favour of the NMT group at 6-month follow-up, except for the 30CST. Conclusions These preliminary findings indicate that a cardiac rehabilitation programme based on NMT may improve functional capacity in terms of patient performance, cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength. Moreover, the improvements were maintained at mediumterm follow-up. This could help improve the design of rehabilitation sessions, considering factors associated with performing everyday activities in patients affected by ACS.

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a group of illnesses that include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, congenital heart disease and deep vein thrombosis. Major surgery is often chosen as the treatment of choice for CVD. The concept of fast-track rehabilitation after surgery appeared in the 1970s. Participation in these exercise-based prehabilitation programmes may decrease postoperative complications and length of hospital stay. The primary aim of the present study is to evaluate whether the implementation of an additional resistance training (RT) prehabilitation protocol within cardiac exercises based prehabilitation can reduce intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay, postoperative complications and hospital length of stay (LOS). Methods: A protocol of a prospective, parallel, randomised clinical trial includes 96 adult patients diagnosed with valvular pathology and who have been scheduled for surgery. The participants will be randomly assigned to two groups of 48. Control group will be treated with ventilatory and strengthening of respiratory muscles, and aerobic exercise. Experimental group, in addition, will be treated with RT of peripheral muscles. Both hospital stay and ICU stay will be assessed as main variables. Other secondary variables such as exercise capacity, quality of life and respiratory values will also be assessed. Quantitative variables will be analysed with a T-Test or ANOVA, or Mann Witney if the distribution is non-parametric. Results and conclusion: This will be the first controlled clinical study focused on adding strength exercise as an additional treatment during prehabilitation. The results of this study will focus on helping to improve rehabilitation and prehabilitation protocols, considering that it is essential to maintain pulmonary training, as well as the inclusion of peripheral exercises that help people with heart disease to be in a better physical condition in order to increase their participation and sense of quality of life.