Sports Activities Research Articles

Abnormal patella height may be an independent risk factor in meniscal tears: a retrospective study in paediatric patients.

The literature on factors predisposing to meniscal tears in the paediatric population focuses on concomitant injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament rupture (ACL) or abnormal meniscus morphology such as discoid menisci. Patella alta has been associated with ACL ruptures but its association with meniscal tears has not been described. The purpose of our study was to evaluate whether abnormal patella height is associated with isolated meniscus tears in skeletally immature patients METHODS: We retrospectively analysed all patients under 16 years of age who had an isolated meniscal tear diagnosis confirmed on arthroscopic surgery. We examined data on demographics, meniscal morphology and patella height using the Insall-Salvati and Caton-Dechamp ratios. We compared the incidence of meniscal tears to a literature derived sex and age matched asymptomatic control group with normal patella heights. A total of 39 patients with an isolated meniscal tear were identified (mean age 13.2years). Patella alta was present in 16 (41%). 21 had normal meniscus morphology, and 18 had a discoid meniscus. There was a significant association between patella alta and isolated meniscal tears compared to the control group (p = 0.001). Our analysis is the first to demonstrate an association between abnormal patella height and the incidence of isolated meniscal tears in skeletally immature patients. Further research of knee biomechanics is required to elicit the mechanism and quantify the risk which may be used to guide prevention strategies and management of patients who wish to participate in high-risk sporting activities.

Workplace health promotion interventions in EU-27 public administrations.

The objective of this article is to make an exploratory study about European public administrations (public administration, public agencies, public law entities, entities dependent on the public administration and public universities) in relation to workplace health promotion interventions. The sample was extracted from the ESENER-3 (Third European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks) (EU-OSHA, 2019) and consists of 7,981 public entities from the EU-27 countries. Four WHPI have been studied: healthy nutrition interventions, sports activities after working hours, back exercises at work and prevention of addictions. This is an exploratory study. The sample was extracted from the ESENER-3 (Third European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks) (EU-OSHA, 2019) and consists of 7,981 public entities from the EU-27 Public Administration. In total, 45,420 establishments were interviewed. Different patterns have been observed when implementing workplace health promotion interventions in the EU-27 public administration. The promotion of sports activities outside working hours is the one with the highest level of implementation in European public administration. On the other hand, the measure with the least implementation level is the promotion of healthy nutrition. The limitations of the study are that the studied items are nominal and comprise more than two categories, so it has not been possible to develop a correlation analysis. The EU-27 public administrations can see which workplace health promotion interventions need to be improved. Differences that may exist in the adopted workplace health promotion interventions by European public administrations have not yet been addressed in depth by the literature.

Comparison of clinical outcomes and return to sport between unicortical versus bicortical button fixation techniques for subpectoral biceps tenodesis.

There is limited clinical outcome data comparing fixation methods for tenodesis of the long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT), particularly button fixation. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical outcomes, patient-reported outcomes, and return to sport (RTS) between patients undergoing LHBT with bicortical versus unicortical button technique. The authors hypothesized these fixation methods would be similar for all outcomes. Patients who underwent LHBT using unicortical or bicortical button fixation with minimum 2-year follow-up were identified. Postoperative outcomes were evaluated using the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) questionnaire and visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score. A sports activity survey was collected to assess baseline sport participation and ability to return to pre-injury activities. Continuous variables were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney-U test. Categorical variables were analyzed using Chi-squared tests. Multivariable logistic and linear regression were performed to determine predictors of RTS and time to RTS. Sixty-four subjects (19 unicortical and 45 bicortical button fixation) were included (average follow-up 3.5 (range: 2.0-7.8) years). There were no significant differences found between button groups for VAS pain score (1.5 vs. 1.2; p = 0.876), VAS pain during sport score (1.6 vs. 1.1, p = 0.398), and ASES score (66 vs. 71; p = 0.294). There were no significant differences in rate of RTS (75.0 vs. 77.4%; p = 0.885) or average time to return to sport (11.7 ± 7.3 vs. 7.0 ± 4.0months; p = 0.081) between groups. There were no significant differences in clinical outcomes, pain, or return to sport between patients who underwent LHBT with unicortical or bicortical button fixation.

Running, walking, and cross-country skiing: how to shape adolescents’ personalities through physical activity?

Adolescence is crucial for personality development, and sports play a significant role. This study investigates the impact of various sports on the personality traits of junior high and high school students in Shandong Province, focusing on neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Utilizing data from the “Database of Youth Health,” we employed Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) and Generalized Structural Equation Modeling (GSEM) to analyze the effects of physical activity on personality development. Findings reveal that walking significantly enhances openness and decreased neuroticism, while jogging/running substantially improves extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Cross-country skiing, however, negatively impacts all assessed personality traits. In addition, the importance of gender differences in the relationship between physical activity and personality development was revealed. The results offer insights for promoting adolescent personality development through targeted sports activities.

Which risk factors are involved in a distal biceps tendon injury? A systematic review.

Distal biceps tendon rupture is a rare injury predominately occurring in middle-aged men. This study aimed to collect relevant risk factors associated with distal biceps tendon rupture from the published literature. This systematic review aimed to collect and tabulate the risk factors for distal biceps tendon rupture. Studies published in English were searched concerning risk factors for distal biceps tendon ruptures until July 2022; cohort studies, case series and randomized controlled trials were subjected to analysis. Case studies, cadaveric studies and reviews in any form were excluded. The studies were quantitatively and qualitatively reviewed. One hundred twenty-one articles presenting risk factors for distal biceps tendon ruptures were identified, recruiting a total of 7,484-7,576 patients. The average age of the individuals was 46.8 years, with 96.7% being males and 94.7% having affinity for sports activities. In 56.7% of the cases, the dominant arm was involved, and in 54.6%, the right arm was affected. The use of tobacco was found in 20.8% of cases and of anabolic steroids in 2.5% of cases. On average, 55.8% of distal biceps tendon rupture patients had a physical occupation and the most common mechanism of the injury was related to heavy weight lifting observed in 53.2% of subjects. The most common and outstanding reported risk factors for distal biceps tendon ruptures were age, sex and sports activity, i.e., middle-aged males being still physically active and practicing sports. Steroid usage does not seem to increase significantly the risk of the distal biceps tendon rupture.

Advanced therapeutic strategies in patellar ligament tendinopathy: from etiology to clinical practice. A literature review.

Introduction: Tendinopathy of the patellar ligament, often referred to as “jumper's knee,” is a significant health problem for athletes subjected to repeated knee strains. The condition, resulting from microtrauma and degeneration of collagen fibers, leads to chronic pain and impaired function of the patellar ligament. Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to present current knowledge about new techniques to prevent and treat patellar tendinopathy. Analyzing current informations, understanding risk factors, and recognizing pathophysiology of patellar tendinopathy can prevent many sportsmen to withdraw from competitions. Materials and methods: A systematic review of scientific and medical literature from the PubMed and Google Scholar databases was conducted. Results: A review of the literature has identified key risk factors for patellar ligament tendinopathy. An analysis of available studies indicates that various therapeutic interventions, including shockwave therapy, eccentric exercise programs can provide pain relief and improve patellar ligament function. However, the effectiveness of these methods may vary depending on individual patient characteristics. Conclusions: Recognition of risk factors, early education and prevention, and prompt introduction of treatment at an early enough stage of the disease allow for the best treatment results and rapid return of patients to sports activities before the onset of pain, and significantly improve patients' quality of life. These findings underscore the comprehensive nature of the management of patellar ligament tendinopathy, including both therapeutic and preventive interventions. Keywords: patellar tendinopathy, orthopeadics, sport medicine, knee

Profiles of Primary School Children’s Sports Participation and Their Motor Competencies

Background/Objectives: Children participate in various organized and informal physical activities (PAs) in their leisure time, presenting diverse objectives and environments for motor and social development. However, current research often focuses on specific, mostly organized activities, overlooking the complexity of participation across different settings. This study aimed to (1) identify groups of children with similar characteristics based on their participation in five organized and informal sports activities and (2) examine how the groups differ regarding gender, age, BMI, motor competencies (MCs), and attendance in institutionalized care at school. Methods: The study included n = 1717 1st and 2nd graders (M = 7.60 years, SD = 0.59, 50.7% girls) and n = 1319 3rd and 4th graders (M = 9.46 years, SD = 0.57, 49.4% girls) from the “EMOKK” study, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Data were collected via parent questionnaires on leisure sports participation, and MCs were assessed using MOBAK-1-2 and 3-4 tests. Latent profile analyses (LPAs) and univariate ANOVAs were used to identify group differences. Results: A three-profile LPA model best fits the data, revealing differences in participation across individual and team sports, optional school sports, free play on the school playground, and informal activities during leisure time. Children involved more in team sports (profiles: allrounder and very active sportsperson) participate more in informal play and present better MCs than children participating mainly in individual sports (profile: individual sportsperson). Girls were predominantly in the individual sports profile, while boys were more evenly spread across all groups. These findings highlight the importance of designing targeted interventions that promote participation in both organized and informal sports, particularly for children with lower levels of PA. Conclusions: Children show different patterns of engagement in different interrelated organized and informal leisure PA contexts. These specific patterns and the children’s MCs should be taken into account for the targeted promotion of PAs during leisure time.

The use of autonomy among physical education teachers in Finland and Kurdistan region of Iraq

IntroductionThe aim of the study was to examine fifth-grade physical education (PE) teachers’ reflections and perceptions about PE teaching in Finland and Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI), using analyses of in-depth interviews with a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach.MethodsThis was accomplished by exploring eight Finnish and six KRI PE teachers’ opinions, attitudes, experiences, and reflections regarding their work as PE teachers, using semi-structured in-depth interviews about PE, as well as their reflections related to an indoor and an outdoor video from ordinary PE teaching in the other country. The initial analyses of the two groups of teachers using the qualitative analysis program NVivo revealed interesting findings related to student autonomy, and these differences were examined closely.ResultsWhile the analyses showed that all the Finnish PE teachers highlighted the importance of providing student autonomy within the open-ended questions related to PE, PE teachers in KRI seldom discussed autonomy during the open-ended questions. Instead, they seemed to organize their teaching in a way that decreased autonomy. The Finnish PE teachers indicated that the use of autonomy was central in the curriculum, and that they used autonomy to increase the students’ motivation and to make PE more meaningful for the students. With such a strategy, the use of autonomy would also activate and include more students, even if Finnish PE teachers reported certain challenges with students’ autonomy. The PE teachers from KRI, however, related PE to be mainly focused on performing sport activities and reflected a strategy of “just do as I do” - a strategy that created little room for autonomy, even if the findings pointed to some traces of autonomy among the PE teachers in KRI.DiscussionConsidering the findings and the theoretical concept of self-determination theory that highlight students’ autonomy as essential for students’ motivation, integration, wellness, and well-being in PE, our findings suggest that new perspectives and practices are needed among teachers in KRI to ensure autonomy in PE teaching. In this vein, increased exchange of experiences and collaboration between educators from Finland and KRI could be beneficial.

Hight return-to-sport rate following traumatic spine injury in amateur athletes.

Data on the resumption of sporting activity (return-to-sport, RTS) after traumatic spine injuries are mainly available for elite athletes. This study aimed to determine the RTS rate in amateurs after spine injury and to identify factors possibly influencing RTS. First, a retrospective analysis of clinical data of patients with traumatic spine injuries receiving inpatient treatment at a national trauma center from 2016 to 2020 was performed. Patients up to the age of 60 who were active in sports before the injury were included. Patients with the following relevant concomitant injuries were excluded: spinal cord injury, pelvic injury, extremity injuries, as well as craniocerebral trauma grade 2 or higher. A telephone interview on participants' RTS within the first year after the injury was conducted. Participants with early and those with late or no RTS were compared in univariate analysis regarding potential influencing factors. The level of significance was set to p < .05. Thirty-seven women (39%) and 57 men (61%) were included. The mean age was 44 years (16-60). The numbers of patients per injured segment of the spine were: cervical 15 (16%), thoracic 28 (30%), lumbar 33 (35%), multiple spine segments 18 (19%). Thirty patients (32%) were treated conservatively and 64 (68%) surgically. The RTS rate after six months was 62%, corresponding to 57 patients. Compared to patients with late or no RTS, patients with RTS within six months had a significantly lower BMI (24.6 vs. 27.4kg/qm, p = .004), had isolated cervical spine injuries significantly more often (24% vs. 6%, p = .020), and had undergone outpatient or inpatient rehabilitation significantly less often (35% vs. 72%, p < .001). There were non-significant trends regarding mean age (42 vs. 46 years, p = .175), surgical therapy (66% vs. 75%, p = .333), and the proportion of patients who, before the injury, had been physically active for at least five hours per week (50% vs. 33%, p = .113). Patients with RTS within six months had sustained their spinal injury in a sports accident twice as often (28% vs. 14%, p = .121). Gender, preexisting medical or spinal conditions, severe injuries (types A4, B or C according to AO Spine), and surgical therapy were not significantly associated with RTS. The RTS rate within twelve months was 81% (76 patients). The RTS rate in amateur athletes after an isolated spinal injury without spinal cord injury was high, with 62% after six and 81% after twelve months. This reflects the effectiveness of the existing treatment and posttreatment concepts. Normal-weight patients and isolated cervical injury are favorable factors for RTS. The use of inpatient rehabilitation as a marker of protracted healing is associated with delayed or no RTS.

The Importance of Sports Activities in the Formation of Skills for an Active and Healthy Lifestyle in Young People

Sports activities play a crucial role in developing the skills for an active and healthy lifestyle in adolescents, providing students with the opportunity to experience and engage in a variety of activities in order to develop their motor, social, and intellectual skills. The purpose of the paper is to highlight the essential role that sports activities have in skills training, necessary for an active and healthy lifestyle in adolescents. The objectives of the research include examining the physical benefits of sports activities on the health of adolescents, highlighting the development of motor skills through sports activities, and analyzing the impact of sports activities on the social and emotional development of adolescents, especially through identifying strategies and resources available to encourage adolescents to participate in sports activities and adopt an active and healthy lifestyle. Sports activities are essential for training the skills for an active and healthy lifestyle in adolescents, contributing to the improvement of physical and mental health, the development of social and emotional skills, and the increase of self-confidence and self-esteem.

A Systematic Review for The Development of Sustainable Tourism Destinations Based on Sports Tourism

The study purpose: The project's goal is to develop sustainable tourism destinations in Kemuning Village by reviewing the literature on sports tourism Materials and methods: An extensive literature review was carried out. Articles from 2015 to 2024 covered ways to enhance sustainable tourism by fostering the growth of sports tourism. For electronic searches, Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus are used. All the articles that discuss how to improve sports tourism-based tourist attractions are included here. Results: According to the integrated theory of tourism, sports have a role in (1) tourism management strategies, which include methods, facilities, tourist attractions, SOPs, infrastructure, additions and maintenance of facilities, sustainable management of natural resources, and visitor security and safety; (2) the role of stakeholders, which includes the government as a regulator and related institutions; and (3) the role of the authorities, which includes government agencies and institutions related to Sports tourism will increase visits to Central Java and improve the economy. Sports activities in tourist destinations can benefit local governments, enhance community welfare, and create more job opportunities if they are appropriately managed. Sports tourism and activities can be combined in Central Java. Conclusions: Combining sporting activities like river tubing, paragliding, tea gardens, and jeep communities with Kemuning Village in Ngargoyoso District, Karanganyar, Central Java, Indonesia, can help the village grow its tourism industry due to the fact that it influences the social, cultural , and economic growth of the area, promoting local advancement.

PCNet: a human pose compensation network based on incremental learning for sports actions estimation

Human pose estimation has a wide range of applications. Existing methods perform well in conventional domains, but there are certain defects when they are applied to sports activities. The first is lack of estimation of the extremity posture, making it impossible to comprehensively evaluate the movement posture; the second is insufficient occlusion handling. Therefore, we propose a human pose compensation network based on incremental learning, which obtains shared weights to extract detailed features under the premise of limited extremity training data. We propose a higher-order feature compensator (HOF-compensator) to embed the attributes of the extremity into the torso and limbs topology structure, building a complete higher-order feature. In addition, to improve the occlusion handling performance, we propose an occlusion feature enhancement attention mechanism (OFE-attention) that can identify occluded keypoints and enhance attention to occlusion areas. We design comparative experiments on three public datasets and a self-built sports dataset, achieving the highest mean accuracy among all comparative methods. In addition, we design a series of ablation analysis and visualization displays to verify that our method performs best in sports pose estimation.

The Effect of High Interval Intensity Training (HIIT) on the Performance of Basketball Players 10-15 Years Old

Basketball is a game of seconds. A characteristic of this sport is the high intensity, the pressure of one or more different opponents, and very short recovery times. From a physiological-biomechanical point of view, basketball is classified among the sports activities with alternating aerobic-anaerobic energy commitment, with district demands of medium to high strength and endurance. Based on the High Interval Intensity Training Program (HIIT), in 8 weeks in a group of children aged 10-15, taking into account the efficiency of time, we look up to help the athletic youth progress, offering the improvement of other important skills, such as coordination skills, speed, and performance. This study aims to identify the biomechanical variables that directly affect their progress. In this study participated 15 subjects (age: 12.53 ± 2.09; height: 1.59 ± 0.10; body mass: 49.82 ± 16.78; BMI: 19.21 ± 3.98), basketball players of the basketball team "Sonia Basket." To achieve this aim, the CMJ (countermovement jump) and SJ (squat jump) vertical jump tests were performed on the force platform. The evaluation of the data was made using statistical analysis processing methods. The independent t-test results revealed a statistical improvement of 3 cm in the maximum height in the CMJ test and 90N in the maximum force in the SJ test due to the method called "HIIT." The results of this study of the HIIT method show a positive physical and physiological development of the players in such a way as to offer them the opportunity to express the highest level of performance in the game of basketball. If this training method is used for an even longer time, the results will be many times higher and will affect even more the improvements of all biomechanical parameters.

The mediating role of competence, autonomy, and relatedness in the activation and maintenance of sports participation behavior

This study aims to explore the complex and multifaceted relationship between Behavioral Activation and Behavioral Maintenance in sports participation, delving into the underlying mechanisms to provide practical insights into how individuals initiate and sustain engagement in sports activities. Utilizing a combination of convenience sampling and snowball sampling methods, 378 sports participants from over ten provinces and cities in China were selected as survey subjects, and an intermediary model concerning the activation and maintenance of sports participation behavior was constructed. Discriminant validity and mediation effect analyses were conducted using SPSS and AMOS 23.0. The results indicate that Behavioral Activation indirectly influences Behavioral Maintenance through Competence (ad = 0.39), with a 95% confidence interval [0.201, 0.642], excluding 0. Behavioral Activation also indirectly influences Behavioral Maintenance through Autonomy (be = 0.23), with a 95% confidence interval [0.109, 0.421], excluding 0. However, Behavioral Activation indirectly influences Behavioral Maintenance through Relatedness (cf. = 0.09), with a 95% confidence interval [-0.068, 0.336], which includes 0. The study reveals that both Competence and Autonomy significantly mediate the activation and maintenance of sports participation behavior among athletes. However, Relatedness does not play a significant mediating role in the activation and maintenance of sports participation behavior among the participants.

Energy Drink Consumption Among Physically Active Polish Adolescents: Gender and Age-Specific Public Health Issue

ObjectivesTo analyse the consumption of energy drinks (EDs) and the motives for their consumption among physically active adolescents in Poland.MethodsA nationwide survey study was conducted in 1,530 adolescents (10–14 years old) participating in extracurricular, organised sports activities. A computer-assisted web interview method was applied.ResultsNearly half (46.4%) of the respondents were ED consumers (significantly more boys than girls: 53.0% vs. 47.0%, p = 0.010). The percentage of ED consumers increased with age, from 27.2% in 10-year-olds to 65.4% in the group of 14-year-olds (p &amp;lt; 0.001). The motives and circumstances of ED consumption varied depending on gender: girls were more likely than boys to drink EDs to improve concentration during studying (17.1% vs. 8.8%, p &amp;lt; 0.001) and to stay awake (22.8% vs. 13.8%, p = 0.002), whereas boys more often than girls reported drinking EDs during physical activity (10.9% vs. 6.0%, p = 0.020).ConclusionIt is necessary to implement gender-diversified educational campaigns on negative health effects of EDs, targeting children, parents and teachers, as consumption of EDs has been identified as a significant public health problem in Poland.

Pet Ownership and Family Involvement in Sports and Other Activities

ABSTRACT The impact that companion animals may have on adolescent engagement in sports and other activities is currently unclear. This study included participant data gathered from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study®, a longitudinal study of brain development and youth health outcomes in the United States (n = 8,489). This study aimed to clarify the extent to which companion animal type impacts family involvement in sports and other activities. Additionally, it is framed within the bioecological model of human development, which provides a useful framework for human–animal interaction researchers going forward. This study utilized multiple logistic and linear regressions in answering the research questions posed. The results indicate that, when adjusting for context- and person-level covariates, there does not appear to be a meaningful relationship between companion animal type and family involvement in sports and other activities, physical activity, or screen time. This study serves as a guidepost for human–animal interaction researchers as to the importance of including contextual variables in their studies before making claims regarding the impact of companion animals on youth, especially when details about the companion animal relationship are unavailable.

THE IMPACT OF A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE AND STRESS MANAGEMENT ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY MUHAMMADIYAH LAMONGAN

This study aims to determine the effect of a healthy lifestyle and stress management on the academic performance of students at Muhammadiyah University of Lamongan, using a quantitative method and purposive sampling technique on 45 respondents. The data was analyzed using multiple linear regression with SPSS version 27. The results show that a healthy lifestyle does not have a significant effect on academic performance, while stress management has a significant effect. Simultaneously, a healthy lifestyle and stress management have a significant positive effect on academic performance. Based on these findings, students need to pay more attention to how they manage stress, particularly in coping with academic pressures. Educational institutions, such as UMLA, can provide support by offering stress management training programs, such as psychological counseling, motivational seminars, or workshops on relaxation techniques and mindfulness. In addition, institutions can promote healthy lifestyles by organizing regular sports activities and providing access to health facilities. Academic departments may also consider policies that promote a balance between academic demands and student well-being, such as offering flexible deadlines and personal guidance. Given that this study explains only 15.6% of the variability in academic performance, future research can explore other factors, such as learning motivation, teaching methods, social support, and the use of technology in the learning process.

Intelligent rehabilitation assistant: Application of deep learning methods in sports injury recovery

In recent years, sports injury rehabilitation has developed into a specialized field that has forced the combination of an orthopedic surgeon, sports physiotherapist, and sports physician. Determining the appropriate time for an injured athlete to resume practice or competition is regarded as sports rehabilitation. Discovering the best solutions to avoid injuries, maximize recovery, and enhance performance is crucial for sports activities. The study introduced an intelligent rehabilitation assistant (IRA) that leverages advanced deep learning (DL) methods to enhance sports injury recovery. In this study, the IRA incorporates redefined prairie dog optimized bidirectional long-short-term memory (RPDO-Bi-LSTM) to enhance accuracy, predicting sports injury recovery. The study collected data on the state of rehabilitation, physiological parameters, and general health using wearable sensors and movement patterns. The data was preprocessed using a median filter to remove noise from sensor data. Region-based segmentation using segmented images from preprocessed data. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) using extracted features from obtained data. The IRA provides personalized recovery plans and real-time feedback. The framework consists of the components, suggested models to create quality scores for motions, measurements to quantify motion performance, and scoring of performance measurement elements into numerical quality scores. The proposed method is implemented using Python software. RPDO-Bi-LSTM presentation is evaluated by various metrics, such as accuracy 94.2% recall 98.2%, precision 96.5%, and specificity 95.2%, f1 score 95.6%, he planned technique attained good performance and improved the accuracy of sports injury recovery.

AS CONTRIBUIÇÕES DA EDUCAÇÃO FÍSICA ESCOLAR NO DESEMPENHO MOTOR DE CRIANÇAS COM DEFICIÊNCIA: UMA REVISÃO DE ESCOPO

Sports activities have proven to be an important tool for the inclusion of children with disabilities. However, few studies highlight how the motor skills of children with disabilities develop. This study aimed to identify, through an scoping review, the contributions of Physical Education in schools towards the development of motor skills in children with disabilities. The study was conducted as an scoping review. The following criteria were used during the search process: a) databases: Scielo, Lilacs, and Google Scholar, b) keywords: physical education, motor skills, motor development, children with disabilities, c) publications between 2010 and 2024, d) studies focusing on children up to 12 years old. After applying these criteria, five articles were selected for full analysis. All selected studies were conducted in public schools in Brazil and involved children with conditions such as ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, blindness, dwarfism, and global developmental delay. The main tests used were: the Motor Development Scale, Portage Operationalized Inventory, Self-Perception of Competence Test, Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, and the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). Pre- and post-tests were used in four studies, which implemented intervention plans through case studies. The results indicated positive correlations, showing that multidisciplinary interventions addressing the diverse needs of children with disabilities could improve their motor domains. In conclusion, Physical Education in schools is an important tool that can contribute to the improvement of motor skills in children with disabilities. Received: 2024/09/04 Reformulated: 2024/10/11 Accepted: 2024/10/11

Real-life boxing activity recognition with smartphones using attention assisted deep learning models

Mobile computing technologies play a pivotal role in narrowing the gap between athletes and sports monitoring systems, while also advancing towards intelligent and automatic supervision of individual sports activities. The widespread presence of smartphones equipped with multifunctional sensors has enabled the acquisition and analysis of data, facilitating Human Activity Recognition (HAR). Although recognising sports activities using a smart mobile phone’s accelerometer is widely used, traditional methods struggle with intricate and real time activities due to the high-dimensional sensor data. This study introduces a smartphone-based architecture for HAR utilising inertial accelerometers to record athlete’s game actions data sequences, extract relevant features and derive the player’s activity data through multiple three-axis accelerometers. In this paper an Attention assisted Deep Convolution Neural Network based Bi-LSTM (AT-DCNN-BL) model is proposed. The raw data undergoes sliding window pre-processing technique, the deep learning framework of deep convolution neural network layers helps in automatic feature extraction, the bi-LSTM structure process the boxing activity data and the attention is focussed over the boxing activity classification data. The attention mechanism redistributes the weights of the extracted features which aids in increasing the classification accuracy. Other classification models like Deep Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN), Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory (bi-LSTM), Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network (MLPNN) and Random Forest (RF) are also applied to the dataset collected from a mobile sensor. The study explores training of deep learning methods and illustrates the superiority of the proposed approach over others using the collected mobile sensor dataset. The AT-DCNN-BL model achieved a higher classification accuracy compared to the other models. The AT-DCNN-BL model outperformed all the other models achieving a higher accuracy rate (92.71%).