Introduction: Right to left asymmetries in body composition has been examined across many sports, suggesting possible implications for lower back pain (LBP) and decreased level performance. However, we are not aware of any study that has examined the presence and implications of morphological asymmetries in ice hockey players. The purpose of this study was to 1) investigate body composition asymmetries in female and male university level ice hockey players and 2) examine whether the degree of...

Evidence suggests that people with arthritis (PWA) are vulnerable to nutritional problems. The role of functional impairment (FI) in this susceptibility is understudied. Nutritional risk (NR) screening facilitates the early detection of poor nutritional status. This study sought to investigate the cross-sectional association between NR and arthritis and to determine whether FI modified that association. Data were from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), a nationally representativ...

Objectives: Playing active video games (also known as exergaming; combining physical activity (PA) with feedback from an external device such as a mobile phone) has been suggested as a viable way to increase PA. To date, there are few longitudinal studies investigating exergaming prevalence. The objectives of this study were to examine the prevalence of exergaming by gender among young adults and to examine minutes/week exergaming. Methods: To describe exergaming use among 586 young a...

Introduction: The deep extensor neck muscles (DENM) are often impaired in patients with cervical disorders. This study aimed to examine the relationship between morphological changes of the DENM in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) and the level of maximum spinal compression and canal compromise. Materials/Methods: A total of 171 patients from a Prospective DCM-International cohort study database were included in this study. Total cross-sectional area (CSA), functio...

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality worldwide and can be quite debilitating on functional capacity (FC) (Beverly and Budoff, 2020). FC reflects one's ability to perform activities of daily living and integrates health of the pulmonary, cardiovascular, and skeletal muscle systems (Arena et al, 2007). Lifestyle factors, such as modifying one's diet and exercise, are powerful tools used to improve FC in patients with cardiovascular disease (Tang and Hazen, 2014). The aim of ...

Introduction: Cancer cachexia is a syndrome characterized by muscle wasting and carries a heavy symptom burden. It is currently unknown whether or not elderly patients have similar symptom burden, nutritional issues, and distress as younger patients. The aim of this study is to provide critical information on the status of elderly cancer patients with cachexia and compare differences between patients considered as young (Y; < 50 y), middle-aged (M; 50 - 69 y), and elderly (E; ≥ 70 y). ...

Older adults exhibit a significantly greater risk of falling than young adults partially as a function of normative age-related declines in executive control processes. The Dual Mechanisms of Control model examines age-sensitive executive functions, such as working memory, through the use of proactive and reactive modes of cognitive control [1]. However, age differences in cognitive control processes have yet to be examined in the context of intra-individual variability [2]. Given the known a...

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Quebec government imposed physical distancing and confinement measures to curb the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The collateral consequences of these measures may result in increased psychological distress, especially among older adults who are already prone to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Some health behaviours, such as engaging in physical activity (PA), can act as resilience factors against psychological distress [1,2,3]. The...

Stride time variability is associated with falls among seniors. Adding a secondary task to walking can be detrimental to old adults' gait. Beat perception measured from beat alignment task (BAT) was correlated with better synchronization to the beat in rhythmic auditory cueing (RAC). Also, patients with Parkinson's disease showed to benefit from RAC. It is unknown whether walking performance improved across cognitive load and whether beat perception could benefit RAC in healthy old adults.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine associations between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and functional capacity, body composition, cancer symptoms and nutritional status in patients upon enrolment to a surgical prehabilitation program. Methods: This is a sub-analysis of baseline measures from a prehabilitation study for patients with a suspected hepatobiliary cancer awaiting liver resection. All patients performed a six-minute walk test (6MWT) a...

Introduction: Cancer affects people of all ages. However, factors affecting quality of life may vary among different age groups. The purpose of this study was to assess differences in nutritional status, symptom burden, and distress among cancer patients undergoing antineoplastic treatment. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted in patients referred to the Cancer Rehabilitation Program at the McGill University Health Centre between November 2013 and August 2019. All patie...

Context: While soccer is considered a lateral dominant sport, few studies have examined if limb dominancy leads to asymmetries in body composition and their possible associations with injury (1). Objective: The purpose of this study was to 1) investigate body composition morphological asymmetries in male and female university-level soccer players, and 2) examine whether the degree of body composition asymmetry is associated with lower leg injuries (LLI) and lower back pain (LBP...

Background: Cellular senescence, cell growth cycle arrest, is a marker of cellular aging. Obesity is considered a disease of accelerated aging as it shares several co-morbidities with aging, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Objective: To determine regional differences in markers of cellular senescence and how these compare in obese individuals with and without T2DM. Methods: Pre-menopausal females undergoing bariatric surgery were categorized as obese-metabolically healthy...

Background: Recovery kinetics following cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) have yet not been described in people with OSA and comorbid insomnia (COMISA). Our objectives were to i) describe heart rate recovery (HRR), oxygen recovery slopes (VO2/t) and time to half recovery of VO2max (T½) following CPET in COMISA; and ii) investigate their response to either one of the following: 16 weeks of exercise training (Ex) or 8 week-relaxation control intervention followed by 8 weeks of exercise an...

Background: Different exercise intensity has a various effect on the immune system. Lactate is one of the factors that releases in exercise, on one hand, higher lactate concentration not also apoptosis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) decrease but also the survival of the PBMCs increase (Elsaser et al., 2017), on the other hand...

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and chronic insomnia frequently coexist, with 39 -58 of the OSA population suffering also from insomnia. This combination known as COMISA has scarcely been studied despite its health impact. The objectives of this study were to: i) characterize heart rate variability (HRV), a non-invasive indicator of autonomic nervous function, in people with COMISA, and ii) compare changes in HRV pre- to post-intervention in this population. Methods: In...

Evidence consistently demonstrates that aging is associated with declines to cerebrovascular health. Sex distinctions have been identified as well, where studies have shown that cerebral blood flow (CBF) declines linearly across the lifespan in both sexes, yet females have greater CBF compared to males [1]. Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) has also been identified as a marker of cerebrovascular health and is shown to decline with age [1,2], but the potential sex differences are currently uncl...

Background: Promoting physical activity (PA) is a global objective; however, participating in PA has an inherent injury risk. Injury prevention strategies (IPS) aim at reducing injury risk and enhancing physical fitness. Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are commonly used in IPS and physical literacy, which focuses in promoting lifelong PA. Understanding the overall effect of IPS on FMS may help to promote PA safely. Objective: To summarize the evidence on the effects of IPS on the biomec...

The effects of physical inactivity among older adults have been established as a "public health crisis" because of their heightened risk of cardiovascular, autoimmune, neurocognitive, and mental health problems (Wu, 2020). While physical distancing is essential in the fight against COVID-19, long-term self-isolation protocols established to protect the elderly population have created new health risks, as older adults are now left more socially isolated and inactive than before. Making an inve...

Postural stability is a complex skill dependent upon the coordination of motor, sensory and cognitive systems (Woollacott & Shumway-Cook, 2002). The purpose of this project was therefore to explore how older adults' balance performance is impacted by increased cognitive load, hearing loss, and simulated vision loss. Twenty-seven older adults between the ages of 56 and 90 years (M = 74.74, SD = 9.51) were tested. Participants underwent standard sensory acuity, and cognitive functioning tes...

Efficient neural transmission is crucial for optimal brain function, yet the plastic potential of white matter (WM) has long been overlooked. Growing evidence now shows that modifications to axons and myelin occur not only as a result of long-term learning, but also after short training periods [1]. Motor sequence learning (MSL) has been shown to occur in overlapping learning stages where different neural circuits are involved at each stage [2]. However, most studies investigating short-term ...

Background: To create games that target older adults' interests in engaging in cognitively-boosting activities is a rising trend [1,2]. But, the novelty of the digital me-dium of play, and the implicit expectation of cognitive performance can create stressful experiences for them [3]. We have previously proposed an empirical framework, Affective Game Planning for Health Applications (AGPHA) based on Lazarus's Transactional Theory of Stress Appraisal and Coping [4], to study interactions betwe...

According to the oxidative stress theory, reactive species are key drivers of inflammation and cardiovascular disease (1). The electron transport chain of the mitochondria accounts for ≈90 of the intracellular radioactive oxygen species (2). Interestingly, while low-carbohydrate high-protein diets promote weight loss, animal experiments show that they could also lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and therefore, oxidative stress and inflammation (3). In parallel, research in the last decade has...

Background: During atherosclerotic plaque development, vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) undergo dedifferentiation, resulting in a synthetic, less contractile progenitor state. This transition is marked by changes in mitochondrial respiration and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. These changes in bioenergetics play a critical role in atherogenesis via facilitation of VSMC migration towards the intima. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate t...

Although social distancing directives are important public health measures to reduce the spread of SARS-cov-2, they can contribute to negative emotional outcomes such as loneliness due to the isolation. Furthermore, individuals have been reporting poorer sleep quality since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to...

Childhood obesity and physical inactivity are growing problems across Canada, so the concept of physical literacy is used to promote physical activity (PA) participation in children. When children increase their PA participation, their exposure to musculoskeletal injury is also increased, but the concepts of physical literacy do not address...