Géraldine Martens

University of Liège | ulg

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, has been shown to increase exercise performance in strength and cycling studies but its effects on running endurance remain unclear. The objectives of this randomized sham-controlled crossover trial were to assess tDCS efficacy on submaximal treadmill runnin...

The cardiac response to physical exertion is linked to factors such as age, work intensity, and fitness levels. The primary objective of this study was to characterize within-session changes in cardiac response to running in Canadian football athletes, which may indicate physical fatigue. Performance profiles were collected from GPS and heart rate...

This study aimed to use a data-driven approach to identify individualized speed thresholds to characterize running demands and athlete workload during games and practices in skill and linemen football players. Data were recorded from wearable sensors over 28 sessions from 30 male Canadian varsity football athletes, resulting in a total of 287 perfo...

Background Sport-related concussions (SRCs) pose significant physical, emotional, and economic burdens on athletes and the sports community. With the long-lasting consequences of SRCs, effective prevention strategies are imperative. Objective To investigate the relationship between demographic data, history of concussion and sports’ characteristic...

Background: In the context of managing persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS), existing treatments like pharmacotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and physical rehabilitation show only moderate effectiveness. The emergence of neuromodulation techniques in PPCS management has led to debates regarding optimal stimulation parameters and their...

Objective: This study investigated the association between head impact exposure (HIE) during varsity Canadian football games and short-term changes in cortical excitability of the primary motor cortex (M1) using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Methods: Twenty-nine university-level male athletes wore instrumented mouth guards during a fo...

Objective To assess the current state of knowledge and practice regarding sport-related concussion (SRC) within a Francophone international consortium in order to tailor the educational approaches. Design Multicentric cross sectional survey. Setting An anonymous online French survey was sent through mailing lists and social networks. It included...

Evaluating the short- and long-term efficacy of a continuous ten day suprascapular nerve block combined with daily multidisciplinary rehabilitation on shoulder range of motion (ROM), pain, and function in patients with refractory adhesive capsulitis (AC). In this retrospective cohort study, patients admitted to a specialized pain clinic for refract...

Context Scapular dyskinesis is a shoulder dysfunction that can be asymptomatic or associated with pain or weakness. Reduced strength and fatigue resistance of the scapular protractor and retractors muscles that stabilize the scapula might contribute to dyskinesis. Objective To determine the strength and fatigue resistance profiles of subjects with...

We developed and validated an abbreviated version of the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised, the CRSR-FAST (CRS-R For Accelerated Standardized Testing), to detect conscious awareness in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the intensive care unit. In 45 consecutively enrolled patients, CRSR-FAST mean[SD] administration time was approximate...

Background and purpose: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to improve signs of consciousness in a subset of patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC). However, no multicentre study confirmed its efficacy when applied during rehabilitation. In this randomized controlled double-blind study, the effects of tDCS whilst...

Purpose: Evaluate the current state of sports injury prevention perception, knowledge and practice among sports medicine professionals located in Western Europe and involved in injury prevention. Methods: Members of two different sports medicine organizations (GOTS and ReFORM) were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire (in German and in...

Background and purpose: Ankle muscle strength is an important criterion to consider and assess for return to play (RTP) after lateral ankle sprain (LAS). This study therefore focuses on the reported ankle muscle strength consideration for RTP by physicians and physiotherapists, both clinicians involved in RTP decisions, and how they assess it in d...

COVID-19 vaccination raised concerns about its potential effects on physical performance. To assess the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on the perceived change in physical performance, we conducted an online survey among elite athletes from Belgium, Canada, France and Luxembourg, with questions about socio-demographics, COVID-19 vaccination, perceiv...

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), or concussion, can lead to persistent cognitive and functional symptoms that impede quality of life to a varying extent. This condition is referred to as post-concussive syndrome (PCS). Sleep disturbances are part of it but their distribution among different genders remains scarcely investigated. This pilot cross...

Introduction: Smoking accounts for 480,000 deaths per year in the United States. Traditional phar-macotherapeutic interventions for smoking cessation continue to fail, urging the implementation of new therapies to prevent further harm. Mobile Health apps have appeared to support smoking cessation ; their low cost, wide availability, absence of side...

Résumé Introduction Les premières descriptions de conflits fémoro-acétabulaires (CFA) s’avèrent relativement récentes. Le nombre d’études sur ces pathologies a augmenté de manière exponentielle au cours des dernières années. L’objectif de cette revue narrative est de détailler les données épidémiologiques et les éléments diagnostiques les plus réc...

Purpose To date, the relationship between footstrike pattern and performance, as well as with injury incidence in endurance running remains unclear. For these reasons, it is currently not recommended to modify footstrike pattern in an uninjured long-distance runner. The purpose of this study was to analyse whether athletic coaches apply these curre...

The importance of evidence-based medicine is crucial, especially in physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM), where there is a need to conduct rigorous experimental protocols, as in any medical field. Currently, in clinical practice, therapeutic approaches are often based on empirical data rather than evidence-based medicine. However, the field o...

Background Recommendations are available for assessment criteria for safe return-to-play (RTP) after a lateral ankle sprain. However, their current use among physicians is unknown. Methods French-speaking physicians in Belgium, France and Switzerland were asked to complete an online survey and report their clinical assessment of selected RTP crite...

Transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) over the prefrontal cortex can improve signs of consciousness in patients in a minimally conscious state. Transcranial pulsed-current stimulation (tPCS) over the mastoids can modulate brain activity and connectivity in healthy controls. This study investigated the feasibility of tPCS as a therapeutic t...

Objective: Treatment of refractory adhesive shoulder capsulitis is a challenge. This observational retrospective study evaluated the long-term effectiveness of intensive physiotherapy protocol under a continuous peripheral blockade of the suprascapular nerve (cSSNB). Methods: We reviewed 29 medical records of patients suffering from adhesive capsu...

Objective Evaluate knowledge on concussion management in three countries participating to the ReFORM group. Methods In this cross-sectional survey, the target population consisted of eighty-five participants of an educational conference on concussion's management given in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium in September 2019. Thirty-eight particip...

In regular times, implementing exercise-based injury prevention programs into the training routine of high-level and professional athletes represents a key and challenging aspect to decrease injury risk. Barriers to implementing such prevention programs have previously been identified such as lack of resources, logistic issues or motivation. The CO...

Background The incidence of lateral ankle sprain (LAS) in sports and risk of LAS re-injury is high. Objective The purpose of this study was to see how physicians use existing recommendations in the literature to decide a safe return-to-play (RTP) after a LAS. We hypothesize that physicians are using the published recommendations to make this RTP d...

Background Self-administration of medicines or dietary supplements without any physician’s advice appears to be more frequently practiced by amateur athletes. Objective The aim is to assess the prevalence of self-medication among amateur athletes who visit fitness centers and to identify the main factors influencing the self-medication. We postula...

Background Sport-related concussions (SRC) impact the practice of numerous athletes. Their appropriate management involves education and prevention among all field stakeholders including physicians, coaches and athletes themselves. Objective To assess the current state of knowledge and practice regarding SRC (diagnosis, treatment, return to play)...

Background The formation of cardiac fibroid deposits due to intense exercise may be involved in cardiac arrhythmias. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) and suppression of tumorogenicity2 (ST2) are considered as markers for fibrosis development and cardiac remodeling. Objective The aim of our study was to examine the evolution of both in trailers who ran the Tor d...

Background Many studies attempt to identify the risk factors for running-related injuries (RRI), but these are not yet well established. Objectives To investigate the risk factors of RRI. Design Retrospective online survey-based study among population of runners injured and non-injured. Setting Leisure road and trail runners Patients Participan...

Disorders of consciousness (DOC) could be the results of acquired brain injury, a term defining all brain damages happening after birth that are not hereditary, congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma. Different mechanisms could lead to acquired brain injury such as infection, anoxia, and traumatic brain injuries, which can induce diff...

Background and Objectives: Persistent post-concussive symptoms (PCS) consist of neurologic and psychological complaints persisting after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). It affects up to 50% of mTBI patients, may cause long-term disability, and reduce patients' quality of life. The aim of this review was to examine the possible use of differen...

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied over the prefrontal cortex has been shown to improve behavioral responsiveness in patients with disorders of consciousness following severe brain injury, especially those in minimally conscious state (MCS). However, one potential barrier of clinical response to tDCS is the timing of stimulation...

Background and objectives: Post-concussion syndrome (PCS) consists of neurologic and psy-chological complaints persisting after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). It affects up to 50% of mTBI patients, causes long-term disability and reduces quality of life. The aim of this scoping review was to examine possible uses of different neuroimaging mo...

The right matching of patients to an intended treatment is routinely performed by doctor and physicians in healthcare. Improving doctor’s ability to choose the right treatment can greatly speed up patient’s recovery. In a clinical study on Disorders of Consciousness patients in Minimal Consciousness State (MCS) have gone through transcranial Electr...

Positron emission tomography (PET) allows studies of cerebral metabolism and blood flow and has been widely used to investigate physiological mechanisms underlying altered states of consciousness. Consciousness is characterized by two components: wakefulness and awareness. In this chapter, we review the current literature on brain metabolism during...

Auditory localisation (i.e., turning the head and/or the eyes towards an auditory stimulus) is often part of the clinical evaluation of patients recovering from coma. The objective of this study is to determine whether auditory localisation could be considered as a new sign of minimally conscious state, using a multimodal approach. The presence of...

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has supported athletes’ health protection1 by funding research centres dedicated to prevention and treatment of sports-related injuries and illnesses.2 After establishing four centres in 2009,2 the IOC research centres network expanded to 9 institutions in 20143 and the 2019 round recognised 11 centres.4 He...

Background: The Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) is the gold standard to assess severely brain-injured patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness (DoC). However, the amount of time needed to complete this examination may limit its use in clinical settings. Objective: We aimed to validate a new faster tool to assess consciousness in in...

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may promote the recovery of severely brain-injured patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC). Prior tDCS studies targeted single brain regions rather than brain networks critical for consciousness recovery. Objective: Investigate the behavioral and electrophysiological effects of mu...

Background. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) was reported to promote the recovery of signs of consciousness in some patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS), but its electrophysiological effects on brain activity remain poorly understood. Objective. We aimed to assess behavior...

Background: Although emergence from the minimally conscious state (eMCS) is associated with symptoms including disorientation, memory and attention impairment, restlessness, and significant functional disability, the neurobehavioral profile of eMCS has not been empirically characterized. Objective: Determine degree of cognitive impairment, prese...

Objective Characterize the temporal profile of recovery of communication after severe brain injury. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Inpatient rehabilitation hospital. Participants Patients with severe acquired brain injury and no evidence of communication on the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). Main Outcome Measures Time from inj...

Background. The minimally conscious state (MCS) is subcategorized into MCS− and MCS+, depending on the absence or presence, respectively, of high-level behavioral responses such as command-following. Objective. We aim to investigate the functional and structural neuroanatomy underlying the presence of these responses in MCS− and MCS+ patients. Meth...

Objective: To investigate the influence of the presence of a tracheostomy tube to assess pain with the Nociception Coma Scale - Revised (NCS-R) in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC). Design: A cohort study in which patients were evaluated at a single time point. Setting: Patients were evaluated in a tertiary care hospital. Partici...

Background: Early detection of consciousness after severe brain injury is critical for establishing an accurate prognosis and planning appropriate treatment. Objectives: To determine which behavioral signs of consciousness emerge first and to estimate the time course to recovery of consciousness in patients with severe acquired brain injury. Me...

Primary Objective: Patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) face a lack of treatments and risk of misdiagnosis, potentially due to motor impairment. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) showed promising results over the prefrontal cortex in DOC and over the primary motor cortex (M1) in stroke. Tis pilot study aimed at evaluating the...

Background: Spasticity management in severely brain-injured patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) is a major challenge because it leads to complications and severe pain that can seriously affect quality of life. Objectives: We aimed to determine the feasibility of a single session of transcranial direct current stimulations (tDCS) to re...

Graph signal processing (GSP) is a novel approach to analyse multi-dimensional neuroimaging data, constraining functional measures by structural characteristics in a single framework (i.e. graph signals). In this approach, functional time series are assigned to the vertices of the underlying weighted graph and GSP analysis is performed in each time...

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are usually associated with positive affect, however, a small proportion are considered distressing. We aimed to look into the proportion of distressing NDEs in a sample of NDE narratives, categorise distressing narratives according to Greyson and Bush’s classification (inverse, void or hellish), and compare distressin...

Severe brain injured patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) represent a challenging population to treat. Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) can transiently improve the level of consciousness of DOC patients, as measured with the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). However, it i...

Opioid misuse leading to dependence is a major health issue. Recent studies explored valid alternatives to treat pain in postsurgical settings. This systematic review aims to discuss the role of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in preventing and treating postoperative pain and opioid dependence. PubMed and Embase databases were screen...

Objective: The clinical and electrophysiological profile of spastic muscle overactivity (SMO) is poorly documented in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) following severe cortical and subcortical injury. We aim at investigating the link between the clinical observations of SMO and the electrophysiological spastic over-reactivity in pati...