Juan Tortosa-Martínez

University of Alicante | UA · Departamento de Didáctica General y Didácticas Específicas

Background/Objectives: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that significantly impairs motor function, leading to mobility challenges and an increased risk of falls. Current assessment tools often inadequately measure the complexities of motor impairments associated with PD, highlighting the need for a reliable tool. This study...

Introduction: Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent and multifaceted health condition affecting over 619 million people globally. Today, pain evaluation heavily relies on subjective measures, so more advanced diagnosis and treatment methods are required. Electrodermal activity (EDA) could represent a potential objective tool to assess LBP. Despite its...

Objective: Physical activity (PA) has emerged as an important element of supportive care for cancer patients, but few patients engage with exercise. Considering that autonomy support is associated with healthy lifestyles, it would be useful to know the specific autonomy-supportive techniques that can help to encourage PA in colorectal cancer (CRC)...

The present study aimed to analyze the external load put on elite male handball players during the 2020 European Championship differentiated by playing positions. A system based on three phases was designed: 1) information capture of game events through sensor networks, LPS system and WebScraping techniques; 2) information processing based on Big D...

Background Executive functions (EFs) and episodic memory are fundamental components of cognition that deteriorate with age and are crucial for independent living. While numerous reviews have explored the effect of exercise on these components in old age, these reviews screened and analyzed selected older adult populations, or specific exercise mode...

Citation: Jimenez-Olmedo, J.M.; Tortosa-Martínez, J.; Cortell-Tormo, J.M.; Pueo, B. Assessing the Validity of the Ergotex IMU in Joint Angle Measurement: A Comparative Study with Optical Tracking Systems. Abstract: An observational, repeated measures design was used in this study to assess the validity of the Ergotex Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)...

During the 2020 stay-at-home lockdown ordered as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, university students had access to diverse digital technologies, which offered researchers the opportunity to study changes in their lifestyles while they occurred and to classify them into groups according to such lifestyles. Therefore, the main objective of this...

Acute lower back pain (ALBP) is an extremely common musculoskeletal problem. ALBP consists of a sudden onset of short-duration pain in the lower back. However, repeated attacks can make the pain chronic. It can be measured through a self-report scale as well as through physical and physiological evaluations. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) has been us...

The literature has yielded promising data over the past decade regarding the use of inertial sensors for the analysis of occupational ergonomics. However, despite their significant advantages (e.g., portability, lightness, low cost, etc.), their widespread implementation in the actual workplace has not yet been realized, possibly due to their disco...

Free download: https://editorial.umh.es/2023/12/20/guide-for-physical-activity-promotion-and-exercise-prescription-in-colorectal-cancer-patients-during-chemotherapy-treatment/ This guide is addressed to all those professionals whose aim is to care for and improve the health of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients during their treatment, as well as to t...

Student's motivation towards physical education (PE) classes is a key factor for increasing physical activity (PA) levels in children. In order to increase motivation in PE, new teaching techniques are needed, such as gamification. This study examines the potential influence of gamification in PE classes on motivation-related variables such as basi...

Descarga gratuita en: https://editorial.umh.es/2023/10/05/guia-para-la-promocion-de-actividad-fisica-y-la-prescripcion-de-ejercicio-en-pacientes-con-cancer-colorrectal-durante-el-tratamiento-de-quimioterapia/ Esta guía está dirigida a todos los profesionales que tratan de cuidar y mejorar la salud del paciente con cáncer colorrectal (CCR) durante...

The application of gamification in Education is becoming increasingly popular. However, empirical studies on gamification and physical education are very heterogeneous. What do we know about the impact of gamification in PE so far? The purpose was to provide a current overview on the benefits of gamification in PE belonging to the different educati...

La aplicación de la gamificación en la educación está cada vez más generalizada. Sin embargo, los estudios empíricos sobre gamificación y educación física son muy heterogéneos. ¿Qué sabemos hasta ahora de la influencia de la gamificación en la EF? La finalidad era ofrecer un panorama actual sobre los efectos beneficiosos de la gamificación en la EF...

Students are becoming less motivated towards current education. For this reason, teachers are investigating several innovative methodologies to learn how they affect student motivation, such as gamification. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of gamification on the motivation of elementary physical education students. A total of 7...

The literature has shown contradictory results so far about the use of posturography, especially static posturography, to evaluate balance performance in Parkinson’s disease (PD) populations. This study aimed to investigate the use of static posturography as a valid method to evaluate balance in a PD population. Fifty-two participants diagnosed wit...

Currently teachers have sought a way to motivate students towards the practice of Physical Education. For this purpose, innovative tools such as gamification are used. However, few studies show how gamification in Physical Education can affect behavioral regulations and Basic Psychological Needs. Therefore, this research tried to observe how the ga...

Determinar la mejor o mejores estrategias de enseñanza, es fundamental para alcanzar un aprendizaje significativo. Por ello, en ocasiones contar con las opiniones del alumnado podría ayudar en la elección de las estrategias a emplear. Con la presente investigación se pretende, conocer la opinión del alumnado respecto a la planificación, desarrollo...

The aim of this study was to investigate the on-court throwing activity in regards to playing positions, throwing zones on the court and throwing velocity category during the male European Championship 2020. A local positioning system with microsensors placed both in the shirts of the players and inside the ball itself was used. In total, 6568 thro...

Background: Gamification is a novel active methodology used in Physical Education to motivate students. Purpose: This study analyzed the impact of this method on the motivation of Compulsory Secondary Education students in Spain during an 8-session Physical Education Didactic Unit. Methods: A total of 275 students participated, divided into a gamif...

Resumen. La inactividad física y sedentarismo se encuentran presentes en un alto porcentaje de los estudiantes universitarios, hecho que se ha visto acentuado tras la crisis sanitaria vivida recientemente a causa de la COVID-19. El ejercicio físico como parte de los programas de las Universidades Saludables se presenta como una posible estrategia p...

The aim of this study was to analyze the throwing velocity and effectiveness of elite male handball players during the European Championship 2020. A local positioning system was used for the first time in a European Championship to collect 6568 throw events from 337 players of 24 national teams during 65 matches. ANOVA (F=80.8, p<0.01, η2=0.058) re...

La formación integral del alumnado en Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte (CAFD) es fundamental para su correcto desarrollo profesional. La adquisición tanto de conocimientos como de habilidades sociales adquiere una gran relevancia en estos profesionales, más aún cuando se trabaja con poblaciones especiales. El presente estudio tiene como...

Objective: To explore the use of within-subject variation in the Cognitive Timed Up and Go test (Cognitive TUGWSV) as an explanatory variable in fall risk in the Parkinson's disease population. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Fifty-three patients with Parkinson's disease completed 3 trials of the Cognitive TUGWSV. Within-subject variat...

The teaching and learning process is highly determined by motivation and the learning environment. The motivation and thelearning environment, within education, both of them depend a lot on the educational methodologies that are implemented in educationalcenters. The objective of this work is to compare the motivation and the state of Flow between...

Cooperative Learning (AC) is emerging as a tool that focuses students on the main focus of the teaching and learning process in the area of Physical Education (PE). The objective of the present investigation was to analyse the impact of AC on the satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs (BPNES) against a traditional teaching model in students of C...

El Aprendizaje Cooperativo (AC) se perfila como una herramienta que centra a los estudiantes en el foco principal del proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje en el área de Educación Física (EF). El objetivo de la presente investigación fue analizar el impacto del AC en la satisfacción de las Necesidades Psicológicas Básicas (BPNES) frente a un modelo de...

The aim of this study was to analyze time–motion characteristics of elite male handball players during the last European Championship 2020. A total of 414 players from 24 national teams were analyzed during 65 matches using a local positioning system (LPS) for the first time in a European Championship. Players (n = 1865) covered significantly (p <...

Context: Blood flow restriction research has focused on muscular strength and hypertrophy. Limited data have been reported about the blood flow restriction effect on the tendon. Objective: To analyze and compare the time course of recovery in Achilles tendon thickness after a single bout of low-intensity resistance training (LI-RT) and low-inten...

Background: Exercise has been proposed as a good strategy to prevent use and relapse and to improve mental health and quality of life in drug-dependent people. However, it is not known if physical condition per se influences quality of life and mental health. Objective: The aims of this study were to analyze the relationships between physical co...

This cross-sectional study of repeated measures investigated whether integrating the abdominal hollowing maneuver (AHM) into the prone plank performance is an effective strategy for increasing both the activation of the deep and superficial core musculature. Electromyographical (EMG) responses of rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO), intern...

The purpose of this study was to analyze the on-court demands of handball players during the European Handball Federation Champions League Final Four (VELUX EHF FINAL4) 2019 to define time–motion characteristics (played time; covered distances) both in offense and defense. Furthermore; we aimed to define position-specific demands and differences am...

Childhood anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries-which can pose a major risk to a child's sporting career-have been on the rise in the last few decades. Dynamic knee valgus (DKV) has been linked to an increased risk of ACL injury. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the acute effects of an ACL injury prevention protocol (ACL-IPP) and...

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...]

El proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje está muy determinado por la motivación y el ambiente de aprendizaje. La motivación y el ambiente de aprendizaje, dentro de la educación, dependen mucho de las metodologías educativas que se implementan en los centros educativos. El objetivo de este trabajo es comparar la motivación y el estado de Flow entre la...

Physical exercise seems to have a promising effect on numerous variables related to the recovery of drug-dependent patients. However, some contradictions are found in the literature. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis in order to identify the effect of physical exercise on mental disorders, quality of life, a...

The aim of this study was to explore the perceived psychosocial benefits of a three-month exercise program for 10 older adults with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment, a condition in which memory loss is the main symptom. Qualitative data were collected by observation (research diary) and 20 semi-structured interviews with the participants (10) and...

AD is a complicated multi-systemic neurological disorder that involves different biological pathways. Several risk factors have been identified, including chronic stress. Chronic stress produces an alteration in the activity of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) system, and the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which over time increase the risk...

Exercise has been shown to reduce the risk of developing Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's disease as well as to improve cognition in healthy and cognitively impaired individuals. However, the mechanisms of these benefits are not well understood. The stress hypothesis suggests that the cognitive benefits attributed to exercise may partially...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of physical exercise on mental health (stress, anxiety and depression) in substance use disorder patients. Mental health (DASS21) and physical fitness (Six-minute Walk Test, Timed Get Up and Go Test and Chair Stand Test) were quantitatively determined in a group (n = 37) of drug-dependent patients b...

Different types of exercise might produce reductions in blood pressure (BP). One physiological mechanism that could explain the lowering adaptation effect on BP after an exercise program is an improved in baroreflex control of muscle sympathetic nerve activity. Consequently, exploring the different methods of training and their post-exercise hypote...

Background: Exercise is important as adjuvant in the chronic low back pain (CLBP) treatment. Functional training could involve benefits for low back pain (LBP) patients. Objective: To evaluate the effects of a 12-week period of functional resistance training on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), disability, body pain, and physical fitness i...

Manchado, C, Cortell-Tormo, JM, and Tortosa-Martínez, J. Effects of two different training periodization models on physical and physiological aspects of elite female team handball players. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2017-This study was undertaken to compare training-induced changes in selected physiological and physical team handball perfo...

Prone plank is a widely used exercise in core stability training. Research has shown that pelvic tilt plays an important role on the electromyographical (EMG) activation of core musculature. However, the influence of scapular position on EMG activation is currently unknown. Therefore, this study evaluated the influence of scapular position on the c...

Background Regular physical activity is a promising strategy to treat and prevent cognitive decline. The mechanisms that mediate these benefits are not fully clear but physical activity is thought to attenuate the harmful effects of chronic psychological stress and hypercortisolism on cognition. However, the circadian pattern of cortisol secretion...

In Portugal, Spain and South Africa, there has been a noted anti-neoliberal resistance, marked by the significant participation of the older generation in protest movements. Changing demographics, the global financial crisis, unemployment, poverty, and the reliance of the family nucleus on the pensioner, coupled with neoliberal and austerity-based...

In handball, throwing velocity is considered to be one of the essential factors in achieving the ultimate aim of scoring a goal. The objective of the present study was to analyze the effect of a core training program on throwing velocity in 30 handball players (age 18.7 ± 3.4 years, body height 179.3 ± 7.0 cm, body mass 78.9 ± 7.7 kg), 16 of whom w...

Changes in the social and economic landscape for NGOs are distinctly recognised in Spain and South Africa as a result of comparable formative and historical social welfare provision. NGOs in both countries are under siege, operating in the line of two fires, namely the global financial crisis, and the implementation and advancement of a neoliberal...

3 weeks of blood flow restriction associated with low-intensity resistance training promote an increase of brachial biceps thickness for three groups evaluated (placebo group, creatine group and HMB + creatine group). These increase were no different significantly inter-group. The group that ingested HMB combined with Creatine experienced the large...

Changes in the social and economic landscape for NGOs are distinctly recognised in Spain and South Africa as a result of comparable formative and historical social welfare provision. NGOs in both countries are under siege, operating in the line of two fires, namely the global financial crisis, and the implementation and advancement of a neoliberal...

This study combined quantitative and qualitative research methods to evaluate quality-of-life changes in drug-dependent patients after participation in a group-based exercise program. Quality of life (SF-36) and physical fitness (six-minute Walk Test, Timed Get Up and Go Test, and Chair Stand Test) were quantitatively determined in a group (n = 37)...

Regular physical activity is protective against and beneficial for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), dementia, and Alzheimer´s disease. The mechanisms underlying these benefits remain unknown although it has been suggested that exercise-induced changes in the circadian pattern of cortisol secretion may be implicated. Fitness, salivary cortisol level...

This paper is based on a previous initial analysis of a cooperation project with a social entity in the Canton of Otavalo (Ecuador), aimed to include physical activity and games in the integral service for the elderly living in indigence. In order to gather information about the context of the target population, their previous experiences and expec...

This paper is based on a previous initial analysis of a cooperation project with a social entity in the Canton of Otavalo (Ecuador), aimed to include physical activity and games in the integral service for the elderly living in indigence. In order to gather information about the context of the target population, their previous experiences and expec...

Abstract: We present here three learning innovation experiences within the course " Initiation to Professional Skills " , a first year course of the Social Work undergraduate degree of the University of Alicante. Objectives: 1) Getting service users involved in teaching roles, considering them experts by their personal experience with Social Worker...

This book can help in exploring the role of physical activity in mental health and well-being. With contributions from internationally renowned experts, Physical Activity and Mental Health presents defining research on how the use of physical activity can enhance well-being and reduce the impact of potentially debilitating mental health conditions....

The number of neurodegenerative diseases associated to aging, such as Alzheimeŕs disease (AD), is rapidly increasing. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is diagnosed when a person presents cognitive deficits, usually memory related, but still does not meet criteria for a diagnosis of dementia. It is usually considered a transitional phase between norm...

Numerous quantitative studies have illustrated the potential usefulness of exercise programs for women with fibromyalgia. However, a deeper understanding of the physical and especially psychosocial benefits of exercise therapy from the subjective perspective of this population is still needed. This study was conducted with 25 women who had fibromya...

The equality of women is a topic that may be approached from different perspectives, and physical activity is one of them. In this article, an analysis and reflection of the historical role that women have played in the physical activity field is conducted, and the participation of older adults from a gender perspective is analyzed, as well as the...

Team handball is an Olympic sport played professionally in many European countries. Nevertheless, scientific knowledge regarding women's elite team handball demands is limited. Thus, the purpose of this article was to review a series of studies (n=33) on physical characteristics, physiological attributes, physical attributes, throwing velocity and...

The aim of this research is to analyze students' expectations that have an influence on choosing Leisure and Recreation as an academic major. According to the analysis of this research on the reasons for choosing Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration studies at a university in the United States, the conclusions reached show that among multi...

Lack of physical activity (PA) is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and PA interventions are believed to provide an effective non-pharmacological approach for attenuating the symptoms of this disease. However, the mechanism of action of these positive effects is currently unknown. It is possible that the benefits may be at least partially...

There is compelling evidence supporting the protective effects that different leisure activities have on dementia. The focus of this study was to explore the degree to which leisure experiences that occur during the lifespan prevent or delay the onset of dementia. Greater protective effects against dementia were associated with engagement in a high...

The Empowering Health Learning for the Elderly project targeted the promotion of competences and abilities related to health education for professionals working with adults. The first step of the programme was to analyse the perceived health of 1200 adults and older adults of four different countries (Spain, Italy, France and Holland). The instrume...

The Empowering Health Learning for the Elderly project analysed the perceived health and lifestyle factors of a sample of 1200 adults of four different European countries (Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands). Didactic tools were developed for promoting healthy lifestyles related to sleep, alcohol and smoking, nutrition, pharmacology, physical...

AIMS: To obtain an overview of the perceived health of a specific population, students at an educational centre , in order to adapt the physical education area programmes. METHODS: We used the CHIP-CE (Spanish version of the Child Health and Illness Profile- Child Edition) as the instrument for gathering data, given its availability in Spanish, its...