Mário C Espada

Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal

Background/Objectives: Studies focused on the soccer goalkeeper position in training and official matches are scarce. The present study aimed to analyze the external load during training sessions and official matches in semi-professional goalkeepers. Methods: Data from goalkeepers (n = 6) from the youth ranks of a professional team belonging to the...

Background: Physical activity (PA) plays a crucial role in improving the quality of life (QoL) in the elderly, particularly by enhancing balance and movement coordination. Objective: This study aimed to assess the effects of sensorimotor training intervention in older adults. Methods: 90 participants, divided into a Control Group (N=44) and Experim...

Physical Activity (PA) is essential for enhancing the Quality of Life (QoL) in older adults, particularly by improving balance, strength, flexibility, and coordination (Marquez et al., 2020). Sensorimotor training enhances movement control by integrating motor and sensory systems, improving balance, coordination, and reducing fall risk, key for mai...

Monitoring the training load during training is important for quantifying the demand on psychological and physiological responses. This procedure is achieved through subjective and objective methods applied to the control of the level of training, to the attainment of conditioning and performance goals, and to the prevention of injuries. Training l...

Wheelchair Basketball (WB) is a sport modality focused on people with physical disabilities because its players present movement difficulties as a result of amputations, problems in the musculoskeletal system, or spina bifida. Therefore, the present work aims to analyze the trend and evolution of publications that analyze performance in WB, through...

Introduction: Aquatic therapy combines different strategies to increase, maintain, and restore maximum movement and functional capacity. This can be useful in any stage of life and support different types of injuries, illnesses, disorders, environmental conditions, or factors that threaten movement and function. Objectives: This study aimed to carr...

This study aims to evaluate body composition (BC), physical activity (PA) and health- related quality of life throughout the aging process. Increased morbidity and mortality are linked to age- related changes in body composition. Keeping up an active lifestyle has a favorable impact on BC and is a major sign of healthy aging. The World Health Organ...

Maintaining balance and body orientation in humans depends on the proper functioning of the postural control system. This study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity of center of pressure (COP)-based measures to age-related changes in postural stability.

Jump test assessment is commonly used for physical tests, with different type of devices used for its evaluation. The purpose of the present study was to examine the validity and reliability of a freely accessible mobile application (VertVision, version 2.0.5) for measuring jump performance. With that intent, thirty-eight college age recreationally...

Objetivo: analizar los conocimientos sobre expresión corporal en alumnos del grado en educación infantil de la Universidad Extremadura, curso académico 2022-2023. Método: el estudio parte de un enfoque cuantitativo-no experimental, con diseño descriptivo. Para ello, se aplicó un cuestionario sobre la formación en expresión corporal a una muestra de...

Purpose To investigate the impact of voluntary hypoventilation at low lung volumes (VHL) during upper body repeated sprints (RS) on performance, metabolic markers and muscle oxygenation in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) athletes. Methods Eighteen male well-trained athletes performed two randomized RS sessions, one with normal breathing (RSN) and anothe...

Physical inactivity can lead to frailty and negative health outcomes in middle-aged to older adults. Sedentary individuals have double the risk of death compared to those who engage in high levels of physical activity (PA). The advantages of practicing PA in older age are significant, with regular, moderate-intensity activity (150 min per week)bein...

Aim The world’s population suffers greatly from sedentary lifestyles, which are becoming more common as a result of factors such as a lack of easily accessible places to exercise, a rise in sedentary work practices such as office work, and the pervasive use of television and video devices. Consequently, associated health problems are escalating. Th...

The use of emotions during the stage of Early Childhood Education plays a fundamental role in the personality construction and in the social interactions of the students. Therefore, this paper aimed to analyse the state of the art related to the study of emotions in Early Childhood Education through the development of a bibliometric review. For thi...

Wheelchair basketball (WB) is a sport modality adapted for people with disabilities who present functional classification (FC) according to their mobility, from 1.0 for players with lesser functional capacity up to 4.5 for great mobility and trunk control players. This study aimed to analyze and compare the external load (EL) and the internal load...

Introducción: La celiaquía es una patología multisistémica con base autoinmune que provoca una reacción a la proteína gluten encontrada en alimentos como o trigo, centeno, triticale, cebada, espelta y avena. Los síntomas más comunes de la celiaquía son la pérdida de peso, pérdida de apetito y fatiga general entre otros. A consecuencia de estos sínt...

The problematic of analysis and the possible causes of injuries in football continues to be a topic of extreme relevance. In this sense, the aim of this study was to analyze the injuries of U-16 and U-18 soccer players, according to the category and game position. In this ex post facto study (Quasi-experimental methodology) 111 players participated...

Sport has some components that differentiate it from any other Physical Activity, whose aim is far from competition, based on enjoyment. Hence, it is considered a very important educational resource to be developed by Physical Education (PE) teachers. They should develop awareness-raising activities for people with disabilities and can use sports a...

This research paper aims to search for documents related to the use of gamification in Physical Education. For the search of documents, the following keywords were used as descriptors: “Physical education”, “Significant learning” and “Gamification”. The terms were entered in the following databases: Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed and SportDiscus. O...

Among the stimuli able to prevent early decreases in bone mineralization, exercise has a noticeable role per se as the source of mechanical stimulus or through lean tissue enlargement by its increasing of tensional stimulus. However, prevention strategies, including exercise, generally do not establish the moment in life when attention should begin...

Game statistics are used for the analysis of the performance of athletes. This allows the strengths and weaknesses of the players to be understood, and to design and implement training sessions for performance enhancement. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyse the game statistics of the 2021 and 2023 European Champions and the 2023...

Football is considered a highly physically demanding sport and due to the increase of the load and intensity in the training processes, there is an increase in the number of injuries to players. High-intensity ball striking and running activities may be the main causes of injuries to the muscles and groin. In contrast, duels for the ball may be the...

Incorrect limb position while lifting heavy weights might compromise athlete success during weightlifting performance, similar to the way that it increases the risk of muscle injuries during resistance exercises, regardless of the individual’s level of experience. However, practitioners might not have the necessary background knowledge for self-sup...

During the health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the child and youth population has faced a series of challenges that have affected both their health and their way of life. The main aim of this study was to analyse the documents related to the transformation of leisure and free time in children and young people and the main characterist...

Background Monitoring of training tasks allows coaches to have a better knowledge of the loads applied to their players. Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze the variations in external load in small-sided games (SSGs) with young players U-12, U-15, and U-23 and compare the external load between age categories in each of the SSGs. Metho...

The aim of this study was to analyze the levels of physical condition in relation to lifestyles linked to tobacco and alcohol consumption in a population of hunters from Extremadura. The sample consisted of 144 hunters (98.61% men and 1.39% women) aged between 16 and 66 years, chosen by random sampling, mainly from different locations in Extremadur...

The systematic and programmed control and evaluation of the external and internal load of high-performance athletes during training sessions and high-level competitions allows the coaching staff to know a great amount of information to evaluate the physical condition of the players and the tactical positioning as well as to identify optimal perform...

The present study analyses all in-game goal kicks (n = 424) in 5-a-side football for blind people in the international tournament World Grand Prix 2021, held in Tokyo (Japan). For this purpose, the IOLF5C instrument was used, which consists of 14 variables to analyse the effectiveness of shooting at goal. A descriptive study and association between...

El uso de las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación se muestra como eje principal dentro de los nuevos modelos pedagógicos e innovadores, puesto que convierten al alumnado en el centro del proceso de Enseñanza-Aprendizaje. Por ello, el objetivo del presente trabajo es llevar a cabo una recopilación de aquellos documentos que analicen el uso...

The use of Information and Communication Technologies is shown as the main axis within the new pedagogical and innovative models since they turn the students into the center of the TeachingLearning process. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to carry out a compilation of those documents that analyse the use of Information and Communication Technol...

Background and Objectives: Research on female soccer players that analyzes playing status is scarce and has previously only examined load monitoring, while other markers, such as physical (i.e., strength, power, and agility), physiological (i.e., maximal oxygen uptake), and body composition (i.e., body fat mass, fat-free mass, body water, and phase...

This research aimed to analyse the pitch size manipulation effect on internal and external load and to study the age effect on the studied variables in different small-sided games (SSGs) formats. Male U-12 (n = 8), U-15 (n = 8) youth football players, and U-23 (n = 8) professional cohorts participated in the study. Two SSGs formats were analyzed, g...

Dance is an ideal sport modality for the comprehensive development of students, as well as a discipline that promotes inclusion. For this reason, the aim of this study was to carry out a narrative review of the literature related to the benefits that dance provides in children with Down Syndrome (DS). To carry out the search for the documents, the...

Biomechanical analysis has been one of the most used procedures when aiming to improve performance in sports and is also very relevant and decisive in the final classification of competitive events in sports such as gymnastics. Hence, this study sought to provide an overview of the number of scientific literature publications related to biomechanic...

In the last few decades, numerous studies pertaining to research groups worldwide have investigated the effects of oral caffeine intake on fat oxidation at rest, during exercise, and after exercise. However, there is no bibliometric analysis to assess the large volume of scientific output associated with this topic. A bibliometric analysis of this...

The design and organization of the training tasks in Wheelchair Basketball (WB) determine the load to which the players are exposed. Therefore, the aims of the present study were twofold: (a) to identify the existing associations between the pedagogical variables and the game space that define the training tasks by a coach of a professional WB team...

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar los niveles de condición física en relación con los estilos de vida vinculados al consumo de tabaco y alcohol en una población de cazadores extremeños. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 144 cazadores (98,61% hombres y 1,39% mujeres) con edades comprendidas entre 16 y 66 años, elegidos por muestreo proba...

Inertial devices (ID) have been widely used in professional sports with the purpose of quantifying external and internal load demands due to their great functionality in the characterization and quantification of players' performance levels. Wheelchair Basketball (WB) is a sport intended for people with disabilities, who have a functional classific...

The present study analyzes all shots on goal in play (n=424), in 5-a-side Soccer for blind people in the 2021 World Grand Prix international tournament, held in the city of Tokyo (Japan). For this, the IOLF5C instrument was used (made up of fourteen variables to analyze the effectiveness of the shot on goal). A descriptive study and association was...

Sleep is defined as a multidimensional pattern specific to living beings, which adapts to personal, social, and environmental needs and requirements, and promotes both mental and physical recovery. Sleep, along with stress and anxiety, are the factors that most influence athletic performance. The objective of this study was to analyze the sleep qua...

El deporte es definido como todo el conjunto de actividades físicas que tienen como finalidad la mejora de la condición física, el desarrollo de las habilidades sociales o la adquisición de logros positivos en competiciones de otro nivel. La celebración de los Juegos Olímpicos de 1992 en Barcelona supuso un aumento en el número de licencias federat...

Unsupported to the oxygen uptake kinetics (V̇O2k), the analysis of the physiological responses determining exercise tolerance in severe intensity domain are unable to be characterized, and the specificity of tethered swimming to reproduce similar physiological process inducing muscle to exhaustion cannot be established. Therefore, the current study...

Maximal aerobic velocity (MAV) is usually used by coaches for intensity zones prescription as it combines effort economy with V O2max. This study aims to characterize and compare swimmers' physiological responses in a time-limit (tLim) at MAV test and determine whether these variables could relate to performance. 13 well-trained male swimmers perfo...

An incremental ramp test for defining training zones in free swimming – a pilot study This study aimed to design a rapidly-incremented protocol to assess peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak), gas exchange threshold (GET), and respiratory compensation point (RCP) in free swimming. The V̇O2max attainment was confirmed, and variables were compared to similar...

The environmental constrains in swimming preclude the application of devises for the analysis of oxygen uptake (V̇O2) with no impairments upon swimming velocity, and therefore also affecting the exercise intensity and the confidence on the estimated parameters of the velocitytime limited model. Hence, this study aimed to approach power-time limited...

Alternative Sports emerge as a unique option to com- mon motor practices. Alternative Sports are motor, play- ful, and recreational activities whose purpose is to sat- isfy psychobiological, entertainment, imagination and socialization needs. In addition, they have been includ- ed in the physical education curriculum, with the aim of making the tea...

This study sought to analyze the relationship between regional body composition, swimming performance, and aerobic and force profile determined through tethered swimming in well-trained swimmers. Eleven male and five female swimmers were involved in the study and underwent the following evaluations: (1) body composition, assessed by the dual-energy...

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the physiological responses associated with the stroke length (SL) and stroke rate (SR) changes as swimming velocity increases during an incremental step-test. Moreover, this study also aimed to verify if SL and SR relationships toward maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max), gas respiratory compensation point (RCP), e...

The aim of this study was to analyse the injuries sustained by youth football players from a professional team of the Spanish League integrated into an elite academy, considering the sporting context, the month, and the category of the player throughout the 2017–2018 football season. A total of 227 players in under (U) age categories from U-10 to U...

The current study analysed whether the osteogenic stimuli of exercises and sports have an independent effect on bone mineral density (BMD). Studies with a design having two different cohorts were searched and selected to distinguish the effect due to long-term involvement (i.e., athletes vs. non-active young with good bone health) and due to the pl...

One of the most widely used strategies for performance analysis in different sports is notational analysis through direct observation of technical-tactical actions, which allows to understand the main indicators of sporting performance of the players, both individually and collectively. Football goalkeepers (GKs) are involved in the game differentl...

Introduction: Since sex-specific accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD) during high-intensity swimming remains unstudied, this study aimed to assess AOD during 50, 100, and 200 m front-crawl performances to compare the responses between sexes and analyse the effect of lean body mass (LBM). Methods Twenty swimmers (16.2±2.8 years, 61.6±7.8 kg, and 48.8±11...

Introduction Since sex-specific accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD) during high-intensity swimming remains unstudied, this study aimed to assess AOD during 50, 100, and 200 m front-crawl performances to compare the responses between sexes and analyse the effect of lean body mass (LBM). Methods Twenty swimmers (16.2±2.8 years, 61.6±7.8 kg, and 48.8±11....

This study aimed to apply an incremental tethered swimming test (ITT) with workloads (WL) based on individual rates of front crawl mean tethered force (Fmean) for the identification of the upper boundary of heavy exercise (by means of respiratory compensation point, RCP), and therefore to describe oxygen uptake kinetics (VO2k) and time limit (tLim)...

This research aims to provide an overview of the growing number of scientific literature publications related to Physical Activity and Healthy Habits. A bibliometric analysis between 1990 and 2022 in the Web of Science was carried out, following the bibliometric analysis law, using Microsoft Excel and VosViewer Software for analysis and data proces...

This study sought to assess the relationship between different jumping asymmetries and associated performance variables in high-level male senior and professional football players. Nineteen football players with at least 12 years of training experience (23.2 ± 3.1 years of age; 75.2 ± 4.8 kg of body mass and 181 ± 0.06 cm of height) participated in...

Resumen. La Boccia es un deporte Paralímpico y practicado con una perspectiva recreativa por parte de la población. El rendimiento deportivo en este deporte Paralímpico implica complejidad. Por ello, el objetivo de este estudio fue realizar una revisión sistemática de la literatura relacionada con la Boccia, y específicamente en el área del rendimi...

Boccia is a Paralympic sport, also practiced in a recreational perspective by the population. Performance in this parasport involves complexity. Hence, the aim of this study was to conduct a review of the literature on Boccia, specifically in the field of sports performance. Keywords “Boccia” and “Performance” were used as descriptors in the refere...

The aim of the present study was to carry out a systematic review in relation to the shot in Wheelchair Basketball. To search for the documents, the following keywords were used: "Basketball", "Wheelchair”, and "Shooting". The databases were used: Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed and SPORTDiscus, considering all the documents published up to January...

The use of Information and Communication Technologies is shown as the main axis within the new pedagogical and innovative models since they turn the students into the center of the Teaching-Learning process. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to carry out a compilation of those documents that analyse the use of Information and Communication Techno...

Injuries in the hamstrings are one of the most frequent in sports, often associated with jumping, run- ning, and sprinting, namely with change of direction. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a 10-week intervention protocol, consisting of slide leg and fitball flexion exercises, focusing on hamstring muscle activation and physical performa...

Alternative sports are fundamental tools for the subject of Physical Education. The present study aims to obtain the largest number of scientific papers related to Pinfuvote through a systematic review of the literature. For this purpose, a search for manu- scripts was carried out in the Google Scholar database, where the keyword "Pinfuvote" was en...

This paper presents a comparison of mathematical and cinematic motion analysis regarding the accuracy of the detection of alterations in the patterns of positional sequence during biceps-curl lifting exercise. Two different methods, one with and one without metric data from the environment, were used to identify the changes. Ten volunteers performe...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a progressive muscle relaxation program on psychological (stress levels, anxiety, and mood states) and physiological (blood pressure and heart rate) variables in basketball athletes. Fifty-nine basketball players, aged 14 to 19 years, and members of Bauru Basket team, were recruited for this...

IntroductionThis study aimed to compare athletes practicing exercise in different environments with non-active young and elderly men and women regarding bone mineral density (BMD), hypothesizing that BMD values differ between athletes according to the environment of exercise practice, but those training in a low-gravitational environment have no di...

The amount of anerobic energy released during exercise might modify the initial phase of oxygen recovery (fast-O2debt) post-exercise. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the reliability of peak oxygen uptake ( V ˙ O 2 p e a k ) estimate by back-extrapolation ( B E − V ˙ O 2 p e a k ) under different swimming conditions in the severe-inten...

The time sustained during exercise with oxygen uptake (V̇O2) reaching maximal rates (V̇O2peak) or near peak responses (i.e., above second ventilatory threshold [t@VT2) or 90% V̇O2peak (t@90%V̇O2peak)] is recognized as the training pace required to enhance aerobic power and exercise tolerance in the severe domain (time-limit, tLim). This study compa...

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of different small-sided games (SSGs) format on external, internal load and technical actions of professional U-23 portuguese soccer players. Eight players (20.1±0.8 years, 180.4±7.2 cm, 75.9±4.9 kg) performed three different 4 vs. 4 ball possession SSGs (3x3 min play/rest) in different pitch dimen...

Background: Master swimming is becoming increasingly popular, but research related to the training process and its effect on this population is scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 12 weeks in-water training in stroke kinematics, dry-land power, and swimming sprints performance in master swimmers, and the relationships be...

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to evaluate whether a test protocol with standardized, yet individualized resistance settings leads to valid wheelchair Wingate and graded exercise tests (GXT) in healthy novices. METHODS: Twenty (10M/10F) able-bodied individuals performed-in a fixed sequence-an isometric strength test, sprint test, Wingate test and GX...