Raul Reina

• Miguel Hernández University of Elche

Background/Objectives: International-level competition opportunities have recently been introduced for female footballers with cerebral palsy (CP), highlighting a gap in the research on their physical performance during matches. The objectives of this study were (I) to describe the physical responses during the 2022 Women's World Cup of football pl...

The aim of this study was to provide a comparative analysis of running responses in official matches in different sport classes of football players with cerebral palsy (CP) considering the contextual factors of geographical competition and level. One hundred and ninety-one international footballers with CP divided according to the tournament geogra...

Introduction: There has been an increased volume of research examining various aspects of the physical responses of players with cerebral palsy (CP) in competition (Henríquez et al., 2023). While the influence of contextual factors (i.e., team rankings) on physical responses in competition has been investigated in male CP football (Henríquez et al....

Football for people with cerebral palsy (CP) has received increased attention, particularly regarding female participation during the inaugural competitive events of 2022. However, a notable knowledge gap exists when compared to their male counterparts, specifically in understanding their distinct physical proficiency. The purpose of this study was...

Introduction: Classification is an essential component that tries to minimize the impact of the eligible impairment on the outcome of the competition by grouping athletes into specific classes based on sport-specific activity limitations. Cerebral palsy (CP) football is a team sport designed for individuals with eligible coordination impairments (i...

Perceptual-cognitive skills are crucial in successfully managing information and decision-making in sports, particularly in high-pressure environments. We examined 16 basketball referees’ on-the-court visual search behavior by comparing referees of different experience levels (experienced, n = 8; and novice, n = 8) and different court positions. Pa...

This study aimed to determine the physical performance profile (ability to change direction, vertical and horizontal jump, sprint ability, and dribbling-specific skills) of the first women football players with cerebral palsy (CP) who participated in an international CP football competition, accounting for their sport classes. We also examined the...

Maximum running speed is a performance determinant in para-athletics and cerebral palsy football. Sixty international para-athletes with brain impairments completed five activity-limitation tests (standing broad jump, four bounds for distance, split jumps, 10-m speed skip, and running in place) and two criterion tests (40-m sprint and modified agil...

Journal website link: www.frontiersin.org

Similar to conventional football, the modality dedicated to footballers with cerebral palsy (CP) requires referees who cope with the physical demands imposed during competitive matches to apply the rules of the game. While a significant body of research has explored the physical demands on referees in mainstream football, there is a noticeable lack...

This study aimed to examine the physical response of international referees, participating in different levels of world competitions for footballers with cerebral palsy (CP). Thirteen international referees, who officiated 49 matches in the men’s 2022 World Cup (1st to 15th ranked teams) and 2022 World Championships (16th to 30th ranked teams), par...

Football for people with cerebral palsy is a para-sport involving ambulant athletes with impairments, such as hypertonia, ataxia, or athetosis. The objective of the present study was to describe the somatotype of a representative sample of international football players according to different functional profiles of cerebral palsy, including spastic...

This work aimed to describe the visual search behavior of basketball referees. Eight national and eight regional basketball referees took part in the study. The participants watched five projected gameplay video clips twice from different perspectives: lead and trail referee positions. Dependent variables were based on the extrinsic ocular motility...

Background People with disabilities usually face barriers to regularly engaging in physical activities. Estimating physical activity patterns are necessary to elaborate policies and strategies to facilitate active lifestyles, considering the particular access difficulties experienced by this population. Purpose This study aimed (i) to describe the...

The aims of this study were (1) to describe and examine differences in change of direction (COD) performance and the magnitude of asymmetries in para-footballers with cerebral palsy (CP) and controls and (2) to evaluate the association between COD outcomes and linear sprint performance. Twenty-eight international para-footballers with CP and thirty...

Objectives: The purpose of this study was 1) to determine and compare kinetic parameters during the realization of a countermovement jump (CMJ) between footballers with cerebral palsy (CP) and non-impaired footballers, and 2) to analyze the differences in this action between different players’ impairment profiles and a group of non-impaired footbal...

The main objective of this study was to compare the physical response of para-footballers with cerebral palsy (CP) in official international football matches played at moderate altitude and sea level locations. Eighty-seven international CP footballers participated in this study. We divided participants according to the place of the international c...

This study aimed to explore the match-physical response of international-level footballers with cerebral palsy (CP) according to contextual factors such as team ranking, the quality level of opposition, and match outcome. Eighty-two male outfield footballers with CP from top-ranked teams (n=26) and bottom-ranked teams (n=56) took part in this study...

Vertical jump (VJ) capacity is a common assessment for monitoring athletes' neuromuscular function and has been proposed as a differentiating indicator between competitive levels of football players. This study aimed to compare the VJ capacity of Chilean footballers with cerebral palsy (CP) with international and national levels of proficiency, als...

This study aimed to analyze whether there are differences and associations in the physical responses in international-level cerebral palsy (CP) footballers between official matches and 2vs.2 small-sided games (2v2-SSGs). One hundred and seventy international CP footballers participated in this study during three international championships. The phy...

This study assessed the self-efficacy gains of higher education students concerning the inclusion of people with disabilities throughout the delivery of a face-to-face training course (four months, 28 sessions of two hours each). The sample comprised 158 sports sciences undergraduates (109 intervention group, 49 control group; 69.4% males, 31.6% fe...

Adults with tetraparesis cerebral palsy (i.e., wheelchair users) tend to experience more accelerated ageing, resulting in physical deterioration that increases the impact of the disability, leading to a loss of mobility that interferes with people's daily activities and participation in the community. The aim of this work is to study the relationsh...

This study assessed the self-efficacy (SE) gains of higher education students concerning the inclusion of people with disabilities throughout the delivery of a face-to-face training course with a duration of four months, comprising 28 sessions of two hours each. A sample of 158 sports sciences undergraduates (109 intervention group, 49 control grou...

The present study presents a novel specific multi-joint isometric test to assess upper limb strength impairment for evidence-based classification in wheelchair sports. Sixteen wheelchair athletes participated in this study and were classified according to their type of physical impairment and health condition as follows: athletes with neurological...

Objective This study aimed to determine the association of health determinants, lifestyle and socioeconomic variables on healthcare use in people with diabetes in Europe. Design A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the European Health Interview Survey wave 2 (ie, secondary analysis). Setting The sample included data from 25 Europ...

Las personas con discapacidad han enfrentado históricamente grandes dificultades para ejercer sus derechos y acceder a las mismas oportunidades que el resto de la población. Estas dificultades se explican por barreras de acceso a bienes y servicios de la comunidad y por la discriminación a la que se enfrentan en numerosos ámbitos de su vida cotidia...

This study aimed to determine the rated perceived exertion (RPE) and match load (RPE-ML) to compare pre-post-match vertical jump (VJ) capacity according to cerebral palsy (CP) players’ sport classes (i.e., FT1–FT3) and playing positions and to explore whether the neuromuscular performance variation is associated with the internal load of para-footb...

Spasticity is considered a contributor to hypertonia, frequently presented in people with cerebral palsy (CP), affecting muscle function and motor activities. In CP football, the classification system determines that this impairment is eligible for competitive para-sports due to the impact on activity limitation and sports performance. However, the...

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to analyze whether there were differences among para-footballers with different types and degrees of brain impairment (ie, bilateral spasticity, athetosis/ataxia, unilateral spasticity, minimum impairment criteria, or no impairment) in performing 3 football-specific tests requiring ball dribbling, to anal...

In 2018, a new classification structure was introduced in cerebral palsy (CP) football, a team para-sport for ambulant athletes with eligible impairments of hypertonia, athetosis, or ataxia. Because impaired coordination is a characteristic feature in this group of para-athletes, this study aims to determine the relationships of three coordination...

This study aimed to examine: (1) the influence of a disability awareness programme, designed and implemented by attendees of the Incluye-T programme and implemented in real educational settings, on the attitudes of their students toward the inclusion of peers with disabilities; (2) the differential effects of the disability awareness activities bet...

This study aims to analyze self-perceived health and lifestyles in the European Union Member States Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, examining associations with diabetes prevalence; and to identify the demographic, economic and health variables associated with diabetes in this population. We performed a cross-sectional study of 312,172 peop...

This study aimed (1) to determine the appropriateness of using decision trees as a classification tool for determining the allocation of sport classes of para-footballers with “moderate vs. mild” cerebral palsy (CP) profiles of spastic diplegia/hemiplegia and ataxia/athetosis based on observational outcomes by international classifiers, and (2) to...

Due to the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, e-learning suddenly spread to different levels of education, including university. In Spain, students of sports sciences are prepared during a 4-year study program to work in different areas (including physical education) and with different populations (including people with disabilities). The ai...

This study compared physical performance in a group of international cerebral palsy football players during two formats of small-sided games (SSGs) and performance in a simulated game (SG) according to players’ sport classes (FT1, FT2, and FT3). Internal load (heart rate and rating of perceived exertion) and external load (total distance, distance...

This study aims 1) to compare repeated change of direction ability (rCODA) and bench press (BP) between low (A category, ≤2.5) and high (B category, ≥3.0) sport classes and 2) to analyze the relationships between rCODA and BP performance in a sample of wheelchair basketball (WB) players. Seventeen world-class WB players volunteered participated in...

Background Balance impairment is a common feature in people with cerebral palsy (CP), impacting the performance of daily‐life and physical activities. Objectives This study aimed to (a) explore the absolute and relative intra‐session reliability of two balance tests to assess dynamic and static balance in ambulant para‐athletes with CP; (b) explor...

When schools were closed due to the COVID-19 restrictions, teachers were challenged to engage children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) through remote teaching, particularly in physical education. The European standards in adapted physical activity (EUSAPA) have been used to define the competencies of adapted physical education (APE) teachers....

Background and objectives: Fatigue is one of the most disabling symptoms that limit daily life activities in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of maximal strength training (MST) on perceived-fatigue and functional mobility in pwMS. Materials and Methods: 26 participants with MS were balanced according...

Cerebral palsy (CP) football is a team para-sport practiced by para-athletes with eligible impairments of hypertonia, athetosis, and ataxia. This study aimed: (1) to describe the anthropometrical and body composition profiles of international CP para-footballers with different CP profiles (i.e., spastic diplegia, athetosis/ataxia, spastic hemiplegi...

This study aimed to describe and determine relationships between repeated sprint and change of direction abilities in football players with cerebral palsy according to four sport classes (FT5 to FT8). Seventeen male football players with cerebral palsy took part in this study (23.0±4.7 years, 65.9±9.5 kg, 168.8±5.9 cm). The repeated sprint ability...

Purpose: This study aimed (1) to explore the validity and reliability of a new and specific change-of-direction (COD) test that requires dribbling skills to classify international footballers with cerebral palsy (CP) and compare it with another valid and reliable COD test without ball dribbling and (2) to probe whether both tests can discriminate...

This quasi-experimental study analyses the effects of an awareness intervention programme with five different branches designed to improve the attitudes of physical education (PE) students towards the inclusion of classmates with disabilities. The contact (yes/no) and its frequency (×1 vs. ×3) with para-athletes, the duration of the programme (1 vs...

La Educación Física no es solo un espacio en el proceso integral de formación, sino que un derecho que se debe garantizar para todas y todos desde la inclusión en la participación y beneficios de su práctica. Este manual busca entregar un resumen de orientaciones, estructuras y recomendaciones para generar procesos de inclusión en la clase de Educa...

In addition to inclusion as an educational philosophy, integrated schooling has emerged worldwide as an influential trend in education over the last few decades; this has increased the number of students with disabilities in classrooms, including in physical education (PE). This state of affairs requires that teachers provide support and resources...

Resumen La investigación que aborda la inclusión del alumnado con discapacidad en educación física (EF) se presenta como un reto educativo en la actualidad. El objetivo de este estudio fue validar la Escala de Actitud hacia el Alumnado con Discapacidad en Educación Física (EAADEF) de Íñiguez-Santiago et al. (2017) a la etapa de educación primaria (...

Background: Cerebral Palsy (CP) Football is a para-sport performed by individuals with physical impairments of athetosis, ataxia, or hypertonia. However, little is known about the physical demands of para-footballers with CP, and no previous study has analysed those demands in a small-sided game (SSG). This study aims to describe physical paramete...

Ratios of physical activity and sports participation in people with cerebral palsy (CP) are still low compared with people without a disability. For an adequate and useful practice, physical activity professionals should understand how different types of CP profiles constrain the performance of motor skills that are required during sports practice....

Trunk function is a core factor to allocate Boccia players with cerebral palsy in BC1 and BC2 sport classes, according to the Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed). However, the appropriateness of the current test to assess trunk function has never been studied to determine its reliability, validity and sensitivity to discriminate between...

Objective: To evaluate somatotype and body composition of a population of sound-tennis players. Method: The research included a descriptive, cross-sectional design, with a quantitative focus. The sample consists of 13 male sound-tennis players: eight Spanish and five from other countries that were recruited in an international tournament in May 201...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content and construct validity and between-sessions reliability of four agility tests requiring ball dribbling in football players with cerebral palsy (CP) with implications for classification and training. A sample of 35 football players with CP from three different countries took part in the study. Th...

Objectives: Spastic hemiplegia is one of the most common forms of cerebral palsy, in which one side of the body is affected to a greater extent than the other one. Hemiplegia severity (i.e. moderate vs mild forms) is currently used in some Para sports for classification purposes. This study evaluates the sensitivity of several tests of stability (...

The objective of this review was to know the effects of physical activity (PA) programs on the improvement of functional and physical abilities of people with cerebral palsy (CP), especially of wheelchair-dependent people. A systematic review of the different PA programs was carried out in five different databases (PubMed, Eric, Google Scholar, Dia...

El objetivo de esta revisión fue conocer los efectos de los programas de actividad física (AF) en la mejora de las capacidades funcionales y físicas de personascon parálisis cerebral (PC), especialmente de aquellas personas usuarias de sillade ruedas. Se realizó una revisión sistemática de diferentes programas de AF encinco bases de datos (PubMed,...

Classification is a hot topic in Paralympic sport, making the development of evidence-based and sport-specific classification systems mandatory. However, the development of sports-specific measurement is a considerable scientific challenge in team Paralympic sports such as 7-side football (i.e. CP-Football). The aims of this study were, 1) to descr...

Physical education teachers play a significant role in educating students with special education needs, but they often feel frustrated and unprepared to achieve a successful inclusion process. The lack of inadequate training has proven to have an unfavorable effect on educators’ perceived competence, confidence, and attitudes when working in inclus...

Acquiring specific training in disability seems to be a key aspect for achieving school inclusion. Teachers who receive such prior training would be more prepared to address diversity in the classroom, which could be related to their perception of self-efficacy. The aim of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the Self-Efficacy Scale fo...

Abstract: Vertical jump is a relevant variable in the classification of football for individuals with cerebral palsy. In this regard, the literature is limited. There are no studies assessing vertical jumping ability through kinematic methods and in more specific football game situations, such as jumps with a header. The goals of the present study...

SSG demonstrated the capacity to replicate physical, technical, and tactical demands, similar to official matches in football players without a disability. The physical demands in CP-football players (CPFP) during official matches are described (Yanci et al., 2019). Actually, 2 vs 2 SSG is used during the athlete´s assessment process as part of the...

La sociedad en Chile y el mundo se expresa a través de un sin número de momentos, espacios, instancias y situaciones que muchas veces pasan a planos que no somos capaces de ver ya que el sistema no les da el valor que finalmente poseen. Arte, ciencia, investigación, sexualidad entre otras expresiones son habituales en nuestro entorno, y a su vez no...

In this research, para-sports for athletes with high support needs are used to sensitise students towards disability in their Physical Education (PE) classes, aiming to: 1) explore the participants’ attitudes towards disability and their previous contact with individuals with disabilities; and 2) know the short- and long-term effects of a Para-Spor...

Purpose: This study analyzes the relationship between mean propulsive velocity (MPV) of the bar and relative load (%1RM) in the bench press exercise, as well as determining the relationship of power variables (i.e. Mean Power (MP), Mean Propulsive Power (MPP) and Peak Power (PP)) in change of direction ability (CODA), linear sprint and RSA performa...

The aims of this study were to analyze the official match external loads (i.e. total distance [TD], distance covered at different speeds, accelerations, decelerations, player load [PL], peak metabolic power [PMP] and changes of direction [CODs]) of football players with cerebral palsy (CP), and to determine the external loads according to playing t...

Physical Education teacheŕs (PET) self-efficacy (SE) is a cornerstone for a successful inclusion of students with special educational needs. This study aims to evaluate the effect of a training program called Incluye-T on the SE of Spanish in-service PETs (n = 229) toward the inclusion of students with special education needs in physical education,...

Los maestros son un eje fundamental en el proceso de construcción de una escuela inclusiva. Es por ello que parece relevante estudiar cómo perciben su eficacia en el trato con alumnos y alumnas con discapacidad, hecho de especial importancia en la formación inicial de futuros maestros y maestras de Educación Física (EF). El objetivo de la presente...

Classification is a defining feature of Para-sport, and sports-specific classification systems determined through multidisciplinary scientific research are required, i.e., evidence-based and focused on the relationship between the impairment and the key performance determinants. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was applied as a classification tool u...

This study addresses the associations between students' ability beliefs and attitudes toward inclusion in physical education, as well as the impact of gender and previous contact/participation with children with disability on these variables. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 976 students (491 girls and 485 boys; age 11-16 years), who resp...

The purpose of this study was to analyze heart rate variability (HRV) oscillations before and after a marathon which involved trans-meridian air travel and substantial time zone differences in a professional wheelchair athlete with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease. The natural logarithm of the root mean square difference between adjacent normal R-...

Purpose: The main purpose of the present study was to determine physiological responses in wheelchair basketball (WB) matches in relation to heart rate (HR), match load (ML), differentiated perceived exertion (dRPE), lactate concentrations (LA), and tympanic temperature (TEMP), while specifying the individual player's playing time during different...

Trunk control (TC) impairment is a typical feature in individuals with cerebral palsy (CP), but there are lack of methods that allow to quantify the extent to which static and dynamic TC is impaired in adults with moderate-to-severe CP. Thus, the aims of this study were to analyze the reliability of a posturography protocol to assess TC in adults w...

Background: Postural control has been associated with the functional impairment in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). However, there is a need for reliable methods to assess postural control in early stages of the disease, when subtle changes can be difficult to detect. The aims of this study were to assess the absolute and relative reliabili...

Los programas de cambio de actitudes hacia la discapacidad han venido utilizando, entre otros, la práctica de deporte inclusivo y el contacto con personas del colectivo de referencia. A pesar de su presencia en la sociedad, apenas existen trabajos en los que se emplee el contacto con personas con discapacidad intelectual como medio para cambiar las...

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine and to compare the external match load (ML), according to sport class (FT) of footballers with cerebral palsy (CP) during the International Federation of CP Football (IFCPF) World Championships Qualification Tournament. Methods: Forty-two international male footballers with CP participated in the d...

Purpose: the aims of the present study were to evaluate the reliability and validity of vertical and horizontal jump tests in football players with cerebral palsy (FPCP), and to analyze the jump performance differences between current IFCPF functional classes (i.e. FT5-FT8). Methods: One hundred and thirty-two international para-footballers (25....

Aim Boccia is a precision sport that requires excellent coordination and control of movements. Eligible impairments for this sport such as ataxia, hypertonia and athetosis cause limitations in a player's coordination. The aim of this study was to investigate whether different throwing distances might have an impact on kinematics and accuracy across...

El objetivo del estudio es examinar las actitudes hacia la discapacidad de alumnos de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria en Educación Física, comparando las diferencias en función del sexo, de la edad, del contacto previo con personas con discapacidad y de la habilidad deportiva y competitividad percibida. Doscientos noventa y cuatro estudiantes de E...

Although the advance in disease-modifying drugs has helped to stabilize the multiple sclerosis (MS) course increasing life-expectancy, physical deterioration still supervenes over time in most MS patients. In this context, physical exercise programs are considered a safe and well-tolerated tool to preserve functional independence in this population...

La inclusión de estudiantes con discapacidad en educación física (EF) está influida directamente por la actitud que los compañeros presentan al respecto, siendo necesario contar con herramientas válidas y fiables para evaluar dicha actitud. El objetivo de este estudio fue crear y analizar las propiedades psicométricas de un instrumento para medir l...

Background Boccia is a paralympic sport played by athletes with severe neurological impairments affecting all four limbs. Impaired manual dexterity (MD) and intralimb coordination (ILC) may limit individuals’ ability to perform certain activities such as grasping, releasing, or manipulating objects, which are essential tasks for daily life or to pa...

The aims of this study were: i) to analyze the reliability and validity of three tests that require sprinting (10 m, 25 m, 40 m), accelerations/decelerations (Stop and Go Test) and change of direction (Illinois Agility Test), with and without ball, in para-footballers with neurological impairments, and ii) to compare the performance in the tests wh...

Recent studies have found that motor variability is actively regulated as an exploration tool to promote learning in reward and error-based tasks. Based on this functional role of variability, several researches have manipulated motor variability by practicing in order to maximize learning processes. However, the effectiveness of such variable prac...

Reina, R. y Vilanova-Périz, N. (2017): “Bases para una Estrategia Nacional de Clasificación en Deporte Paralímpico en España”. Revista Española de Discapacidad, 5 (I): 195-216.

Resumen: El presente ensayo pretende mostrar al lector los procesos inclusivos que en la actualidad se están dando en el ámbito del deporte adaptado. En una primera instancia, se aborda el concepto de inclusión, exponiendo las bases filosóficas y prácticas (incluso algunas legislativas) que sustentan la misma, ubicándolo en un modelo actual de cons...

This study tested whether a compensatory hypothesis exists on postural control during standing unstable balance tasks comparing blind soccer players (n = 7) to sighted soccer players (n = 15) and sighted sedentary individuals (n = 6). All subjects performed a pre-test, a training of ten practice trials on a single day, and a post-test balance test....

RESUMEN: La formación y experiencias positivas previas son fundamentales para una adecuada percepción de competencia, confianza y actitud positiva para la inclusión de alumnos con discapacidad en educación física. Este trabajo analiza la fiabilidad de una escala aplicada al contexto español para evaluar las creencias de autoeficacia para atender a...

Introducción: existe una gran controversia en la literatura acerca de los instrumentos utilizados para medir las actitudes hacia la discapacidad en educación física (EF), especialmente acerca de su validez y fiabilidad. El objetivo de este estudio fue desarrollar y validar una versión reducida de la Escala de Actitud hacia el Alumnado con Discapaci...