مجله پژوهش در علوم توانبخشی
سال سیزدهم شماره 6 (بهمن و اسفند 1396)

One of the subcategories of studies about expertise is the study of visual skills involved in the performance of the expertise. Many researchers have tried to offer different solutions by comparing these skills among expert and near-expert players. The current study aimed to compare visual search behavior in skilled and near-skilled players at basketball jump shot. The participants were basketball players who were divided to skilled and near-skilled ones based on the years of playing and the league they play in. To record and collect research data, sensomotoric instruments (SMI) eye tracking glasses with 60 Hz sample rate were used. All participants performed some jump shot and data related with gaze behavior (number of fixations and fixation duration) were collected and compared using independent t test. There was a significant different in number of fixations (P = 0.040) and no significant different in fixation duration between skilled and near-skilled participants. Based on the results of this study, it concluded that gaze behavior can be one of the distinguishing factors of different skill levels, which focus on it can help to improve the expertise performance in sport by identifying more important and effective factors in training

Backward walking trainings are recommended to improve lower limb muscle performance in patients with joint injuries. The purpose of this study was to investigate muscles activity and co-contraction in ankle and knee joints during forward walking (FW) and backward walking (BW) in healthy individuals.

Ten healthy men aged between 18-28 years participated in this study. The activity and co-contraction of selected muscles (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, semitendinosus, biceps femoris, gastrocnemius medialis, gastrocnemius lateralis, and tibialis anterior) were detected using electromyography (EMG) during stance and swing phases of FW and BW. To identify beginning and end of movement, 4 cameras of motion analysis system were synchronously used with EMG. The data statistical analysis was done using repeated measures ANOVA test via SPSS software.

The activity of tibialis anterior (P < 0.001) and gastrocnemius lateralis (P = 0.02) increased respectively at stance and swing phases of BW in comparison to FW. In knee joint, co-contraction of vastus lateralis and vastus medialis at swing phase of BW increased in comparison to FW (P = 0.02). In the ankle joint, co-contraction of dorsiflexor and plantar flexor muscles at stance phase of BW increased in comparison to FW (P < 0.001). At swing phase, co-contraction of dorsiflexor and plantar flexor muscles decreased during BW in comparison to FW (P = 0.04).

The results of the current study suggest that activity of the lower limb muscles increased during BW in comparison to FW. In addition, co-contraction of lower limb muscles can have mal-effect on knee joint, but useful effect on ankle joint during BW in comparison to FW.

Functional movement screen (FMS), a seven-test battery, has been introduced to identify individuals at risk of injury. It is sometimes impossible to use the whole FMS battery, due to the limitations of time or resources. In this study, we studied how much it was valid to use deep squat (DS) test as an alternative for FMS. Target population included all 524 firefighters operating in Isfahan City, Iran. They accomplished DS and FMS tests. The cut-point of DS was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and its predictive accuracy was determined via logistic regression analysis (LRA). ROC curve revealed that based on the best DS cut-point, the value of sensitivity (true positive) was 0.92, and the value of "1 - specificity" (false positive) was 0.55. LRA showed that, compared to holders of 2 and 3 DS scores, holders of 0 and 1 scores were nine times more likely to obtain score less than 14 in FMS. Findings of this study supports the alteration of FMS by DS in case of limitation of time and resources, especially when examining big populations. Due to false positive rate of 0.55 for subjects scoring 14 or less in FMS, it is still necessary to execute the FMS for them for accurate verification. Such an approach will save about 30 to 40 percent of time and resources

Development of social skills is one of the achievements of childhood that predicts students’ social behaviors, future academic achievement, and future career prospects. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of social skills training on social skills development in preschool children in Shahroud City, Iran in 2017. This experimental study was conducted on 60 preschool children in two groups of experimental and control. In the experimental group, twelve 60-90-minute sessions of social skills training were performed in groups of 7-8 students. Data gathering tool was Matson social skills questionnaire, which data were collected via self-report by parents and educators. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (tables, mean, and standard deviation), and inferential tests (paired t, independent t, and ANCOVA tests). Before the intervention, there was not any significant difference in social skills between the groups from educators’ and parents’ points of view. However, after the intervention, there was significant differences between the groups from educators’ (P = 0.04) and parents (P = 0.02) points of view, and social skills was significantly better among experimental group. Considering the effectiveness of social skills training, it can be said that improving and developing social skills at preschool age can be the basis for children’s future educational, occupational, and behavioral achievements. Therefore, given the importance of educational opportunities at early childhood, health officials and health professionals need to pay more attention to this issue.

Cognitive-perceptual skills are important for successful performance in many tasks. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of quiet eye training and anticipation training on performance of hockey goalkeepers. In this semi-experimental study, 10 hockey goalkeepers were selected via purposeful sampling method, and randomly assigned to two equal groups of quiet eye training and anticipation training. The study included pretest, intervention, posttest, and transference stages. Participants in pretest, posttest, and transfer (under-pressure position) stages received 25 hockey strokes at a distance of 9 meters. Intervention was done for three consecutive days (9 blocks of 40 trials, a total of 360 trials), and participants received their training instructions. Data were analyzed using independent t and dependent t tests via SPSS software. Both anticipation training (P = 0.010) and quiet eye training (P < 0.001) had significant effect on the performance of hockey goalkeepers. Moreover, quiet eye training group had better performance compared to anticipation training group in both normal (P = 0.010) and under-pressure (P = 0.010) conditions. Quiet eye training in contrast to anticipation training results in better performance in normal and under-pressure conditions

The center of mass is one of the most important features of the physical structure of the people, which is used in the balance tasks, screening in order to study the physical illnesses, talent acquisition, and designing safety and training devices. The aim of this study was to determine the center of mass, and investigating its changes in adolescents, to ultimately provide a fundamental, applied, and appropriate model based on the most important physical factors affecting it. Among 161134 adolescent students aged 12 to 18 years in Isfahan City, Iran, 384 adolescents were selected through cluster sampling. Height information in lying, standing, and sitting positions, was measured using standard meter, and mass of subjects was determined with a scale, as well as the center of mass with a measurement device based on the torque principles. The most important factors affecting the center of mass were identified using stepwise multivariate regression method, according to the necessary assumptions. Sitting height to stature ratio, stature height, and sitting height were the most important factors predicting the center of mass in adolescents (P < 0.001). The average ratio of height of the center of mass to stature was calculated as 55.41% for adolescents. A model in the form of a formula was presented to estimate the center of mass of adolescents. This is a very good alternative to estimate the center of mass, rather than using hard, time-consuming, and expensive methods.

Autism disorder is one of the most commonly occurring developmental disorders among children, which appears in early childhood in the form of degradation in the quality of social interaction, and repetitive and stereotypic patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. The stereotypical and repetitive patterns of behavior, make disturbance in attention and concentration, and cognitive development, and also damage to social performance and communication skills in these children, which interfere in daily activities from play to child's educational activities; this suggests that stereotypical behaviors should be minimized in any way. Whereas some scholars consider this stereotypic patterns in this children as a sensory failure to sensory stimulant. The purpose of this article was to review the effect of interventions based on sensory processing and sensory integration on the stereotypical patterns of children with autism. This was a narrative review. To find the studies related to purpose of research, using the keywords autism, sensory integration, sensory processing, and stereotypic behavior electronic, databases including Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, Ot seeker, and Scientific Information Database (SID) were searched. Finally, 12 articles were selected based on the inclusion criteria. Review of the literature demonstrated that sensory integration approach had positive effect on interaction, and reduced autistic mannerism in children with autism disorder. It seems that intervention based on sensory integration in combination with behavioural intervention can be effective in reduction of stereotypic behaviours in children with autism disorder

The authors, based on the experience of working with the World Health Organization in developing international standards for providing rehabilitation services, have developed a conceptual model for institutionalization, deployment, and access to quality rehabilitation services. This model focuses on four essential elements of service delivery (including policies, provision, products, and personnel) to develop quantitative and qualitative rehabilitation services in the Iranian community. The authors believe that scientific studies and researches in this conceptual model can provide a coherent backing for needs assessment, planning, action, and supervision in rehabilitation services. It can also provide the convergence and complementarity of academics and experts in institutions related to disability issues and rehabilitation, and provide the fulfillment of the highest goals in distributing services to the people with disability.