Cristiana Isabel Andre Merce
@esdrm.pt
Adjunct Professor
Sport Sciences School of Rio Maior
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Nancy Brígida, David Catela, Cristiana Mercê, and Marco Branco
Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica (FEADEF)
Fibromyalgia (FM) is normally defined as a widespread pain syndrome or disease that presents disturbances in gross and fine motor control. As a gross motor control skill, gait requires coordination, balance, and muscle strength, and it could be an essential factor for FM patients to perform daily activities. Measuring the spatial and temporal gait parameters or gait variability has been used to assess motor pathologies and identify gait disorders. The Lyapunov exponent is a non-linear measure of variability, which quantifies the ability that the system has to attenuate small perturbances, indicating that there might be a relationship between balance and spatiotemporal gait parameters. This technique has already been used for gait analysis and could be used in fine and gross daily tasks, such as the finger tapping test (FTT) or the sit-and-stand test. Inertial Measurement Units have also been used to analyze gross motor control, namely in gait variability. So, the aim of this study is to analyze and compare the variability of gross and fine motor movements between patients with FM and a control group. The sample included 20 female participants, 10 with FM and 10 without (46.150 ± 12.835 years old). To analyze gross motricity, participants were asked to perform the gait task for two minutes and the 30-second chair sit-and-stand test; and to analyze fine motor control, they were asked to perform six trials of FTT test with both hands. To collect the data, an inertial sensor (IMU) was used. FM patients showed a more irregular pattern of linear acceleration peaks than controls in both tasks. Lyapunov values in FM patients show greater instability and variability in the anteroposterior and vertical movements for gait analysis and present significantly higher variability in the anteroposterior movements when performing the sit and stand task and the finger tapping test. Keywords: Fibromyalgia; Gross Motor Control; Gait; Sit and Stand; Variability; Lyapunov; IMU
Cristiana Mercê, Keith Davids, David Catela, Marco Branco, Vanda Correia, and Rita Cordovil
Informa UK Limited
Cristiana Mercê, Jéssica Cordeiro, Catarina Romão, Marco Branco, and David Catela
Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica (FEADEF)
O Transtorno do Desenvolvimento da Coordenação (TDC) acomete cerca de 5 a 6% das crianças em idade escolar, sendo um dos problemas de desenvolvimento mais comuns na infância. Uma revisão datada identificou que crianças com TDC apresentavam níveis mais baixos de atividade física do que seus pares, porém, não investigaram as implicações dessa menor atividade na vida das crianças. A presente revisão sistemática objetivou identificar: i) diferenças nos níveis de atividade física entre crianças com transtorno do desenvolvimento da coordenação (pDCD) e desenvolvimento típico, ii) as repercussões dessas diferenças e iii) principais instrumentos utilizados na mensuração da atividade física. Uma busca abrangente em cinco bancos de dados foi realizada (Science Direct, PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, Cochrane), incluindo literatura cinza. Após encontrar 785 publicações, 16 estudos foram incluídos. Esta revisão verificou que crianças com pDCD apresentam níveis mais baixos de atividade física moderada e vigorosa, com possíveis implicações nos níveis físico (por exemplo, maiores porcentagens de massa gorda) e psicológico (por exemplo, aumento dos níveis de frustração). Esta revisão confirma que crianças com pDCD são menos ativas do que crianças com desenvolvimento típico e têm maior risco de desenvolver doenças cardiometabólicas. Pais, professores, escolas e comunidades devem criar ambientes motivacionais para que os jovens com DCD se envolvam e mantenham a atividade física à medida que avançam para a idade adulta.Palavras-chave: crianças, DCD, atividade física, saúde.
Cristiana Mercê, Jéssica Cordeiro, Catarina Romão, Marco Branco, and David Catela
Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica (FEADEF)
Portuguese children spend about eight hours/day in sedentary behaviours, presenting only one hour in active play. This inactivity rate is about 84%. The lower levels of physical activity (PA) trigger several health problems in children and, after, in adulthood. With the appearance of the pandemic of COVID-19 and, consequently, increase of confined tasks like distance learning, has been verified the PA decrease and screen and sedentary behaviours increase in children. The objectives are: i) verify PA levels; ii) compare PA levels between genders, before and during the pandemic. The questionnaire “Cuestinário Pictórico de la Actividad Físca Infantil” has been translated and applied in Portugal, across the platform Google Forms, having been answered by 61 children of average age of 12.0±3.1 years. Before the pandemic, male children practice more PA. During the pandemic, has been verified a practise decrease in both genders. The PA levels settled between “Little active” and “Nothing active”, not checking differences between genders. The child’s age affected positively the formal PA in academies and clubs and, negatively the informal practise. It has been verified that lower PA levels are associated with higher weight values. Portuguese children PA levels are well below the recommended, situation that worsened during the pandemic. In order to combat childhood inactivity and overweight, it is necessary to develop measures to promote PA early specially in situations of pandemic and/or confinement, in which PA reaches even lower levels.
Cristiana Mercê, Joana Vilar Pereira, Marco Branco, David Catela, and Rita Cordovil
Informa UK Limited
Cristiana Mercê, Rita Cordovil, David Catela, Flávia Galdino, Mafalda Bernardino, Mirjam Altenburg, Gonçalo António, Nancy Brígida, and Marco Branco
MDPI AG
The balance bike (BB) has been pointed out as being the most efficient learning bicycle due to its inherent stimulation of balance. However, the process of acquiring the control of balance on the BB has not been explored. This study aimed to: (i) categorize the cycle patterns of children on the BB, (ii) compare the cycle patterns in different stages of learning (before and after six sessions of a BB practice program), and (iii) verify whether velocity is a control parameter leading to transitions between different cycle patterns on a BB. The data were collected during the Learning to Cycle program from 12 children aged 6.06 ± 1.25 years. The velocity was measured using an inertial sensor. Seven different movement patterns were captured and categorized through video analysis. After practice, there was an increase in the mean number of different patterns and in the global mean and maximum velocity. These were interpreted as an improvement of the motor competence in the use of the BB. The results obtained support the hypothesis that velocity is a control parameter which leads to the emergence of diverse patterns of behavior. As the speed increased, the amount of foot contact with the ground became less frequent and the locomotor modes that imply that longer flight phases began to emerge.
Rita Cordovil, Cristiana Mercê, Marco Branco, Frederico Lopes, David Catela, Elina Hasanen, Arto Laukkanen, Patrizia Tortella, Guido Fumagalli, Cristina Sá,et al.
Frontiers Media SA
BackgroundLearning to cycle is an important milestone for children, but the popularity of cycling and the environmental factors that promote the development and practice of this foundational movement skill vary among cultures and across time. This present study aimed to investigate if country of residence and the generation in which a person was born influence the age at which people learn to cycle.MethodsData were collected through an online survey between November 2019 and December 2020. For this study, a total of 9,589 responses were obtained for adults (self-report) and children (parental report) living in 10 countries (Portugal, Italy, Brazil, Finland, Spain, Belgium, United Kingdom, Mexico, Croatia, and the Netherlands). Participants were grouped according to their year of birth with 20-year periods approximately corresponding to 3 generations: 1960–79 (generation X; n = 2,214); 1980–99 (generation Y; n = 3,994); 2000–2019 (generation Z; n = 3,381).ResultsA two-way ANOVA showed a significant effect of country, F(9,8628) = 90.17, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.086, and generation, F(2,8628) = 47.21, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.122, on the age at which individuals learn to cycle. Countries with the lowest learning age were the Netherlands, Finland and Belgium and countries with the highest learning age were Brazil and Mexico. Furthermore, the age at which one learns to cycle has decreased across generations. There was also a significant country x generation interaction effect on learning age, F(18,8628) = 2.90, p < 0.001; however, this effect was negligible (ηp2 = 0.006).ConclusionsThese findings support the socio-ecological perspective that learning to cycle is a process affected by both proximal and distal influences, including individual, environment and time.
Cristiana Mercê, Marco Branco, David Catela, Frederico Lopes, and Rita Cordovil
MDPI AG
Background: Learning to cycle is an important milestone in a child’s life, so it is important to allow them to explore cycling as soon as possible. The use of a bicycle with training wheels (BTW) for learning to cycling is an old approach practiced worldwide. Most recently, a new approach using the balance bike (BB) has received increased attention, and several entities believe that this could be most efficient. Drawing on the work of Bronfenbrenner (1995) and Newel (1986), this study aimed to analyse the effect of BB’s use on the learning process of cycling independently. Methods: Data were collected in Portugal from an online structured survey between November 2019 and June 2020. Results: A total of 2005 responses were obtained for adults and children (parental response). Results revealed that when the BB’s approach was used, learning age (LA) occurred earlier (M = 4.16 ± 1.34 years) than with the BTW’s approach (M = 5.97 ± 2.16 years) (p < 0.001); or than when there was only the single use of the traditional bicycle (M =7.27 ± 3.74 years) (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Children who used the BB as the first bike had a significantly lower LA than children who did not use it (p < 0.001). To maximize its effects, the BB should be used in the beginning of the learning process.
Catarina Isabel Guerreiro Romão, Cristiana Isabel André Mercê, Jéssica Filipa Costa Cordeiro, António Manuel Vitória Vences de Brito, and Marco António Colaço Branco
FapUNIFESP (SciELO)
ABSTRACT Low back pain is one of the most prevalent orthopedic conditions, affecting around 70% to 80% of the world’s population at least once during their life times. Surface electromyography is an important tool for assessing the muscle function of the lumbar stabilizers. One of the best treatment options for patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) is physical exercise, particular lyaerobic exercise and Pilates, as these can reduce short-term pain and disability, and improve balance. This review aims to identify the state of art regarding the benefits of pilates on the population with CLBP, evaluating changes in the muscular activation of the muscles of the lumbar region. Searches were conducted on the following databases: PubMed (Medline), Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, Ebsco and Scielo; including gray literature: Google Scholar, Grey Literature, Pro Quest Dissertations & Theses. The inclusion criteria were adults with low back pain for three months or more, with or without referred pain in the lower limbs; studies that used electromyographic variables; studies with a pain assessment measure at two different times; studies with physical exercise performed only using the Pilates method. Applying these criteria, the searches retrieved 439 abstracts. Of these, 44 articles were evaluated for eligibility, and three fulfilled the qualitative and quantitative synthesis criteria. The average methodological quality score on the Downs and Black checklist was 15 out of 28. It was therefore concluded that Pilates is an excellent option for the treatment of non-specific low back pain, promoting health and helping prevent low back pain among asymptomatic individuals. Level of evidence II; Systematic Review of Level II or Level I Studies with Discrepant Results.
Cristiana Mercê, Marco Branco, David Catela, Frederico Lopes, Luis Paulo Rodrigues, and Rita Cordovil
MDPI AG
The present article aimed to verify whether the age at which children learn to ride a bicycle is related to their physical activity or birth order. Data were collected from an online structured survey between November 2019 and June 2020. A total of 8614 responses were obtained from 22 countries. The results reveal significant differences in learning age depending on the frequency of physical activity (F(5, 7235) = 35.12, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.24). People who engaged in physical activity less than twice a month learned to cycle later (M = 7.5 ± 5.3 years) than people who engaged in physical activity on a daily basis (M = 5.7 ± 2.2 years) (p < 0.001). There were also significant differences in learning age according to birth order (F(2, 3008) = 7.31, p = 0.00, ηp2 = 0.005). Only children had the highest learning age (M = 5.5 ± 2.4 years), whereas those who were born last had the lowest, (M = 5.1 ± 1.9 years) (p = 0.013). Creating opportunities for children to be engaged in play and physical activity and social modulation through their older siblings seem to be key conditions to encourage children to learn how to ride a bicycle from a young age and to foster their motor development.
Cristiana Mercê, Marco Branco, Mário Rodrigues-Ferreira, António VencesBrito, David Catela, Ana Paula Seabra, Vítor Milheiro, and Wojciech Cynarski
Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica (FEADEF)
Systematic sport practice at younger ages positively influences body composition and maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max). On the other hand, its influence on maturation is still not consensual, and some studies claim a negative effect. Few studies have approached the differences in this influence according to different sport practices. The present study aims to analyse and compare the influence of karate and swimming practices, and the non-practice of sports, on body composition, VO2max and maturation in children and youth. Data were collected in 126 youth, 54 karate athletes, 36 swimming athletes and 36 participants with no sport practice (M=11.56±2.06 years). The type of sport practice had a different influence on body composition and VO2max, no negative influence was verified on maturation. In general, the sport practices revealed a positive influence in children and youth’s body composition. The karate practice provided significant lower body fat mass and higher lean mass in males. Swimming athletes revealed a significant higher VO2max compared to all other groups, while karate didn´t differed from no-practice group. The different influence of sport practices verified highlighted the importance of a multilateral development of children and youth by practising several sports. 
 Resumen: La práctica deportiva sistemática a edades más tempranas influye positivamente en la composición corporal y la absorción máxima de oxígeno (VO2max). Por otro lado, su influencia en la maduración aún no es consensuada, y algunos estudios afirman un efecto negativo. Pocos estudios se han acercado a las diferencias en esta influencia según las distintas prácticas deportivas. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo analizar y comparar la influencia de las prácticas de kárate y natación, y la no práctica de deportes, sobre la composición corporal, el VO2máx y la maduración en niños y jóvenes. Los datos fueron recolectados en 126 jóvenes, 54 atletas de kárate, 36 atletas de natación y 36 participantes sin práctica deportiva (M = 11.56 ± 2.06 años). El tipo de práctica deportiva influyó de manera diferente en la composición corporal y el VO2max, no se verificó influencia negativa en la maduración. En general, las prácticas deportivas revelaron una influencia positiva en la composición corporal de niños y jóvenes. La práctica del karate proporcionó una masa grasa corporal significativamente más baja y una masa magra más alta en los hombres. Los atletas de natación revelaron un VO2max significativamente más alto en comparación con todos los demás grupos, mientras que el karate no difirió del grupo sin práctica. La diferente influencia de las prácticas deportivas verificada resaltó la importancia de un desarrollo multilateral de la niñez y la juventud a través de la práctica de varios deportes.
Mirjam Altenburg, Catarina Farinha, Carolina Santos, Cristiana Mercê, David Catela, and Marco Branco
Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia
Introducción: Los trastornos del espectro autista (TEA) se refieren a una serie de trastornos del neurodesarrollo con déficits en el control postural (CP), el desarrollo motor y la coordinación. El déficit de CP parece estar muy extendido en todo el espectro y puede limitar la adquisición de nuevas habilidades motoras con graves consecuencias en la calidad de vida. Objetivos: i) verificar si las técnicas no lineales identifican el patrón de recurrencia local en el espacio de fase de la CP en individuos con TEA, ii) comparar la CP entre individuos con TEA y neuro típico, durante una tarea de equilibrio de rotación dinámica. Métodos: seis individuos adultos del sexo masculino, tres autistas y tres neuro típico, realizaron una tarea de equilibrio dinámico, donde se recolectaron datos sobre la velocidad angular del tronco. Resultados: A pesar de la ausencia de diferencias significativas, los adultos autistas mostraron, para todos los planos de movimiento, valores medios más altos para la recurrencia, la periodicidad, la estabilidad (excepto para la línea máxima en el plano transversal), la complejidad y la intermitencia; estas diferencias se confirmaron visualmente al observar los gráficos de recurrencia. Autistas también revelaron valores medios más bajos del exponente de Lyapunov, lo que significa menos divergencia y variabilidad en comparación con los neurotípicos. Conclusiones: La estrategia de control postural de los autistas basada en mayor periodicidad, estabilidad y menor divergencia y variabilidad en el control del equilibrio puede resultar de una menor plasticidad en la capacidad de adaptación a estados momentáneos de desequilibrio postural. Esta estrategia puede estar relacionada con el comportamiento estereotipado de las personas autistas con movimientos cíclicos continuos. Sin embargo, esto no da como resultado una mayor variabilidad en el movimiento, sino una menor variabilidad. Dada la dificultad neuromotora de estos adultos autistas para producir rangos de movimiento variados, se recomienda introducir actividades de equilibrio dinámico comenzando con niveles reducidos de alteración en la estabilidad postural. Introduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) refers to a range of neurodevelopmental disorders with deficits in postural control (PC), motor development and coordination. The PC deficit appears to be persistent across the spectrum and can limit the acquisition of new motor skills with severe consequences in life’s’ quality. Objectives: i) to verify if the nonlinear techniques can identify the local recurrence pattern in the phase space of the PC, in individuals with ASD, ii) to compare the PC between ASD and neurotypical individuals, during a task of dynamic rotation balance. Methods: six male adult individuals, three autistic and three neurotypicals, performed a dynamic balance task, where angular velocity data was collected from the trunk. Results: Despite the inexistence of significant differences, autistic adults revealed, for all planes of movement, higher mean values of recurrence, periodicity, stability (except for the maximum line in the transversal plane), complexity and intermittence; differences that were visually confirmed by observing the recurrence graphs. Autistic participants also revealing lower mean values of Lyapunov exponent, meaning less divergency and variability than the neurotypicals. Conclusions: the autistic’s postural control strategy of a greater periodicity, stability and a lower divergence and variability, may result from less plasticity in the ability to adjust to momentary states of postural imbalance. This strategy could be linked to the autistic’s stereotypical behavior of continuously cyclical movements. However, this does not result in greater variability in movement, but less variability. Given the neuro-motor difficulty of these autistic adults in producing varied ranges of motion, it is recommended to introduce dynamic balance activities, starting with reduced levels of postural stability disturbance. Introdução: Os transtornos do espectro do autismo (TEA) referem-se a uma gama de transtornos no neuro desenvolvimento com déficits no controle postural (CP), desenvolvimento motor e coordenação. O déficit no CP parece ser generalizado em todo o espectro e pode limitar a aquisição de novas habilidades motoras com graves consequências na qualidade de vida. Objetivos: i) verificar se as técnicas não lineares identificam o padrão de recorrência local no espaço de fase do CP em indivíduos com TEA, ii) comparar o CP entre indivíduos com TEA e neuro típicos, durante uma tarefa de equilíbrio dinâmico de rotação. Métodos: seis indivíduos adultos do sexo masculino, três autistas e três neuro típicos, realizaram uma tarefa de equilíbrio dinâmico, onde foram recolhidos dados da velocidade angular do tronco. Resultados: Apesar da inexistência de diferenças significativas, os adultos autistas revelaram, para todos os planos de movimento, valores médios superiores de recorrência, periodicidade, estabilidade (exceto na linha máxima no plano transversal), complexidade e intermitência; diferenças estas confirmadas visualmente pela observação dos gráficos de recorrência. Os autistas revelaram ainda valores médios mais baixos do expoente de Lyapunov, significando menor divergência e variabilidade em comparação com os neurotípicos. Conclusões: A estratégia de controle postural dos autistas baseada em maior periodicidade, estabilidade e menor divergência e variabilidade no controle do equilíbrio pode resultar de uma menor plasticidade na capacidade de se ajustar a estados momentâneos de desequilíbrio postural. Esta estratégia pode estar ligada ao comportamento estereotipado dos autistas de realização contínua de movimentos cíclicos. No entanto, isso não resulta em maior variabilidade no movimento, mas em menor variabilidade. Dada a dificuldade neuro motora destes adultos autistas em produzir variadas amplitudes de movimento, recomenda-se a introdução de atividades de equilíbrio dinâmico começando com níveis reduzidos de distúrbio na estabilidade postural.