Sajad Bagherian

@sku.ac.ir/en

Department of Sport Sciences, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran.
hahrekord University

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Sports Injury Prevention, Corrective Exercises, Sports Rehabilitation, Sports Sciences

10

Scopus Publications

Scopus Publications

  • Postural Habits and Related Joint and Muscle Pain Among School-age Students: A Cross-sectional Study
    Sajad Bagherian, Khodayar Ghasempoor, and Julien S. Baker

    Maad Rayan Publishing Company
    Background and aims: Current lifestyles, with the growing use of contemporary technologies, have resulted in changes in people’s behavior, causing them to become increasingly sedentary and develop unhealthy body habits. Posture is an essential variable determining an individual’s physical and emotional well-being. The purpose of this study was to investigate postural habits and any related joint and muscle pain among school-aged students. Methods: An online questionnaire was utilized to measure participants’ postural habits and related joint and muscle pain. The questionnaire was completed by 43660 school-aged students (15532 boys and 28128 girls in the age range of 8-17 years) by a non-randomized convenient sampling method through Google Forms via social media on the schools’ platform in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran, in the middle of 2022. The questionnaire inquired about body postural patterns and any associated joint or muscle pain. Results: The majority of participants (77%) reported spending most of their time in the sitting position. Overall, 57% of the students reported that they did not maintain the correct posture during their daily activities. The majority of respondents (54%) reported feeling some joint or muscle pain. The greatest pain was reported in the neck (28%), upper back (14%), and lower back (13%). Conclusion: The findings indicated that schools and the medical profession may need to screen students for health risks such as poor postural status. Further, information related to bad posture should be provided to children, their families, and healthcare professionals to take care of them.

  • A cross-sectional study of functional movement quality in school-aged children
    Sajad Bagherian and Khodayar Ghasempoor

    Springer Science and Business Media LLC
    Abstract Background During the growth period, before and after maturity, considerable biological changes occur. It seems that these changes are related to neuromuscular patterns and have significant differences in the functional movements performed of young boys and girls during the maturation process. The current study aimed to look at the movement quality scores of school-aged girls and boys. Methods This Cross-Sectional Study assessed the movement quality of 700 school-aged boys and girls aged 8 to 17, divided into 10 groups of 35 girls and 10 groups of 35 boys. Movement quality was evaluated by the Fusionetics scoring system, which includes 7 tasks: two-leg squat, two-leg squat with heel raise, one-leg squat, push-up, shoulder, trunk, and cervical movements that require a person to complete different movement patterns. The data was analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank and McNemar tests (p <0.05). Results This is the first study to our knowledge to examine the movement quality scores in a large school age child with Fusionetics. The overall results showed that the most errors were recorded in all age groups during the double leg squat, double leg squat with heel lift, single leg squat, and push-up and school-age children showed less errors during the shoulder movements, trunk/lumbar spine movements and cervical spine movements. Furthermore, younger girls and boys made more errors than older girls and boys. In relation to gender, this study found that girls scored better on the total Fusionetics score than boys. Conclusions The Fusionetics scoring system explains how well school-aged children perform fundamental movements. Under the guidance of coaches and physical educators, students' movement compensation should be assessed and relevant training interventions implemented. Taking steps to address movement compensation could help to avoid injuries and improve school-age children performance.

  • Physical Activity Behaviors and Overweight Status among Iranian School-Aged Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Big Data Analysis
    Sajad Bagherian, Khodayar Ghasempoor, Julien S Baker, and Mohammad Mashhadi

    Knowledge E DMCC
    Background: We aimed to investigate school-aged students' physical activity behaviors and overweight status during the COVID-19 quarantine.
 Methods: In this cross-sectional study, an online questionnaire was utilized to measure participants' physical activity behavior and overweight status during the COVID-19 quarantine in Iran (May of 2021). Participants self-reported their physical activity levels, types, amounts and locations, as well as whether or not they became overweight. The chi-square test was used to determine the differences in the distribution of the participant responses. The statistical significance level was set at P<0.05.
 Results: The questionnaire was completed by 43,660 school-aged students (15,532 boys and 28,128 girls). The age, weight, and height ranges were 8–17 yr, 18–144 kg, and 75–198 cm respectively. Half of the students reported changes in their body weight and became overweight during the COVID-19 pandemic (χ2=25514.4; P=0.001). Forty-one percent reported doing very little or no physical activity, 32% of students reported doing less than one hour of exercise per day (χ2=8547.7; P=0.001). The majority of students (72%) reported participating in physical activity at home (χ2=78851.2; P=0.001). Flexibility was the main kind of exercise performed, followed by walking or running, during the COVID-19 pandemic (χ2=24328.9; P=0.001).
 Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, half of the students became overweight, and the majority did not engage in regular physical activity. These findings can help guide efforts to protect and promote children's health during the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as influence policies to reduce the risk of future pandemics.
  


  • The effect of core stability training on functional movement patterns in college athletes
    Sajad Bagherian, Khodayar Ghasempoor, Nader Rahnama, and Erik A. Wikstrom

    Human Kinetics
    Context: Preparticipation examinations are the standard approach for assessing poor movement quality that would increase musculoskeletal injury risk. However, little is known about how core stability influences functional movement patterns. Objective: The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an 8-week core stability program on functional movement patterns in college athletes. The secondary purpose was to determine if the core stability training program would be more effective in those with worse movement quality (ie, ≤14 baseline functional movement screen [FMS] score). Design: Quasi-experimental design. Setting: Athletic training facility. Participants: One-hundred college athletes. Main Outcome Measures: Functional movement patterns included the FMS, lateral step-down, and Y balance test and were assessed before and after the 8-week program. Intervention: Participants were placed into one of the 2 groups: intervention and control. The intervention group was required to complete a core stability training program that met 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Results: Significant group × time interactions demonstrated improvements in FMS, lateral step-down, and Y balance test scores in the experimental group relative to the control group (P < .001). Independent sample t tests demonstrate that change scores were larger (greater improvement) for the FMS total score and hurdle step (P < .001) in athletes with worse movement quality. Conclusions: An 8-week core stability training program enhances functional movement patterns and dynamic postural control in college athletes. The benefits are more pronounced in college athletes with poor movement quality.

  • Six sessions of anterior-to-posterior ankle joint mobilizations improve patient-reported outcomes in patients with chronic ankle instability: A critically appraised topic
    Erik A. Wikstrom, Sajad Bagherian, Nicole B. Cordero, and Kyeongtak Song

    Human Kinetics
    Clinical Scenario: Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is a complex musculoskeletal condition that results in sensorimotor and mechanical alterations. Manual therapies, such as ankle joint mobilizations, are known to improve clinician-oriented outcomes like dorsiflexion range of motion, but their impact on patient-reported outcomes remains less clear. Focused Clinical Question: Do anterior-to-posterior ankle joint mobilizations improve patient-reported outcomes in patients with chronic ankle instability? Summary of Key Findings: Three studies (2 randomized controlled trials and 1 prospective cohort) quantified the effect of at least 2 weeks of anterior-to-posterior ankle joint mobilizations on improving patient-reported outcomes immediately after the intervention and at a follow-up assessment. All 3 studies demonstrated significant improvements in at least 1 patient-reported outcome immediately after the intervention and at the follow-up assessment. Clinical Bottom Line: At least 2 weeks of ankle joint mobilization improves patient-reported outcomes in patients with chronic ankle instability, and these benefits are retained for at least a week following the termination of the intervention. Strength of Recommendation: Strength of recommendation is grade A due to consistent good-quality patient-oriented evidence.

  • Corrective Exercises Improve Movement Efficiency and Sensorimotor Function but Not Fatigue Sensitivity in Chronic Ankle Instability Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial
    Sajad Bagherian, Nader Rahnama, and Erik A. Wikstrom

    Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
    OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of corrective exercises on functional movement patterns, sensorimotor function, self-reported function, and fatigue sensitivity in collegiate athletes with chronic ankle instability (CAI). DESIGN A randomized controlled trial. SETTING Laboratory of sports sciences. PARTICIPANTS Forty male volunteers were randomly assigned to the experimental group (age 21.2 ± 1.7 years, height 174.5 ± 6.1 cm, and weight 69.6 ± 6.9 kg) or the control group (age 20.9 ± 1.8 years, height 178.2 ± 6.6 cm, and weight 68.8 ± 8.1 kg). INTERVENTION Participants in the experimental group performed supervised corrective exercises 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Fatigue was induced with a progressive treadmill protocol before and after the 8-week intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Outcomes included movement efficiency during 3 squat tasks, static and dynamic postural control, strength of the ankle musculature, joint position sense, and self-reported function with the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure subscales. These outcomes were assessed before and immediately after fatiguing treadmill running both before and after 8-weeks of corrective exercises. RESULTS Significant improvements in movement efficiency, sensorimotor function, and self-reported function were noted in the experimental group relative to the control group (P < 0.001), in a nonfatigued state. However, in a fatigued stated, the experimental intervention only improved static postural control (P = 0.016) relative to the control group. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate that 8-weeks of corrective exercises were effective at enhancing movement efficiency, sensorimotor function, and self-reported function in collegiate athletes with CAI. However, this intervention program has limited abilities at reducing the effects of fatigue.

  • Anterior-to-posterior ankle joint mobilizations improve dynamic postural control in chronic ankle instability patients: A critically appraised topic
    Erik A. Wikstrom, Sajad Bagherian, Gary Allen, and Kyeongtak Song

    Human Kinetics
    Clinical Scenario: Balance impairment is common in patients with chronic ankle instability (CAI), especially during dynamic tasks. Manual therapies, such as ankle joint mobilizations are known to improve clinician-oriented outcomes such as dorsiflexion range of motion, but their impact on sensorimotor outcomes such as dynamic postural control and the retention of benefits remains less clear. Focused Clinical Question: Do anterior-to-posterior ankle joint mobilizations improve dynamic postural control in patients with CAI relative to a control condition and are those benefits retained after termination of the treatment? Summary of Key Findings: Three studies quantified the immediate effect and two studies quantified the retained benefit of anterior-to-posterior ankle joint mobilizations on improving Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) reach distances. Two studies demonstrated large immediate improvements in SEBT reach distances and those same investigations found that those large improvements were retained....

  • Characterizing lower extremity movement scores before and after fatigue in collegiate athletes with chronic ankle instability
    Sajad Bagherian, Nader Rahnama, Erik A. Wikstrom, Micheal A. Clark, and Faroogh Rostami

    Human Kinetics
    Sensorimotor function is impaired in chronic ankle instability (CAI) patients. CAI patients have an increased sensitivity to fatigue relative to controls. Few investigations have quantified functional movement scores in CAI patients or the effect of fatigue on such scores. Therefore, we characterized functional movement scores before and after fatigue in 40 collegiate athletes with CAI. Three movement patterns (double-limb squat, double-limb squat with heel lift, and single-limb squat) were completed before and after fatigue and scored using Fusionetics®. All Fusionetics scores were higher (worse) after fatigue. The results demonstrate that functional movement scores were sensitive to fatigue.

  • Comparison of spinal column curvatures in triathlon athletes and non-athletes