OBJECTIVES Parasomnias can create sleep disruption; in this article we assessed parasomnias in school-aged children in Tehran. METHODS In spring 2005, a total of 6000 sleep questionnaires were distributed to school-aged children in 5 districts of Tehran (Iran). A modified Pediatrics sleep questionnaire with 34 questions was used. RESULTS Parasomnias varied from 0.5% to 5.7% among the subjec...

The aim of this study was to compare the seven following commercially available activity monitors in terms of step count detection accuracy: Movemonitor (Mc Roberts), Up (Jawbone), One (Fitbit), ActivPAL (PAL Technologies Ltd.), Nike+ Fuelband (Nike Inc.), Tractivity (Kineteks Corp.) and Sensewear Armband Mini (Bodymedia). Sixteen healthy adults consented to take part in the study. The experime...

During rehabilitation, many patient groups are being trained using bodyweight-supported treadmill training. However, little is known about modulation of time and distance parameters, joint movements and leg muscle EMG patterns by very low walking speeds or partial bodyweight unloading. We collected data from 20 healthy young volunteers who walked on a treadmill at walking speeds varying between...

Walking requires coordination of muscles to support the body during single stance. Impaired ability to coordinate muscles following stroke frequently compromises walking performance and results in extremely low walking speeds. Slow gait in post-stroke hemiparesis is further complicated by asymmetries in lower limb muscle excitations. The objectives of the current study were: (1) to compare the ...

The most recent consensus of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine is that parasomnias are “undesirable physical events or experiences that occur during entry into sleep, within sleep or during arousals from sleep” (1). Parasomnias are often considered to be normal sleep phenomena, especially in children, and do not in general have a serious impact on sleep quality or quantity. However, in som...

This study compares the prevalence of complaints of insomnia, excessive diurnal sleepiness, parasomnias, and sleep habits of the adult population in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, estimated in surveys carried out in 1987 and 1995. Representative samples of 1000 adult residents per survey were interviewed using a validated structured sleep questionnaire, the "UNIFESP Sleep Questionnaire". Diffic...

The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of spring-levered and piezoelectric pedometers for adults with and without Down syndrome (DS). Twenty adults with DS and 24 adults without a disability walked for two minute periods on a predetermined indoor course at a self-selected, slower and faster pace. Pedometer recorded and criterion observed steps were compared to determine pedometer...

Ten participants without physical impairment walked with 0 kg, 11.5 kg, and 23.0 kg of added weight equally distributed about the torso in a harness. At each weight level, the participants walked at slow, normal, and fast self-selected walking speeds. We examined the roll-over characteristics by determining the ankle-foot and knee-ankle-foot roll-over shapes. These shapes, which are the effecti...

Musculoskeletal modeling and optimization theory are often used to determine muscle forces in vivo. However, convincing quantitative evaluation of these predictions has been limited to date. The present study evaluated model predictions of knee muscle forces during walking using in vivo measurements of joint contact loading acquired from an instrumented implant. Joint motion, ground reaction fo...

INTRODUCTION The influence of physical exercise on the parameters of the cardiovascular system of elderly persons has not been sufficiently investigated yet. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of regular 6-week physical exercise using the Nordic walking (NW) method in a group of elderly persons on their physical performance and regulation of selected parameters assessing the cardi...