Background: Physical activity after a joint replacement surgery is one of the most important factors for a satisfactory quality of life for the patients. This study aimed to assess postoperative pain, rate of return to sports, intensity of athletic involvement, postoperative functional outcome, and level of satisfaction after unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) with a mobile-bearing prosthesis at a minimum follow-up of two years after surgery.

Methods: Forty-two patients who had previously undergone a mobile-bearing UKR surgery were enrolled in the study. The mean age at surgery was 67.8 ± 2.5 years. The average follow-up was 3.2 ± 1.5 years. Sports activity was reported for each patient. Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Tegner activity level, Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective score were determined. Data were analyzed to detect statistically significant differences between preoperatory status and follow-up.

Results: The mean KOOS demonstrated a statistically significant difference from preoperative (48.7 ± 5.4) to postoperative (86.5 ± 4.7; p < 0.0001) status. VAS scores significantly decreased from a median of 6.5 (range 2 to 9) to 1.0 (range 0 to 3) at follow-up (p < 0.0001). Tegner's activity level increased from a median of 3.5 (range 1 to 6) preoperatively to a median of 4.5 (range 1 to 8) postoperatively (p < 0.0001). Eighty-three percent of patients (35 of 42) returned to sports activities successfully. In the subgroup of patients engaged in a sport before surgery, the percentage increased to 92%.

Conclusions: Evidence suggests that mobile-bearing UKR enables a significant percentage of patients suffering from unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis to resume sports activity while also improving pain scores and overall functional and subjective outcomes. Most patients who successfully returned to physical activity engaged in low-impact sports.

Background: The immunological responses to exercise and the corresponding adaptations in high-level sports have become an important issue, from both the health and the physical performance points of view. A better understanding of the immune responses to exercise and chronic exercise training may benefit athletes and improve physical performance and health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the fluctuations in the immune status of young swimmers throughout a training season.

Methods: Twelve well-trained male swimmers (14.08 ± 1.0 yrs) were recruited. Measurements were carried out at the beginning of the training season (T1) and pre- and post the taper of each competitive period (i.e., T2, T3 for the first training macrocycle, and T4, T5 for the second macrocycle, respectively). Blood samples were collected before and 1 hour post a maximal 400 m swimming testing at each of the above time points. Serum interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-1rα, IL-4, IL-10, C-reactive protein (CRP) and creatine kinase (CK) levels were measured. Adjustment for exercise-induced plasma volume changes was performed before all data analyses. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures was used for statistics.

Results: An anti-inflammatory profile was induced during the second competitive period characterized by a reduction in the levels of inflammatory indices (T1 compared to T4 and T5, IL-1β: p = 0.019, p = 0.034 respectively; T1 compared to T4, CRP: –43%, p > 0.05) along with a tendency of increase in anti-inflammatory ones (T1–T5, IL-6: 75%, T4–T5 IL-10: 122%; p > 0.05). Moreover, acute exercise induced anti-inflammatory responses, causing an increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, IL-1rα; p < 0.05). There was a significant decrease in serum CK levels between T1-T4 both in the pre- and post-test condition (p = 0.027, p = 0.005, respectively), while significant differences were found between pre- and post-test at T1, T2, and T4 (p = 0.000, p = 0.011, p = 0.017, respectively).

Conclusions: The findings of this study indicated that swimming training throughout a season induces mild long-term but strong acute effects on the immune profile of the swimmers. These findings should be taken into consideration throughout a training season in young swimmers, adjusting the exercise stimuli accordingly in terms of volume, intensity, and recovery time.

Background: Several reports have highlighted the beneficial impacts of caffeine on performance in various disciplines of Paralympic Powerlifting (PP), a sport renowned for its emphasis on maximal strength. Moreover, caffeine consumption within the context of PP has been found to be safe.

Objective: To examine the effects of caffeine intake before, during, and after PP training sessions at national level in Brazil.

Methods: Thirteen male PP athletes competing at national level (31.31 ± 10.13 years, 80.77 ± 22.66 kg) participated in the study. They were provided with either 9.0 mg/kg of Caffeine Anhydrous (CA) or Placebo (PL) and were evaluated using 45% of their one-repetition maximum (1RM) before and after training sessions, as well as 24 and 48 hours after sessions. Additionally, they performed five sets of five repetitions maximum (5x5), with assessments carried out during the first and fifth sets for all five repetitions. Evaluations focused on Mean Propulsive Velocity (MPV), Maximum Velocity (MaxV), and Power.

Results: No significant differences were observed with 45% 1RM. However, at 80% 1RM, CA demonstrated significant improvement compared to PL during Set 1 and Set 5 (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: CA exhibits promising ergogenic properties, enabling athletes to sustain training intensity throughout the session, even when working with heavier PP loads.

Background: This research aims to analyze the potential of Coffea Robusta leaves in preventing post-exercise oxidative stress.

Methods: This research is a type of qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative analysis is only presented in tabular form and quantitative analysis uses descriptive statistical analysis. The research analyzed the potential antioxidant content of Coffea Robusta leaves ingredients and antioxidant activity and the organoleptic preference test of Coffea Robusta in athletes. Total phenol content was analyzed using the Folin-ciocalteu method. Meanwhile, the caffeine content was analyzed using the Baily Andrew method, and antioxidant activity was analyzed based on its ability to scavenge free radicals using the DPPH (2,2-difenil-1-pikrilhidrazil) method.

Results: Coffea Robusta leaves qualitatively showed positive results for all phytochemicals tested, such as flavonoids, saponins, tannins, and steroids. In the quantitative analysis, the highest contents of flavonoids, saponins, and phenols were found in the traditional drying of Coffea Robusta leaves.

Conclusions: Based on the results and discussion it can be concluded that Coffea Robusta leaves have the potential to prevent post-exercise oxidative stress.

This study aimed to analyze the acute effect of n-3 PUFA on TNF-a and MDA levels after anaerobic exercise. This experimental study involved 16 healthy adult men randomly selected with a BMI range of 19.00-24.00, and age ranged from 20-30 years. Subjects were selected randomly and then divided into 2 groups: group K1 using placebo and group K2 using n-3 PUFAs at a dose of 540 mg EPA and 360 DHA. The intervention was carried out 24 hours after the research subjects completed the anaerobic exercise. The data in this study were TNF-a levels measured using a human ELISA kit, and MDA was measured using a spectrophotometer taken before and after the intervention. The test of different levels of TNF-a in K2 (p<0.05) p=0.027, K1 (p>0.05) p=0.327, so that n-3 PUFAs significantly reduced TNF-a levels and the test of different levels of MDA in the group K2 (p> 0.05) p = 0.511, K2 (p> 0.05) p = 0.541 so that n-3 PUFAs did not significantly reduce MDA levels. Thus, it can be concluded that the administration of n-3 PUFAs has been shown to reduce TNF-a levels without a decrease in Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels after anaerobic exercise.