Clinical trials

The objective of this clinical trial is to determine whether a school-based intervention involving alternative sports can improve physical fitness, motor skills, and psychological well-being in elementary school students. The main question to be answered is: Can participating in a physical intervention involving alternative sports help children improve their strength, speed, endurance, motor skills, and enjoyment of physical activity? For 8 weeks, during physical education classes, researchers will compare an intervention with alternative sports (korfball, flag football, kin-ball, and ultimate frisbee) with the usual classes that students receive according to their study program, to see if alternative sports improve physical and psychological aspects. Participants must: * Perform physical and motor tests to determine their initial physical condition * Complete a questionnaire to determine their level of enjoyment during physical activity. * Actively participate in an 8-week intervention during physical education classes. * Monitor their level of physical activity during classes using a device (accelerometer). * Authorize the use of their first semester grades. * At the end of the intervention, physical and motor tests will be performed again to assess progress and physical changes. For eight weeks, researchers will conduct a study in physical education classes to compare two types of teaching: one based on alternative sports (such as korfball, flag football, kin-ball, and ultimate frisbee) and another with traditional school program classes to see if children improve physically and psychologically.

Objective: To compare the effects of MCT versus EBT on functional fitness, postural balance, and HRQoL in older women. Methods: Single-blind, parallel-group randomized controlled trial lasting 16 weeks (2 sessions/week, 60 min). Twenty

Currently, university students face physical and mental health issues, which are reflected in low levels of physical activity, a decline in healthy eating behaviors, and a high prevalence of mental health symptoms such as stress, anxiety, and depression. Therefore, it is necessary to develop safe, effective, and sustainable interventions that support comprehensive health and provide formative experiences that reinforce the importance of developing healthy lifestyle habits and self-care. In this regard, Tai Chi has been shown to offer physical and mental health benefits. Tai Chi is a low- to moderate-intensity exercise with low joint impact, which facilitates the transition from a sedentary to an active lifestyle. Considering the health problems experienced by university students, it is proposed that a Tai Chi intervention could help produce beneficial effects on both physical and mental health. In this context, the present study aims to implement Tai Chi classes with the objective of determining their effect on the cardiac autonomic system, mental health, and the perception of benefits, facilitators, and barriers among participating university students compared to a control group.

Considering the importance of an optimal warm-up to enhance performance in key soccer-related variables such as jump height, sprint speed, and ball kicking velocity, most available evidence to date has focused on youth and adult players, with limited studies conducted in children. Therefore, this study aimed to assess and compare the effects of a conventional warm-up and warm-ups including static stretching condition (SSC), dynamic stretching condition (DSC), and ball-specific condition (BSC) on jump performance countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), and drop jump (DJ) as well as on curve sprint speed, the Illinois change of direction test (ICODT), and ball kicking speed in male child soccer players. We hypothesized that the dynamic stretching warm-up would produce superior performance across most variables compared with the other conditions, due to its potential benefits for neuromuscular activation and optimization of the stretch shortening cycle.

Plantar fasciitis (PF) is a common condition in the population. One of the interventions used to resolve this condition is myofascial release (MR), which consists of massages that help reduce pain and increase mobility. MR has shown efficacy when applied for 30 minutes, however, it is necessary to compare it with a 15-minute MR intervention, since in clinical practice optimizing time is essential. Accordingly, the present research seeks to evaluate whether there are differences in the application time of myofascial release in people with PF.

The aim of this study will be to compare the effects of Xbox Kinect Sports (XKS) with respect to Nintendo Switch Sports (NSS) and the inactive control group (CG) on body composition (percent body fat and fat-free mass) and physical performance (hand grip strength, HGS; 30 seconds standing in a chair, timed get up and walk, TUG; sit and reach and 2-minute step test) in physically inactive older women. This study will be randomized controlled trial with three parallel groups: XKS (n= 13), NSS (n= 14) and CG (n= 16).

This study protocol aims to analyze and compare the effects of combined movement and storytelling intervention (CMSI) on fundamental motor skills (locomotor skills and object control), language development (language comprehension, language expression, vocabulary and language description), and physical activity levels (light, moderate to vigorous intensity, and sedentary time) in children aged 3 to 6 years. The sample will consist of 144 children of 12 classes group, randomly assigned to 3 experimental groups (n= 72 children) and 3 control groups (n= 72 children), belonging to 4 classes group of upper middle level classes (2 experimental and 2 control), 4 transition level 1 classes (2 experimental and 2 control) and 4 transition level 2 classes (2 experimental and 2 control). The experimental groups will perform the CMSI for 3 sessions (40-minute per session) per week over 12-weeks (using one motor story per week), while the control groups will not receive any treatment. The main outcome will provide information about fundamental motor skills, language development, and physical activity levels. It is hypothesized that the CMSI has the potential to generate significant increases in selected assessments. If this intervention proves to be beneficial, if could contribute to preschoolers children curricula.

The epidemic of physical inactivity affects the entire world and is responsible for more than 5 million deaths per year. The call of the United Nations, through the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, encourages the creation of favorable environments for physical activity based on the ecological model of physical activity. Given this context, active transportation can be an accessible, economical, and sustainable method to increase daily physical activity. The rate of school children who use active transport has decreased, being replaced by motorized transport, causing congestion and high levels of pollution in cities. In the Chilean context, there are studies of active transportation in the Chilean population; however, they are scarce in the school population and none of them is an intervention study, demonstrating the incipient development of this area in the country. The benefits of promoting active transportation not only favor the lifestyles of school children but also include additional co-benefits such as the improvement of mental health and better academic performance, in addition to the reduction of exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions. Objectives. This proposal consists of three phases with the following objectives: Phase I: i) to synthesize the evidence about interventions aimed at estimating the effect on health of active transport in the secondary students; and ii), using qualitative techniques, to explore, from the basis of grounded theory, barriers and facilitators perceived by professors, students and parents about the development and implementation of the MOV-ES intervention. Phase II. Pilot and feasibility trial: a) to test the effect of MOV-ES intervention on improving body composition (body fat percentage and muscle mass), physical fitness (aerobic capacity and muscular strength), executive function and mental fitness (mood disorders, cognitive functioning) in the secondary students; and b), to examine the acceptability by professors, parents and students of the intervention by using ad hoc questionnaires. Phase III: to test the effectiveness of the MOV-ES intervention on physical activity, physical fitness, cognition and mental health through a cluster randomized controlled trial. Expected results: This project will give rise to the following master\'s and doctoral theses, with their corresponding articles of high scientific impact: 1) Barriers and facilitators of teachers, parents and students for active transport from a qualitative approach; 2) Association between the built environment, urban features, and active transportation in high school students, 3) Effectiveness of an active transportation educational intervention on physical fitness and body composition, 4) Effectiveness of an active transportation educational intervention on the cognition of schoolchildren. It is expected that the results of the MOV-ES Project will transcend the physical health of schoolchildren and will have an impact on the school community, especially by decongesting the school environment. Through these results, the Ministry of Education, regional DAEM, municipalities, and educational establishments will be able to propose public policies that favor the practice of physical activity and the acquisition of healthy habits at school age. All of the above is based on quality indicators proposed by the Education Quality Agency.