Search

Treatment strategies and training regimens, which induce longitudinal muscle growth and increase the muscles’ length range of active force exertion, are important to improve muscle function and to reduce muscle strain injuries in clinical populations and in athletes with limited muscle extensibility. Animal studies have shown several specific loading strategies resulting in longitudinal muscle fiber growth by addition of sarcomeres in series. Currently, such strategies are also applied to humans in order to induce similar adaptations. However, there is no clear scientific evidence that specific strategies result in longitudinal growth of human muscles. Therefore, the question remains what triggers longitudinal muscle growth in humans. The aim of this review was to identify strategies that induce longitudinal human muscle growth. For this purpose, literature was reviewed and summarized with regard to the following topics: (1) Key determinants of typical muscle length and the length range of active force exertion; (2) Information on typical muscle growth and the effects of mechanical loading on growth and adaptation of muscle and tendinous tissues in healthy animals and humans; (3) The current knowledge and research gaps on the regulation of longitudinal muscle growth; and (4) Potential strategies to induce longitudinal muscle growth. The following potential strategies and important aspects that may positively affect longitudinal muscle growth were deduced: (1) Muscle length at which the loading is performed seems to be decisive, i.e., greater elongations after active or passive mechanical loading at long muscle length are expected; (2) Concentric, isometric and eccentric exercises may induce longitudinal muscle growth by stimulating different muscular adaptations (i.e., increases in fiber cross-sectional area and/or fiber length). Mechanical loading intensity also plays an important role. All three training strategies may increase tendon stiffness, but whether and how these changes may influence muscle growth remains to be elucidated. (3) The approach to combine stretching with activation seems promising (e.g., static stretching and electrical stimulation, loaded inter-set stretching) and warrants further research. Finally, our work shows the need for detailed investigation of the mechanisms of growth of pennate muscles, as those may longitudinally grow by both trophy and addition of sarcomeres in series.

Spastic cerebral palsy (SCP) affects neural control, deteriorates muscle morphometrics, and may progressively impair functional walking ability. Upon passive testing, gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle bellies or fascicles are typically shorter, thinner, and less extensible. Relationships between muscle and gait parameters might help to understand gait pathology and pathogenesis of spastic muscles. The current aim was to link resting and dynamic GM morphometrics and contractile fascicle behavior (both excursion and velocity) during walking to determinants of gait. We explored the associations between gait variables and ultrasonography of the GM muscle belly captured during rest and during gait in children with SCP [n = 15, gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) levels I and II, age: 7–16 years] and age-matched healthy peers (n = 17). The SCP children’s plantar flexors were 27% weaker. They walked 12% slower with more knee flexion produced 42% less peak ankle push-off power (all p < 0.05) and 7/15 landed on their forefoot. During the stance phase, fascicles in SCP on average operated on 9% shorter length (normalized to rest length) and displayed less and slower fascicle shortening (37 and 30.6%, respectively) during push-off (all p ≤ 0.024). Correlation analyses in SCP patients revealed that (1) longer-resting fascicles and thicker muscle bellies are positively correlated with walking speed and negatively to knee flexion (r = 0.60–0.69, p < 0.0127) but not to better ankle kinematics; (2) reduced muscle strength was associated with the extent of eccentric fascicle excursion (r = −0.57, p = 0.015); and (3) a shorter operating length of the fascicles was correlated with push-off power (r = −0.58, p = 0.013). Only in controls, a correlation (r = 0.61, p = 0.0054) between slower fascicle shortening velocity and push-off power was found. Our results indicate that a thicker gastrocnemius muscle belly and longer gastrocnemius muscle fascicles may be reasonable morphometric properties that should be targeted in interventions for individuals with SCP, since GM muscle atrophy may be related to decreases in walking speed and undesired knee flexion during gait. Furthermore, children with SCP and weaker gastrocnemius muscle may be more susceptible to chronic eccentric muscle overloading. The relationship between shorter operating length of the fascicles and push-off power may further support the idea of a compensation mechanism for the longer sarcomeres found in children with SCP. Nevertheless, more studies are needed to support our explorative findings.

The purpose of this study is to contribute to a deeper understanding about how placement discontinuities of children in foster care affect their learning. The aim is to find out more about their learning and what role school plays in their life. A life-world perspective is used and theories mainly developed by Alfred Schütz (2002) build the theoretical framework. The empirical research is mainly based on narratives of a pair of twins at 19 years of age, who agreed to share their life stories and experiences of their time in school. Meetings were arranged separately with Alex, the boy, and Helena, the girl, both eager to participate. They felt that their stories could contribute to knowledge. The stories show that placement discontinuities in their early childhood made memories and their perspective of time blurry. They both suffered severe neglect in two of their foster care placements. School offered them a safe place throughout their adolescent years. However, despite this, they are critical to the teachers who saw that they suffered neglect at home but never acted upon that knowledge. Hence their first-hand experiences suggest that teachers, considered important in earlier research studies, are not as important as friend made or the daily routines that provide certain security in an otherwise uncertain life. The social services didn’t listen or support them. Alex and Helena felt that they had to take care of themselves. Their stories show that both of them are goal-oriented and that they highly value a good education. This is evident since they have always taken responsibility to complete set homework and to make school a functional place where they have also learned to know themselves. Furthermore, it is obvious that the twins have played a tremendous role for each other when their life-world time after time has changed. Alex and Helena’s stories and experiences can give the social services a deeper understanding of what lies behind the statistics. A teacher, who listens, shows support and has ambitious expectations regarding the children’s academic performance, has been confirmed in previous research to be of significant importance. In addition, the study shows that teachers should learn more about children in foster care. A life-world perspective and life-world theories can contribute to an alternative point of view regarding learning in life-world discontinuities. Learning can be reflected on by using Schütz theory about “strangers” as a way of understanding learning in a wider range, especially when there are discontinues in the life-world. The reflections made in this study point out the possibility that schools, as organizations, seem to have independent cultures that can be transferred between one another. In fact there seems to be certain variables that are the same for schools in general and hence it is of significant value to recognize school as a regional life-world. The expectations of how you act as a student and among friends are important for the sense of belonging. It is possible that Alex and Helena succeeded in school partly because some of the things they learned about the first school could be transferred to their new school. The study contributes with two new concepts; “livsvärldsbrott”- life-world-disruption and “livsvärldsbevarande”- life-world-preservation.

SammanfattningKruse Ziegler, Annika & Lazic Hammer, Jeanette (2013). Pedagogers upplevelser av specialpedagogisk handledning i förskolan.( Educators´experiences of special educators´instruction in preschool.). Specialpedagogprogrammet, Skolutveckling och ledarskap, Lärande och samhälle, Malmö Högskola.ProblemområdeHur kan specialpedagogisk handledning hjälpa till att utveckla verksamheten så att alla barn, särskilt de i behov av särskilt stöd, får ökade möjligheter till delaktighet och utveckling utifrån sina behov? Hammarström-Lewenhagen (2006) framskriver tydligt att efterfrågan på handledning växer och framställs med starkt positiva tecken. Vi ställer oss frågan om det finns belägg för denna tro på handledningens positiva verkan i förskolan?SyfteSyftet är att bidra med kunskap kring pedagogers upplevelser av specialpedagogisk handledning i förskolan, dess motiv och effekter.Teoretisk ramDen teoretiska ramen grundar sig på ett holistiskt perspektiv, där helhet och sammanhang är i fokus och tar därför utgångspunkt i systemteori. För att tolka de resultat som särskilt intresserat oss i studien har vi använt oss av teorier kring lärande och förändring (Bateson, 1972). Framförallt använder vi oss av Batesons olika nivåer av lärande och förändringar av första och andra ordningen.MetodEnligt Bryman (2008) är ett deduktivt angreppssätt den huvudsakliga inriktningen när det gäller kvantitativ forskning. Vi anser att en kvantitativ ansats är mest relevant i vår studie och använder oss av denna, då studiens syfte och frågeställningar fokuserar på bredd snarare än djup. När man vill nå fler människor än vad som är möjligt vid en intervju eller observation, skriver Stukát (2005) att användandet av frågeformulär kan vara den relevanta metoden. Vår ambition var just att nå och ta del av många röster och därför valdes den form av kvantitativ metod som Bryman (2008) väljer att kalla en postenkätundersökning, vilket i vår studie innebär en enkät som delades ut i pappersform direkt till informanterna.Resultat med analysResultatet av studien pekar på att pedagoger i förskolan upplever sig ha goda förställningar om vad specialpedagogisk handledning kan få för effekter. Dock finns relativt stora skillnader mellan föreställningarna och effekterna av handledningen, vilket kan bero på att effekterna inte tydliggörs eller att effekterna är långsiktiga och ännu inte kommit till stånd. I studien kan vi urskilja tre inriktningar av handledning; verksamheten som helhet, den professionella rollen och arbetsklimat. Det vanligaste motivet är bemötandet av det enskilda barnet, det är också här pedagogerna upplever störst effekt av handledning. Effekterna av handledning blir generellt högre när förskolechefen är delaktig i initiativet.KonklusionStudiens resultat har likheter med tidigare forskning (bl.a. Åberg 2009; Höjer, Beijer & Wissö 2007) vad gäller typer av och motiv för handledning. Överraskande är att förskolechefens delaktighet i initiativ visar på större effekter än om initiativet endast är pedagogernas.ImplementeringStudien visar på resultat som kan bidra till utveckling och förändring av förskoleverksamheten. Förskolans ledning kan, för att främja förändringar av andraordningen; fortsätta bygga att på de goda föreställningarna, ge utrymme för handledning och ge ”spaces of liberty” d.v.s. tid för att reflektera efter handledningen.Nyckelord: Förskola, pedagoger, postenkät, specialpedagogisk handledning