Mancilla-Lobos F1, Sizer PS2, Mauri-Stecca MV1,3
1Universidad del Desarrollo, Comité Ético Científico, Santiago, Chile, 2Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Center for Rehabilitation Research, School of Health Professions, Lubbock, Texas, United States, 3Advanced Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy, Anchorage, United States
Background: Therapeutic exercise (TE) has proved to be an important tool in the recovery of patients with pathologies of musculoskeletal origin. Currently there is no consensus on how dual task strategies (DT), commonly used in TE and in early stages of functional and motor control recovery, alter cognitive processes of people who perform motor activities.
Purpose: To describe the effect of motor tasks on the cognitive function of healthy adult subjects with musculoskeletal pathologies, reported in scientific and gray literature.
Methods: Exploratory review (Joanna-Briggs-Institute) that includes protocol of inclusion-exclusion criteria related to the objective and the review question. It was considered: 1) Identify research question; 2) Identify relevant articles; 3) Selection of articles; 4) Data extraction; and 5) Collect, summarize and report the results. Two independent evaluators identified, selected and extracted the data to analyze.
Results: A total of 26 of 1,499 identified articles were included, with a level of agreement among authors of 100%. 77% of the studies were published after 2010; 46% of these were control cases, and 31% RCT. Twenty-five (96%) articles included only healthy subjects, and 50% included participants between 18 and 35 years. The most used motor test was a cycle-ergometer (46%). 54% of the studies included more than one cognitive test being the most frequent, among 36 different, the Stroop Test (46%). 53% of the studies reported improvement of cognitive function, 19% decrease and 26% reported no differences when analyzing the TD interference after a motor task. General cognitive function was assessed in 42%, attention in 42%, executive function in 35% and memory in 12%.
Conclusion(s): Although there is a tendency toward improvement, the data are not conclusive regarding the effects of motor tasks on cognitive function. The evaluation of the dual task seems to be biased by the type of cognitive analysis that one wishes to report (attention, memory, performance, etc.). Future research should focus on determining the type of cognitive function to study and the effect that the motor task can generate on them.
Implications: By knowing the potential effects of DT on cognitive function, clinicians can plan and adjust treatment approaches in a more individual way to the patients.
Keywords: cognitive performance, motor task, dual-task
Funding acknowledgements: Not funding or grants involved.
Purpose: To describe the effect of motor tasks on the cognitive function of healthy adult subjects with musculoskeletal pathologies, reported in scientific and gray literature.
Methods: Exploratory review (Joanna-Briggs-Institute) that includes protocol of inclusion-exclusion criteria related to the objective and the review question. It was considered: 1) Identify research question; 2) Identify relevant articles; 3) Selection of articles; 4) Data extraction; and 5) Collect, summarize and report the results. Two independent evaluators identified, selected and extracted the data to analyze.
Results: A total of 26 of 1,499 identified articles were included, with a level of agreement among authors of 100%. 77% of the studies were published after 2010; 46% of these were control cases, and 31% RCT. Twenty-five (96%) articles included only healthy subjects, and 50% included participants between 18 and 35 years. The most used motor test was a cycle-ergometer (46%). 54% of the studies included more than one cognitive test being the most frequent, among 36 different, the Stroop Test (46%). 53% of the studies reported improvement of cognitive function, 19% decrease and 26% reported no differences when analyzing the TD interference after a motor task. General cognitive function was assessed in 42%, attention in 42%, executive function in 35% and memory in 12%.
Conclusion(s): Although there is a tendency toward improvement, the data are not conclusive regarding the effects of motor tasks on cognitive function. The evaluation of the dual task seems to be biased by the type of cognitive analysis that one wishes to report (attention, memory, performance, etc.). Future research should focus on determining the type of cognitive function to study and the effect that the motor task can generate on them.
Implications: By knowing the potential effects of DT on cognitive function, clinicians can plan and adjust treatment approaches in a more individual way to the patients.
Keywords: cognitive performance, motor task, dual-task
Funding acknowledgements: Not funding or grants involved.
Topic: Musculoskeletal; Professional practice: other
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: Universidad del Desarrollo
Ethics committee: Dont apply
Reason not required: This is an investigation carried out with existing data and without interaction with human beings (literature review)
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
