We investigated the effects of feeding a large meal to female rats (n = 66) just before or just after voluntary wheel running on energy metabolism during a final endurance exercise test. The rats were divided into three groups ; one fed a large meal just before exercise (BE), one fed a large meal just after exercise (AE), and one fed ad libitum (AD) . The rats were allowed to run voluntarily from 20 : 00 to 07 : 00 h. The BE group were given a large meal (more than 12 g) between 19 : 00 and 20: 00 h and a small meal (3 g) between 07 : 00 and 08 : 00 h. The AE group were given a large meal (more than 12 g) between 07 : 00 and 08 : 00 h and a small meal (3 g) between 19 : 00 and 20 : 00 h. After 4 weeks, 6 rats in each group were sacrificed at 22 : 00 h, and 12 rats in each group were sacrificed after 30 min starting from 22 : 00 h at 15 m/min (n=6) or 35 m/min (n=6) on a rodent treadmill (0° grade) . Four rats in each group were sacrificed after 30 min starting from 22 : 00 h at rest on the treadmill as a control. The plasma free fatty acid (FFA) and glycerol concentrations increased significantly during low-speed exercise in the AD group, and during higher-speed exercise in all groups. The liver glycogen concentration was significantly greater in the AE group than in the other groups at rest, and decreased significantly during exercise at both speeds in the AD group, but not in the BE and AE groups. The gastrocnemius muscle glycogen concentration was decreased significantly during exercise at both speeds in the AD group, and at high speed in the BE and AE groups.
These results indicate that intake of a large meal just after exercise can store a high level of liver glycogen at the beginning of exercise than ad libitum feeding or large meal intake just before exercise, and expend plasma FFA in muscle during exercise compared with ad libitum feeding. This suggests that large meal intake just after exercise contributes to improvement of metabolic capacity in endurance exercise with enhanced liver glycogen sparing.

Although visual examination and palpation are used to assess shoulder motion in clinical practice, there is no consensus on shoulder motion under dynamic and static conditions. This study aimed to compare shoulder joint motion under dynamic and static conditions. Methods: The dominant arm of 14 healthy adult males was investigated. Electromagnetic sensors attached to the scapular, thorax, and humerus were used to measure three-dimensional shoulder joint motion under dynamic and static elevation conditions and compare scapular upward rotation and glenohumeral joint elevation in different elevation planes and angles. Results: At 120° of elevation in the scapular and coronal planes, the scapular upward rotation angle was higher in the static condition and the glenohumeral joint elevation angle was higher in the dynamic condition (P<0.05). In scapular plane and coronal plane elevation 90°– 120°, the angular change in scapular upward rotation was higher in the static condition and the angular change in scapulohumeral joint elevation was higher in the dynamic condition (P<0.05). No differences were found in shoulder joint motion in the sagittal plane elevation between the dynamic and static conditions. No interaction effects were found between elevation condition and elevation angle in all elevation planes. Conclusions: Differences in shoulder joint motion should be noted when assessing shoulder joint motion in different dynamic and static conditions. Level of evidence: Level III, diagnostic cross-sectional study.

Background: Several systematic reviews have reported on the conservative treatment of full-thickness rotator cuff tears; however, clinical results of this treatment still remain determined. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, PEDro, and CINAHL databases were systematically searched for randomized clinical trials and observational studies. Two independent researchers reviewed a total of 2,981 articles, 28 of which met the criteria for inclusion in the study. Clinical outcome measures included Constant score, visual analog scale score for pain, range of motion, and short-form 36. The meta-analysis used a linear mixed model weighted with the variance of the estimate. Results: The meta-analysis showed a significant improvement after surgery. Pain score is 26.2 mm (1 month) to 26.4 mm (3 months) and 24.8 mm (12 months) (P<0.05); active abduction: 153.2º (2 months), 159.0º (6 months), 168.1º (12 months) (P<0.05); Constant score: 67.8 points (2 months) to 77.2 points (12 months) (P<0.05); short-form 36 “vitality” section: 57.0 points (6 months) and 70.0 points (12 months) (P<0.05). Conclusions Our data confirmed the effectiveness of conservative treatment in patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears 12 months post-intervention. The results suggest that conservative treatment for patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears should be the first line of treatment before considering surgery.

Health issues with workers include many aspects that scientific research in physical fitness and sports medicine can contribute to. Nevertheless, in Japan, there are few studies on the health problems in workers reported in the field of physical fitness and sports medicine. One reason could be the difficulty of obtaining cooperation in research from companies. This paper introduces results of epidemiological studies on health problems in workers by the Physical Fitness Research Institute. Our research serves as an example of physical fitness and sports medicine studies, including methods for securing fields for research. For the last decade, various epidemiological studies on worker’s mental health, sleep, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and labor related issues have been conducted in our research institute. Most of these studies indicated that lack of physical activity is associated with these indicators in Japanese workers. In recent years, we have also been conducting observational and interventional studies focusing on sedentary behavior in workers. Physical activity is deeply linked to worker’s health, therefore, the important approach to start a research in occupational health is to plan research that solves the company’s health challenges. In occupational health, the needs to promote physical activity and to reduce sitting time are growing under the movement of “Health and Productivity Management” and burden of the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that current challenges provide an opportunity to advance physical fitness and sports medicine research in occupational health.