| 1. |
- Peterson, Gunnel, 1959-
(författare)
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Neck muscle function in individuals with persistent pain and disability after whiplash injury
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Neck pain and disability are common after whiplash injury. One year after the accident up to 50 % still have symptoms called whiplash associated disorders (WAD). Despite decades of research the cause of persistent pain and disability are largely unknown and effective treatment and diagnostic tools are lacking. Altered neck muscle function may cause pain and disability, and real-time non-invasive methods that investigate both superficial and deep neck muscle function need to be evaluated.Aim: The general aim of the work presented in this thesis was to investigate mechanical neck muscle function and evaluate effects of three different exercise interventions related to neck muscle function in individuals with persistent pain and disability after whiplash injury.Method: The thesis comprised two studies, reported in four papers. Study A was a prospective randomized controlled trail with 216 participants. The effects of three exercise interventions; neck-specific exercises, neck-specific exercises with behavioral approach and prescription of physical activity were evaluated. Neck muscle endurance, perceived pain following testing, kinesiophobia and satisfaction with treatment were compared between the three groups (paper I). Study B was an experimental case-control study with participants consecutively recruited from the randomized controlled trial. Deformation and deformation rates in the neck muscles were investigated with real-time ultrasound imaging during ten repetitive arm elevations (paper II-IV). To investigate ventral neck muscles, 26 individuals with WAD were compared with 26 healthy controls (paper II). The dorsal neck muscles were investigated in paper III, including 40 individuals with WAD and 40 controls. In total 46 individuals, 23 with WAD and 23 healthy controls were included in paper IV to develop ventral neck muscle interaction models.Results: Paper I: Participants in the two neck-specific exercise groups (with and without behavioral approach) showed increased dorsal neck muscle endurance (p = 0.003), decreased pain intensity following testing (p = 0.04) and were more satisfied with treatment (p < 0.001) than participants in the prescribed physical activity group. Kinesiophobia did not significantly differ between groups (p > 0.12).Paper II: Deformation and deformation rate showed linear positive relationship between ventral muscle pairs in healthy controls, especially between superficial and deep neck muscles. This relationship was weaker or absent in the WAD group.Paper III: The WAD group had higher deformation rates in the deepest dorsal neck muscles during the first and tenth (only women) arm elevations compared to the control group (p < 0.04). Women in the WAD group showed a weaker linear relationship between the two deepest dorsal neck muscles compared to women in the control group.Paper IV: The results revealed two different ventral neck muscle models in individuals with WAD and healthy controls (R2Y = 0.72, Q2Y = 0.59). The models were capable to detect different neck muscle interplay in people with WAD.Conclusion: Neck-specific exercise intervention with or without a behavioral approach appears to improve neck muscle endurance in individuals with persistent WAD. Decreased pain after the neck muscle endurance test also suggests improved tolerance of load in these two groups. Altered mechanical neck muscle function was revealed in individuals with WAD indicating decreased muscular support for maintain a stable cervical spine during repetitive arm elevations. The results show great promise for improved diagnosis of neck muscle function in WAD.
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| 2. |
- Klompstra, Leonie, 1982-
(författare)
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Physical activity in patients with heart failure : motivations, self-efficacy and the potential of exergaming
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Adherence to recommendations for physical activity is low in patients with heart failure (HF). It is essential to explore to what extent and why patients with HF are physically active. Self-efficacy and motivation for physical activity are important in becoming more physically active, but the role of self-efficacy in the relationship between motivation and physical activity in patients with HF is unknown. Alternative approaches to motivate and increase self-efficacy to exercise are needed. One of these alternatives might be using exergames (games to improve physical exercise). Therefore, it is important to obtain more knowledge on the potential of exergaming to increase physical activity.The overall aim was to describe the physical activity in patients with HF, with special focus on motivations and self-efficacy in physical activity, and to describe the potential of exergaming to improve exercise capacity.Methods: Study I (n = 154) and II (n = 101) in this thesis had a cross-sectional survey design. Study III (n = 32) was a 12-week pilot intervention study, including an exergame platform at home, with a pretest-posttest design. Study IV (n = 14) described the experiences of exergaming in patients who participated in the intervention group of a randomized controlled study in which they had access to an exergame platform at home.Results: In total, 34% of the patients with HF had a low level of physical activity, 46% had a moderate level, 23% reported a high level. Higher education, higher selfefficacy, and higher motivation were significantly associated with a higher amount of physical activity. Barriers to exercise were reported to be difficult to overcome and psychological motivations were the most important motivations to be physically active. Women had significantly higher total motivation to be physically active. Self-efficacy mediated the relationship between exercise motivation and physical activity; motivation leads to a higher self-efficacy towards physical activity.More than half of the patients significantly increased their exercise capacity after 12 weeks of using an exergame platform at home. Lower NYHA-class and shorter time since diagnosis were factors significantly related to the increase in exercise capacity. The mean time spent exergaming was 28 minutes per day. Having grandchildren and being male were related to more time spent exergaming.The analysis of the qualitative data resulted in three categories describing patients’ experience of exergaming: (i) making exergaming work, (ii) added value of exergaming, (iii) no appeal of exergaming.Conclusion: One-third of the patients with HF had a low level of physical activity in their daily life. Level of education, exercise self-efficacy, and motivation were important factors to take into account when advising patients with HF about physical activity. In addition to a high level of motivation to be physically active, it is important that patients with HF have a high degree of exercise self-efficacy.Exergaming has the potential to increase exercise capacity in patients with HF. The results also showed that this technology might be suitable for some patients while others may prefer other kinds of physical activity.
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| 3. |
- Kempe-Bergman, Matthis
(författare)
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Man talar om jämställd idrott : Om jämställdhetssamtal med manliga idrottsledare och förutsättningar för jämställd idrott
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- As a result of a historically anchored relationship between the Swedish state and the sports movement, gender equality has been a prioritized area of interest in Swedish sports since the 1970s. Despite long-term work in this field, research indicates a notable gap between what is said and done at the central level and locally. Research also indicates attitude problems; gender equality is often seen as an insignificant or unnecessary issue.This thesis seeks to relate to and analyze this development. Answers are sought via male sport coaches and leaders. This approach is motivated by the fact that gender equality-related sport research in Sweden seldom focuses on men and masculinities. At the same time men have been overrepresented as power holders and decision makers, and gender equality has consequently been constructed as a women’s issue. By means of a post-structural discourse analysis, the aim is to investigate constructions of gender equality in interviews with 47 leaders selected from seven sports. How is gender equality constructed in terms of meanings of and standpoints in relation to the concept, and which discourses set the frames for these constructions? Which subject positions are articulated?Results show that gender equality is given many different meanings in the interviews and that these meanings are produced in line with three discourses: a women’s rights discourse (semi-essentialism, structural feminism, a quantitative and qualitative support for women’s sport), a gender critical discourse (constructionism, structural feminism, “women can”, deconstructions of femininities) and a liberal discourse (“sport for all”, individualism, gender neutrality). Furthermore, four subject positions are distinguished: the skeptic, the cynic, the women rightist and the norm critic position. When the results are related to the production of gender equality policies four aspects are discussed, 1) relations between discourses (the discourses generate contradictory interpretations of sport, subjectivity, gender and equality), 2) men and gender equality, 3) the relatively substantial lack of interest in gender equality in the interviews and 4) sport and pluralism.One conclusion in the thesis is that the women’s rights discourse dominates and that the liberal discourse is marginalized in the interviews. Further, it is suggested that an elaboration and a more frequent practice of the gender critical discourse could be useful in the development of the gender equality project in Swedish sport.
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| 4. |
- Jonasson, Kalle, 1976-
(författare)
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Sport Has Never Been Modern
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sport has often been understood as a set of formalised physical contests, and moreover as something inherently modern. New conceptions of the term implicates that sport ought to comprise all physical activity. However, the studies and approaches that describe the range and tension between those positions are lacking. The thesis addresses this lacuna and suggests that the aforementioned conceptions could be inquired as the narrow (physical contest) and the broad (physical activity) understanding of sport. The work presented in this thesis sets out to outline a theoretical and methodological framework that could comprise the different conceptions of sport. This framework is laid out with inspiration from Bruno Latour’s symmetrical anthropology. The empirical material was collected from an array of sources with a broad range of ethnographical methods. Four sporting practices (break time football, parkour, eSport, and company table tennis) that embody the tension between the broad and the narrow are inquired into in the articles. The comprehensive framework that the thesis seeks to outline takes form in shape of the different concepts (“dromography,” “minor sport,” and “the art of tracing”) constructed within the articles. It is concluded that the broad understanding of sport threatens to hollow the term. However, the narrow understanding of sport tends to downplay the material dimension of modernity. It is argued that the connection between the material and the social dimension of sport, with regards to categories such as age and gender, mustn’t be neglected in the study of sport. Furthermore, it is argued that the competitive element of modern sport is related to modern science in an unexpected way that adds new understanding to the ontology of modernity in general.
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| 5. |
- Cederström, Niklas
(författare)
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Motor Imagery to Facilitate Sensorimotor Re-Learning (MOTIFS): Integrating Dynamic Motor Imagery in Current Treatment of Knee Injury
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Traumatic knee injury is common in physical activity that includes jumping and cutting movements, and most commonly include anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or meniscus injuries. Surgical or non-surgical intervention strategies may be chosen, but treatment will include a physical-therapist led physical training program. The aim of this training is to strengthen and stabilize the knee. Despite receiving best-practice treatment, many are unable to return to their pre-injury activity level. Recent research has suggested that this may be explained, in part, by psychological factors such as fear of re-injury or lack of confidence. In addition to physical treatment, guidelines include recommendations to address psychological factors. The detail of how this can be done is lacking, and the extent to which psychological variables are adequately addressed is questionable. In response to this gap, we have developed the novel Motor Imagery to Facilitate Sensorimotor Re-Learning (MOTIFS) model, which integrates psychological training into physical rehabilitation protocols using a dynamic motor imagery intervention. MOTIFS increases realism and relevance while simultaneously physically and psychologically simulating activity-specific and individualized rehabilitation exercises. The aim of this thesis is therefore to develop and explore the efficacy of the MOTIFS model in physically and psychologically preparing knee-injured people for return to activity compared to care-as-usual rehabilitation. The primary hypothesis of this thesis is that the MOTIFS model will provide greater effects on patient-relevant outcomes and muscle function than current programs. In a first step, the effect of MOTIFS model on enjoyment and other self-reported outcomes was evaluated in a cross-over study (Paper I) in which uninjured people underwent training according to both MOTIFS and care-as-usual training protocols. Next, a protocol detailing an ongoing randomized controlled trial (Paper II) which will compare 12 weeks of MOTIFS and care-as-usual training in terms of psychological readiness to return to activity and functional performance. Finally, two interview studies were conducted in which physical therapists (Paper III) and Patients (Paper IV) in both MOTIFS and care-as-usual groups were interviewed about the experiences of rehabilitation training following traumatic knee injury.Results of this thesis show that the MOTIFS model has the potential to increase enjoyment of knee injury prevention and treatment exercises. Other self-reported outcomes were also improved, and the MOTIFS model does not seem to sacrifice movement quality, indicating that it is possible to modify exercises by integrating a dynamic motor imagery intervention. Results of the interview study with physical therapists indicates that those in the MOTIFS group perceive a greater focus on psychological factors while using the new training model, and believe that it is an effective method of increasing patient readiness to return to activity. Those in the care-as-usual group described their perception of rehabilitation training as having a mainly physical focus. They expressed a desire for more tools to address psychological factors, as they perceived patient reactions to be psychological in nature and felt they were ill equipped to handle these factors. Patients in the MOTIFS group perceived MOTIFS to be meaningful and a positive method of increasing their readiness to return to sport, owing to early exposure to activity, which helps them to feel that they have longer to prepare for their return. Those in the care-as-usual group perceive a lack of psychological focus, and their success was measured in terms of their physical progress through rehabilitation. Results indicate that the MOTIFS model may be a feasible and clinically implementable method of addressing psychological factors in rehabilitation training. As the randomized controlled trial is still ongoing, no conclusions can be drawn regarding the efficacy of the intervention on rehabilitation outcomes. However, given the results of Papers I, III and IV, it seems a promising start to bridge the gap between physical and psychological rehabilitation outcomes.
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| 6. |
- Bjärsholm, Daniel
(författare)
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Idrott som medel – inte som mål : Förutsättningar för socialt entreprenörskap inom idrotten
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In sport management research, little attention has been paid to the relatively new concept of social entrepreneurship. In short, the concept refers to innovative methods of creating and satisfying social values through sport. However, research has shown that social entrepreneurs in sporting contexts are having difficulties in creating sustainable businesses. In addition to that the economic preconditions for social entreprenurial undertakings are uncertain, more research is needed on the general preconditions for conducting social entrepreneurship in sport. Hence, the aim of this compilation thesis, which consists of five papers, is to examine and analyse the preconditions for conducting social entrepreneurship in sport. The thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part, the subject of research (i.e., social entreprenurship in sport) is presented and defined. This is done by contextualising social entrepreneurship, analysing previous research on social entrepreneurship in sport, theoretically defining the concept and describing some research ethical issues that might arise in studies of social entrepreneurship. The second part of the thesis consists of three empirical studies of organisational, economic and political preconditions for conducting social entrepreneurship in sport. The findings from this thesis are based on an extensive literature review and five case studies in which multiple methods of data collection were used (interviews, documents and observations). The first paper, Sport and social entrepreneurship: a review of a concept in progress, shows that research on social entrepreneurship in sport is limited, the concept is seldom defined and sometimes used in ways more similar to philanthropy or corporate social responsibility. Also, sport only plays a minor role in the reviewed literature. The second paper, Ethical considerations in researching sport and social entrepreneurship, discusses some of the ethical dilemmas that have occurred when researching social entrepreneurship in sport. These dilemmas can, for example, be related to the principle of confidentiality. The third paper, Social entrepreneurship, sport and democracy development, offers an explanation of how to understand the “social” dimension in the concept of social entrepreneurship in sport. The social is ultimately about democracy in the sense that the participants are recognised, are given influence and are included in the organisation and in its community. The fourth paper, Networking as a cornerstone within the practice of social entrepreneurship in sport, focuses on how social entrepreneurial sport organisations can achieve economic sustainability by using their networks. The analysis shows, for instance, that the network of a social entrepreneurial sport organisation encompasses many actors from all sectors of society, and that the networks themselves assume many forms. The fifth and final paper, Swedish sport policy in an era of neoliberalism: An expression of social entrepreneurship?, provides an analysis of political preconditions for conducting social entrepreneurship in sport in Sweden. The paper, for example, argues that some political initiatives in the Swedish sport policy can be regarded as social innovations, since these aim to both solve certain identified social problems in society in general (e.g., social inclusion), or in sport in particular (e.g., making sport activities more accessible by lowering costs). In sum, this thesis contributes with: (a) empirical examples of social entrepreneurial sport organisations; (b) a theoretical understanding of the “social” dimension of social entrepreneurship in sport; (c) an ethical discussion on the role of researchers; and (d) a starting point when discussing the Swedish government support for sport.
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| 7. |
- Linghede, Eva, 1978-
(författare)
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Glitch i Idrottslandet : en kritiskkreativ undersökning av queeranden inom svensk idrott(svetenskap)
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The dominant story in critical sports research is that sport is characterised by heteronormativity and hegemonic masculinity norms. These norms are manifested in sexism, homophobia, homonegativity and racism which affect all athletes, regardless of identity. Although important, this is a story that risks reinforcing ideas of how all sport “is”. The thesis is a response to calls from feminist theorists and sport researchers who argue that we need to move away from a logic of negativity built into critical theory and instead put our analytical tools to the task of constructing alternative possible scenarios. The aim of the thesis is to explore what some major strands within contemporary feminist theory can accomplish in relation to dominating stories about gender, sexuality and scientific knowledge production in sport research. More specifically, I explore how the concepts of figuration and intra-action can open up for other possible sport (science) worlds.The thesis consists of a frame-story and four articles, which in turn are based on three substudies. In the first substudy I interviewed boys and men who engage with horses and in horse riding. By engaging in a sport, equestrianism, that in Sweden is dominated by girls/women and female coded, they transgress and challenge – glitch – ideas of how Real sports boys/men should be, live and act. The interview stories from this study are enacted in various ways in article I and IV. In the second substudy I interviewed elite athletes with experiences of living non-straight and who in that way glitch heteronormativity in sports (sometimes also homonormativity). These stories make up the heart of the figurations presented in article II. In the third substudy, I explored athletic bodies that, due to intersex variations, glitch the idea that the only way of being a body (in sport) is to be male or female. This analysis is presented in article III.The thesis is populated by horseguys who challenge stereotypical masculinity norms, sporting contexts that turn heteronormativity up-side-down and inside-out, athletic bodies that implode binary gender and a researcher I glitching a scientific (writing) genre. The figurations presented in the thesis open up for queering elsewheres, where engaging in sport can serve as a condition of possibility for same-sex attractions/relations and non-normative ways of being a boy/man, and where creative writing – in the form of fiction, poetry and genre mixing – can be used as a method of inquiry.Through the concept of intra-action, the thesis also makes visible that “matter matters”. Firstly, I show how engaging materially with horses allow and encourage boys/men to be less constrained by dominant gender norms – in other words, that human-horse relations are entangled with, and affect, boys’ and men’s doing of gender. Secondly, I make visible how athletic bodies “strike back” in relation to ideas of binary gender, glitching a dominant medico-scientific story (in sport) telling us that the only way of being a body is to be male or female. Thirdly, I enact – in form and content – how the researcher is always already entangled in scientific knowledge production.
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| 8. |
- Ferry, Magnus
(författare)
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Idrottsprofilerad utbildning : i spåren av en avreglerad skola
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the Swedish school sports system, a system which has evolved since the beginning of the 1970s, the prevalence of which has increased significantly at all school levels since the mid-1990s and today attracts a large number of pupils and teachers.Starting with the neoliberal discourse which has had a major impact on the development of the Swedish school system, and inspired by Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical framework, the reasons for the emergence of the school sports system and the reasons why schools chose to specialise in sport is described. Also examined are the pupils and teachers involved and the mechanics behind their participation.Empirically, this thesis is based on registry data, telephone interviews with principals at schools offering school sports and questionnaires responses from pupils and teachers involved in school sports.The results of the thesis suggest that the main reason school sports has become so common is closely connected to increased competition on the local school market; by offering school sports, schools have found a possible way to attract more pupils. Furthermore, the results show that the social characteristics of pupils who have been selected or have chosen to participate in school sports differs from the national population of pupils and participants in sports clubs. This suggests that the available supply of school sports is better adapted to some pupils’ social backgrounds and habitus. In relation to the teachers involved, the results show that other resources than what is normally required to become a teacher is valued in school sports. Instead of a teacher certificate, a coaching education and experiences in competitive sport is valued highly which suggests that this is recognised as symbolic capital for teachers in school sports.In conclusion this thesis demonstrates that school sports is influenced by both the fields of education and sport, and that the increased supply of school sports has implications for both fields.
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| 9. |
- Jansson, Alexander
(författare)
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Likvärdighet i idrott och hälsa?
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is about equivalence in the school subject of sports and health. More precisely, the purpose of this thesis is to contribute with new knowledge on how equivalence in sports and health can be understood, measured, and has changed during the years 2000–2017. In welfare states around the world, as well as in Sweden, equivalence is a central goal – but what does equivalence really mean and entail? What should be equivalent, and when is the school (sufficiently) equivalent? How can equivalence be measured, and how has equivalence changed over time – has it deteriorated, improved, or remained unchanged? With a specific focus on the school subject of sports and health, this thesis addresses these very questions. To answer some of the questions, different perspectives on equivalence are presented, along with various methods for investigating indicators of equivalence. Additionally, the relationship between equivalence-relevant groups and outcome measures is examined over time. The equivalence-relevant groups are based on students’ gender, migration background, and family background, as well as their parents’ educational background. The two outcome measures are students’ grades in sports and health and students’ perceptions of sports and health. The empirical material in the study is based partly on register data, in the form of a total sample of grade statistics for 2000–2017, and partly on retrospective data from large research projects, which in turn contain empirical material about students’ perceptions of sports and health (N = 39,980). The results show that there are differences in grades, which have also increased over time, between students with different migration backgrounds and educational backgrounds. Moreover, there are even larger and increasing gender differences in the groups for students with low-educated parents and for students with a foreign background. The results also show that the effect of family background on grades in the 9th grade seems to have increased from 2000 to 2017. It is also evident that the effect of family background has increased the most for foreign-born students. In terms of students’ perceptions of sports and health, the results partially show something different compared to grades. Although there are differences between different equivalence-relevant groups, these differences are generally small. The differences in question remain small even after age, sports participation in leisure time, and parents’ educational background are considered. Generally, there are no clear differences in the way students describe what and how much they learned. However, one group that stood out a bit was girls with a foreign background, who reported to a slightly higher degree that there was nothing to learn in sports and health. In summary, the thesis highlights the difficulty – but also the importance – of more clearly defining the meaning of equivalence in school, as well as in sports and health. Additionally, this dissertation also points to knowledge gaps about equivalence in sports and health, which partly result from a lack of studies but can also be attributed to methodological shortcomings in previous studies. Finally, the dissertation indicates problems with equivalence, primarily linked to the increasing differences between students with different migration backgrounds and family backgrounds, along with the general differences that exist between different student groups and girls with a foreign background.
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| 10. |
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