Applied Sports Science newsletter – January 22, 2016

… Here’s how he did it, according to coach Mike Budenholzer.

“He worked so hard,” Budenholzer said before Wednesday’s victory. “We were saying how hard he was working and when he’s not playing it’s hard to believe it or appreciate it or both.

Context: Neurocognitive reaction time has been associated with musculoskeletal injury risk, but visuomotor reaction time (VMRT) derived from tests that present greater challenges to visual stimulus detection and motor response execution may have a stronger association. Objective: The purposes of this study were to assess VMRT as a predictor of injury and the extent to which improvement may result from VMRT training. Design: Cohort study. Setting: University athletic performance center. Participants: Seventy-six NCAA Division-I FCS football players (19.5 ±1.4 years; 1.85 ±0.06 m; 102.98 ±19.06 kg). Interventions: Pre-participation and post-season assessments. A subset of players who exhibited slowest VMRT in relation to the cohort’s post-season median value participated in a 6-week training program. Main Outcome Measures: Injury occurrence was related to pre-participation VMRT, which was represented by both number of target hits in 60 s and average elapsed time between hits (ms). Receiver operating characteristic analysis identified the optimum cut point for a binary injury risk classification. A non-parametric repeated measures analysis of ranks procedure was used to compare post-training VMRT values for slow players who completed at least half of the training sessions (n=15) to those for untrained fast players (n=27). Results: A pre-participation cut point of ? 85 hits (? 705 ms) discriminated injured from non-injured players with OR = 2.30 (90% CI: 1.05, 5.06). Slow players who completed the training exhibited significant improvement in visuomotor performance compared to baseline (SRM = 2.53), whereas untrained players exhibited a small performance decrement (group x trial interaction effect, L2 = 28.74; P < .001). Conclusions: Slow VMRT appears to be an important and modifiable injury risk factor for college football players. More research is needed to refine visuomotor reaction time screening and training methods and to determine the extent to which improved performance values can reduce injury incidence.

One of the papers in my research review this week, will be on this topic and certainly something we have been researching in the performance determinants of patients with Athletic Groin Pain using 3 D Biomechanics.

Agility is considered to be a high-speed action that involves a rapid change of direction (COD) in response to a stimulus. Two COD techniques have been described in the scientific literature to generate lateral movement: the sidestepping and the crossover-stepping manoeuvres. In addition, there are other COD techniques which can be used in many sports but have not undergone scientific investigation. One of these COD techniques is the bypass manoeuvre. All of these COD manoeuvres require the ability to produce strength while turning.

Memory is a process in which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. For vertebrates, the modern view has been that it occurs only in the brain. This review describes a cellular memory in skeletal muscle in which hypertrophy is ‘remembered’ such that a fibre that has previously been large, but subsequently lost its mass, can regain mass faster than naive fibres. A new cell biological model based on the literature, with the most reliable methods for identifying myonuclei, can explain this phenomenon. According to this model, previously untrained fibres recruit myonuclei from activated satellite cells before hypertrophic growth. Even if subsequently subjected to grave atrophy, the higher number of myonuclei is retained, and the myonuclei seem to be protected against the elevated apoptotic activity observed in atrophying muscle tissue. Fibres that have acquired a higher number of myonuclei grow faster when subjected to overload exercise, thus the nuclei represent a functionally important ‘memory’ of previous strength. This memory might be very long lasting in humans, as myonuclei are stable for at least 15?years and might even be permanent. However, myonuclei are harder to recruit in the elderly, and if the long-lasting muscle memory also exists in humans, one should consider early strength training as a public health advice. In addition, myonuclei are recruited during steroid use and encode a muscle memory, at least in rodents. Thus, extending the exclusion time for doping offenders should be considered.

Why are some people so much more successful than other people in music, sports, games, business, and other complex domains? This question is the subject of one of psychology’s oldest debates. Over 20 years ago, Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Römer (1993) proposed that individual differences in performance in domains such as these largely reflect accumulated amount of “deliberate practice.” More controversially, making exceptions only for height and body size, Ericsson et al. explicitly rejected any direct role for innate factors (“talent”) in the attainment of expert performance. This view has since become the dominant theoretical account of expertise and has filtered into the popular imagination through books such as Malcolm Gladwell’s (2008)Outliers. Nevertheless, as we discuss in this chapter, evidence from recent research converges on the conclusion that this view is not defensible. Recent meta-analyses have demonstrated that although deliberate practice accounts for a sizeable proportion of the variance in performance in complex domains, it consistently leaves an even larger proportion of the variance unexplained and potentially explainable by other factors. In light of this evidence, we offer a “new look” at expertise that takes into account a wide range of factors.

Taking more time to make decisions after a mistake arises from a mixture of adaptive neural mechanisms that improve the accuracy and maladaptive mechanisms that reduce it, neuroscientists at New York University have found. Their study, which addresses a long-standing debate on the value of deliberation after errors in decision-making, also potentially offer insights into afflictions that impair judgments, such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

“Our research reveals that a combination of changes in the brain slow us down after mistakes,” explains Braden Purcell, an NYU post-doctoral fellow and a co-author of the study, which appears in the journal Neuron. “One gathers more information for the decision to prevent repeating the same mistake again. A second change reduces the quality of evidence we obtain, which decreases the likelihood we will make an accurate choice.”

“Have you seen Kevin’s whiteboards?”

If you spend any time at Under Armour headquarters, you’ll hear that question again and again. Founder and CEO Kevin Plank really likes whiteboards, and his favorite use for them is to write out leadership maxims for his team. Inside and outside his office, whole walls of floor-to-ceiling whiteboards contain dozens of curt principles he’s scrawled over the years: Expedite the inevitable. Perfection is the enemy of innovation. Respect everyone, fear no one.

These commandments are meant not as simple inspiration or hard rules, he says, but together make up a system of “guardrails” that allow everyone under him to operate as entrepreneurs by channeling his thinking.

… Nearly every NFL team tracks players through a sports science coach. That person typically works under the direction of the head strength and conditioning coach. The Cincinnati Bengals have hired Ignition Athletics Performance Group to help with their sports science initiatives. Jamey Mroz, an employee at Ignition, works under the direction of the Bengals’ head strength and conditioning coach, Chip Morton, on a daily basis to monitor players. Mroz tracks players during practice and gives the data to position coaches.

During the season, athlete-monitoring systems are implanted in the jerseys of the football players and removed after practice. During the offseason, players will wear the device inside of a tight fit compression shirt. The data from the devices is then downloaded for the coach to analyze. The Bengals, Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs are among the teams that use STATSports technology to monitor their players and keep them in peak physical condition. [video, 5:42]

… Tom Covington and Jesse Paquette are changing the game of data analysis with Tag.bio, launching today out of San Francisco.

Covington, a former engineer, and Paquette, a former computational biologist in the Cancer Center at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) met playing soccer six years ago. While at UCSF, Paquette developed a software application known as Exploratory Gene Association Networks (EGAN), which visually interprets assay results and allows scientists to analyze the significance of patterns in the data. Essentially, EGAN allows scientists to focus on interpreting the meaning of the data instead of relying solely on the insights the computer generates from analyzing data.

The two were intrigued with how this software could impact other fields and began exploring how they could help anyone become a data scientist. They started with sports because the data is clean and curated, and they knew what they could do with the information they found. They began by asking the question ‘is EGAN useful for teams?’ The answer is yes.

Arsenal midfielder will wear laceless football boots in latest incarnation of essential sporting footwear, but what of history’s forgotten classics?

Let’s face it, most fitness trackers are for runners. It’s a natural progression for a smart pedometer to go from tracking steps to tracking a lot of quicker steps during a certain period of time. Some devices like the Microsoft Band are trying to break away from that bubble, incorporating guided workouts that include moves like crunches and mountain climbing. But really, what most of these devices do best is monitor fast movements that involve the swinging of arms and jostling of legs.

Enter Atlas Wearables, a company that’s been attempting to make something different for the past couple of years. Its first product, the $250 Atlas Wristband, doesn’t even track steps nor does it want to. Using a blend of accelerometers, gyroscopes, and inertial sensors, the wristband can recognize typical gym-based exercises, such as barbell calf raises, burpees, kettlebell swings, and more. It counts reps and monitors muscle exertion, and it keeps track of heart rate as well. Even though it currently excludes popular workouts like running and cycling, the Atlas Wristband’s unique features and potential for growth could make it the device that gym rats have been waiting for. [video, pre-roll + 6:56]

As the Cardinals reconsider and reshape their medical staff for the coming year the club will add what general manager John Mozeliak called a “performance department” to oversee recovery and treatment at all levels, including the major-league club.

The Cardinals have hired Dr. Robert Butler, a professor at Duke University, to work with the training staff and head the new department.

Purpose (1) To quantify current practice at the most elite level of professional club football in Europe with regard to injury prevention strategy; (2) to describe player adherence and coach compliance to the overall injury prevention programme.

Methods A structured online survey was administered to the Head medical officers of 34 elite European teams currently participating in the UEFA Elite Club Injury Study. The survey had 4 sections; (1) risk factors for injury, (2) assessment and monitoring of injury risk, (3) prevention strategies and (4) coach compliance and player adherence to the injury prevention process.

Results 33 (97%) Medical officers of the teams responded. The most important perceived injury risk factor was previous injury. Four of the top 6 risk factors—physical fitness, accumulated fatigue, reduced recovery time between matches and training load—were related to player workload. The top 3 preventative exercises were eccentric, balance/proprioception and core training. Regarding monitoring, the top 3 tools implemented were measurement of workload, subjective wellness and a general medical screen. The subjectively rated level of coach compliance in UEFA teams was perceived as ‘high’, while the player adherence varied from none at all to perfect.

Summary and conclusion Medical officers place importance on workload-related variables as risk factors for injury in elite European football players. A lack of consistently high player adherence may limit the effects of contemporary injury prevention programmes in elite European footballers.

Background: Previous studies have identified abnormalities in brain and motor functioning after concussion that persist well beyond observed clinical recovery. Recent work suggests subtle deficits in neurocognition may impair neuromuscular control and thus potentially increase risk of lower extremity musculoskeletal injury after concussion.

Purpose: To determine the odds of sustaining an acute lower extremity musculoskeletal injury during the 90-day period after return to play from concussion in a cohort of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletes.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: Included in this study were 87 cases of concussion among 75 athletes (58 men; 17 women) participating in NCAA Division I football, soccer, hockey, softball, basketball, wrestling, or volleyball at a single institution from 2011 to 2014. The 90-day period after return to play for each case of concussion was reviewed for acute noncontact lower extremity musculoskeletal injury. Each 90-day period after return to play was matched to the same 90-day period in up to 3 controls. Control athletes without a history of concussion in the previous year were matched to concussed athletes by sport team/sex, games played, and position. A total of 182 control (136 men; 46 women) 90-day periods were reviewed for acute injury. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess the association between concussion and subsequent risk of acute lower extremity musculoskeletal injury.

Results: The incidence of acute lower extremity musculoskeletal injury was higher among recently concussed athletes (15/87; 17%) compared with matched controls (17/182; 9%). The odds of sustaining an acute lower extremity musculoskeletal injury during the 90-day period after return to play were 2.48 times higher in concussed athletes than controls during the same 90-day period (odds ratio, 2.48; 95% CI, 1.04-5.91; P = .04).

Conclusion: Concussed athletes have increased odds of sustaining an acute lower extremity musculoskeletal injury after return to play than their nonconcussed teammates. The study results suggest further investigation of neurocognitive and motor control deficits may be warranted beyond the acute injury phase to decrease risk for subsequent injury.

Some years ago, Sports Illustrated ran a telling piece on the rise of the explosive, wide open offenses that had come to dominate football. In the article, Ohio State’s head coach pointed out that his team was ripping off plays “every 12 or 13 seconds” while predicting “we’ll hit 100 plays a game soon.” Other coaches bemoaned the challenge these offenses placed on defenses. “Of course, most colleges use their best athletes on offense, as backs and receivers,” said Alabama’s head coach. “When the defense is forced to spread out, it must go to man-to-man coverage. But if the offensive boy—the pass receiver—is a better athlete than the defensive boy, he’ll beat him. So you have to go to double coverage, and that weakens you against the run.” And supercharging it all is the rise of true dual threat quarterbacks who can run and throw. ”The hammer that has broken things down is the option,” said Arkansas’ head coach. “Now you’ve got teams with split receivers, with runners, and with quarterbacks who can run the option as well as throw. This simply generates more offense than any defense can handle.” The article was a fascinating look into state of football tactics.

But here’s a detail I forgot to mention: The article, by Dan Jenkins, was published in 1968. And the coaches he quoted were not Urban Meyer, Nick Saban and Bret Bielema, but instead Woody Hayes, Bear Bryant and Frank Broyles. Yet the article reads like it could have been written this season, given the continued trend at every level of football towards spread offenses, record setting passing numbers, and the ascension of dual-threat quarterbacks like Cam Newton and Russell Wilson, who are neither static passers nor strictly runners who can’t throw or read defenses.