Applied Sports Science newsletter – June 1, 2016

An icy wind blows through St Mirren’s training ground in the small town of Stepps, north-east of Glasgow. Scotland in February is not for the faint-hearted. Riyad Mahrez stands on the edge of the snow-covered pitch, his hands tucked tightly inside his sleeves. The rest of the squad are running four-by-fours, a lung-busting high-intensity sprinting drill designed to test maximum heart rate. “We all used to run about daft, blowing out of our arse,” says former St Mirren defender Iain Gray. “And he’d just be kicking the ball into the goal. I don’t know if he understood what we were meant to do, if it was a language barrier, but he just used to muck about and kick balls at the goal.”

Leicester City’s title triumph isn’t so much a single fairytale but rather a compendium of unlikely stories that have intertwined during this remarkable season. While much has been written about Jamie Vardy’s journey from Stocksbridge Park Steels to Premier League record-breaker, Wes Morgan’s and Andy King’s spells in League One, and Claudio Ranieri’s 30-year managerial career that was missing a first top-flight trophy, it was left to Riyad Mahrez to reveal his own backstory in a recent interview. It is certainly the most curious to emerge from this squad of misfits and miracle men.

Agility is vital to success in team sport competition with the trunk argued to play a key role in sport performance. This study explored the role of trunk control during a reactive change-of-direction task (R-COD) and field-based measures of athletic performance. Twenty male players completed field-based athletic performance assessments (modified Illinois agility test (mIAT), and three repetition maximum back squat (3RM)), and five countermovement jumps (CMJ) and R-CODs during which, three-dimensional ground reaction forces (GRF) and kinematics were recorded. Trunk control was assessed as the sum of the trunk relative to the pelvis range of motion in all three plane during the R-COD. Participants with the highest (HIGH; n = 7) and lowest (LOW; n = 7) trunk range of motion values were grouped. The HIGH group achieved significantly shorter mIAT time duration, higher CMJ height, and lower knee flexion angles, greater trunk lateral flexion and rotation relative to pelvis, and greater angular momentum during the R-COD compared with the LOW group. Superior athletic performance was associated with decreased trunk control (high trunk range of motion) during the R-COD. Whilst this study suggesting that trunk control is a vital component of performance, it is unknown whether this trunk control is inherent or an effect of training history, nor does not support current optimal athletic performance recommendation of decrease trunk motion during R-COD.

The 505 involves a 10-m sprint past a timing gate, followed by a 180° change-of-direction (COD) performed over 5 m. This methodological report investigated an adapted 505 (A505) designed to be football-specific by changing the distances to 10 and 5 yd. Twenty-five high school football players (6 linemen [LM]; 8 quarterbacks, running backs, and linebackers [QB/RB/LB]; 11 receivers and defensive backs [R/DB]) completed the A505 and 40-yd sprint. The difference between A505 and 0-10 yd time determined the COD deficit for each leg. In a follow-up session, 10 subjects completed the A505 again, while 10 subjects completed the 505. Reliability was analyzed by t-tests to determine between-session differences, typical error (TE), and coefficient of variation (CV). Test usefulness was examined via TE and smallest worthwhile change (SWC) differences. Pearson’s correlations calculated relationships between the A505 and 505, and A505 and COD deficit with the 40-yd sprint. A one-way ANOVA (p TE). The A505 correlated with the 505 and 40-yard sprint (r = 0.58-0.92), suggesting the modified version assessed similar qualities. R/DB were faster than LM in the A505 for both legs, and right-leg COD deficit. QB/RB/LB were faster than LM in the right-leg A505. The A505 is reliable, can detect moderate performance changes, and can discriminate between football position groups.

Ashley Stone’s phone rang, and it rang with good news: Kelly Dunn, a former swimmer at the University of Nebraska, had gotten a job offer.

Dunn had been working as a business development intern at the National Research Corporation in Lincoln, Neb., and about three-quarters of the way into the spring semester, the company had offered her a full-time position. What’s unusual is not that a college graduate had gotten a job; it’s how she did it — by taking advantage of Nebraska’s new post-eligibility opportunities (PEO) program for its athletes, which includes scholarships up to $7,500 for internship, study abroad and Nebraska graduate school use.

“The whole program is meant to provide you these opportunities to get you the experience and expertise you need to land a full-time job,” said Stone, who works in Nebraska’s life skills department and is the PEO coordinator. “It was really neat being able to see her grow through this experience and actually be able to land a full-time job before she was even finished with her internship.”

… Anybody who supposes that footballers are not intelligent has not, to my mind, grasped the meaning of the word. Footballers may not be theoreticians. They do not solve, say, differential equations in any formal way. But they are practical problem-solvers. They make sophisticated calculations every minute of the every game. And they do so with crowds baying at them and opponents kicking at their ankles.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the philosopher and mathematician, has discussed the power of this kind of intelligence. He notes how the industrial revolution was inspired not by theoreticians but by often semi-literate ministers, trying to solve practical problems, patiently tweaking their machines through trial and error. Indeed, these machines were so marvellous that it was only afterwards that pure scientists were forced to come up with theories to explain how they worked. The laws of thermodynamics were inspired by the industrial revolution; not the other way round.

The study investigates whether tensiomyography (TMG) is sensitive to differentiate between strength and endurance athletes, and to monitor fatigue after either one week of intensive strength (ST) or endurance (END) training. Fourteen strength (24.1 ± 2.0 years) and eleven endurance athletes (25.5 ± 4.8 years) performed an intensive training period of 6 days of ST or END, respectively. ST and END groups completed specific performance tests as well as TMG measurements of maximal radial deformation of the muscle belly (Dm), deformation time between 10% and 90% Dm (Tc), rate of deformation development until 10% Dm (V10) and 90% Dm (V90) before (baseline), after training period (post1), and after 72 hours of recovery (post2). Specific performance of both groups decreased from baseline to post1 (P < 0.05) and returned to baseline values at post2 (P < 0.05). The ST group showed higher countermovement jump (P < 0.05) and shorter Tc (P < 0.05) at baseline. After training, Dm, V10, and V90 were reduced in the ST (P < 0.05) while TMG changes were less pronounced in the END. TMG could be a useful tool to differentiate between strength and endurance athletes, and to monitor fatigue and recovery especially in strength training.

Objectives

To examine mechanical alterations during interval-training treadmill runs in high-level team-sport players.
Design

Within-participants repeated measures.
Methods

Twenty high-level male field-hockey players performed six 30-s runs at 5.53?±?0.19?m?s?1 corresponding to 115% of their velocity associated with maximal oxygen uptake (vVO2max) with 30-s passive recovery on an instrumented treadmill. Continuous measurement of running kinetics/kinematics and spring-mass characteristics were performed and values were subsequently averaged over 20?s (8th–28th?s) for comparison.
Results

Contact time (+1.1?±?4.3%; p?=?0.044), aerial time (+4.1?±?5.3%; p?=?0.001), step length (+2.4?±?2.2%; p?<?0.001) along with mean loading rates (+7.1?±?10.6%; p?=?0.026) increased from the first to the last interval, whereas step frequency (?2.3?±?2.1%; p?<?0.001) decreased. Both centre of mass vertical displacement (+3.0?±?6.0%; p?<?0.001) and leg compression (+2.8?±?9.7%; p?=?0.036), but not peak vertical forces (0.0?±?4.1%; p?=?0.761), increased with fatigue. Vertical stiffness decreased (?2.8?±?6.9%; p?=?0.012), whereas leg stiffness did not change across intervals (p?=?0.149).
Conclusions

During interval-training treadmill runs, high-level team-sport players modified their mechanical behaviour towards lower vertical stiffness while preserving a constant leg stiffness. Maintenance of running velocity induced longer step lengths and decreased step frequencies that were also accompanied by increased impact loading rates. These mechanical alterations occurred early during the set.

There are several ‘facts’ in sports science that are near taken as read: don’t consume more than 90g of carbs per hour; caffeine guarantees performance gains; and undertaking a combined endurance and strength session will attenuate the benefits of both. But recent research from Scandinavia questions the gospel truth of that last one.

A team from the Swedish National Centre for Research in Sports had 16 men perform seven weeks of either resistance training (seven men) or a combination with preceding endurance exercise (nine men) comprising continuous and interval cycling. Muscle biopsies were extracted before and after the training period with the benchmark test a 1-rep max (RM) leg press.

The training period comprised two sessions in each of the first two weeks, progressively increasing to four sessions in weeks six and seven, giving a total of 21 sessions. For both groups, the training sessions included a leg press exercise that started at a load corresponding to 70% of the individual’s initial 1RM. This load was raised 5-7% every third or fourth training session to match the observed gain in strength. However, the endurance group preceded the strength effort with the sessions in the endurance table, see right.

“We discovered that the combined training led to a more pronounced increase in muscle fibre area,” says joint author Marcus Moberg. “The combined training also enhanced the area of both type I and type II fibres, whereas strength training only increased type II fibres.”

After an injury, Cristina Mariani-May started from zero on a new sport—swimming with the local U.S. Masters swimming program—and her marathon times improved [photo essay]

… a new Upstate company has developed special tips for crutches that are designed to make getting around easier.

The MTip is a 3-inch long rubber crutch tip that helps people move and reduces the chances of slipping and falling.

“What we’re really hoping is that we’re able to help people go farther … go to places they’ve not been able to access before,” David Huizenga, CEO of Tao Life Sciences, told The Greenville News.

… Whipsaw consulted with the startup Blumio to develop a wearable blood pressure monitor that uses sensors as opposed to uncomfortable air pressure (like what your doctor uses). Below, Dan Harden dispenses tips on what makes for a strong wearable.

Design for a disappearing act:

“A good wearable product experience is when it just ‘goes away’ because it’s so comfortable you forget it’s on, like your favorite T-shirt. Since wearables are on your body they are fashion statements that speak volumes about who you are, so design is key. If that wearable provides valuable health data, like blood pressure, a meaningful experience is also when it delivers valuable instant information that you can trust and act on.

I listened with interest at the 2016 Isokinetic Conference where attendees discussed the importance of a medical team within the football community, and return to play. The event lived up to its reputation of creating a space for cutting edge science and practice innovation.

Discussions of ‘best practices’ made me think about a quandary I am currently
facing as Head of Medical Services for liverpool FC. Early in my training I was taught the acronym SALTAPS, which I still commonly use to assess an injury pitch side as a physiotherapist.

Premier League teams will give English national team access to player tracking info and the issues it raises are here to stay

Soccer research has traditionally focused on technical and tactical aspects of team play, but few studies have analyzed motor skills in individual actions, such as goal scoring. The objective of this study was to investigate how Lionel Messi, one of the world’s top soccer players, uses his motor skills and laterality in individual attacking actions resulting in a goal. We analyzed 103 goals scored by Messi between over a decade in three competitions: La Liga (n = 74), Copa del Rey (n = 8), and the UEFA Champions League (n = 21). We used an ad-hoc observation instrument (OSMOS-soccer player) comprising 10 criteria and 50 categories; polar coordinate analysis, a powerful data reduction technique, revealed significant associations for body part and orientation, foot contact zone, turn direction, and locomotion. No significant associations were observed for pitch area or interaction with opponents. Our analysis confirms significant associations between different aspects of motor skill use by Messi immediately before scoring, namely use of lower limbs, foot contact zones, turn direction, use of wings, and orientation of body to move toward the goal. Studies of motor skills in soccer could shed light on the qualities that make certain players unique. [full text]

It does not take Kevin DeShazo long to find a message or photo that could ruin a young athlete’s life.

DeShazo, who owns a media consultancy firm, travels the country warning college and professional athletes and coaches about the traps of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Athletes, it turns out, need this explicit guidance.