Applied Sports Science newsletter – January 15, 2020

Applied Sports Science news articles, blog posts and research papers for January 15, 2020

 

Top young US men’s players uncertain for Olympic soccer

Associated Press from

If the U.S. qualifies for this year’s Olympic men’s soccer tournament, it might decide that Christian Pulisic is better off remaining with Chelsea than going to Tokyo.

“We might have the influence of a player going to the Olympics but not playing for a longer period of time leading into World Cup qualifiers and even into a World Cup later on,” U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Earnie Stewart said Monday.

 

Hawks’ Cam Reddish is here to tell you the NBA is no breeze

AJC.com, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Steve Hummer from

… “It’s all in my head,” said Reddish, sounding a little like a golfer with the yips. For now, the only course of treatment is to keep shooting.

At 20, Reddish is the youngest Hawk, which is saying something on a team that is barely more aged than moonshine. Taken with the 10th pick in the draft – acquired with Dallas’ pick as part of dealing Doncic last year – he figures to be important in the remaking of this team. A player of his size and deftness potentially fills a number of roles. Thus it is too soon in such a player’s career for the Hawks to show him anything but patience.

“I told him that Paul George, as an example, shot 29 percent from 3 as a rookie,” Schlenk said. “It takes a while.

 

How Cale Makar leveled up to NHL stardom so quickly and what comes next

ESPN NHL, Emily Kaplan from

It often seems like the NHL has come too easily for Cale Makar. The Colorado Avalanche defenseman stepped into the NHL playoffs in the middle of a tense, first-round series against the Calgary Flames in April — two days after he wrapped up his college career — and immediately scored a goal. In his first 20 regular-season NHL games, while most of his rookie peers were getting their feet wet, Makar averaged more than a point per game. He didn’t commit a penalty until his 31st game, and it was a fluky, puck-over-the-glass, delay of game call. Furthermore, the 21-year-old has been handling top-four minutes this season.

As such, it is perhaps comforting to hear a rare example of Makar getting into a pickle. It was before last spring’s second-round series against the San Jose Sharks, and the Avs had an off day. Makar had moved in with teammate Matt Calvert and his family to ease the NHL transition. The Calverts set Makar up in their finished basement. “At night, they would lock the door to get downstairs because their [13-month-old] son, Beau, was getting tall enough where he could grab the door handle and try to go down,” Makar said. “And the stairs were pretty steep.”

 

The effect of night-time exercise on sleep architecture among well-trained male endurance runners. – PubMed – NCBI

Journal of Sleep Research from

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of night-time (21:00 hours) high-intensity, intermittent exercise on sleep architecture among well-trained athletes in a laboratory setting. In a randomized, counterbalanced order, 11 well-trained male runners completed a simulated trail-running exercise (TRAIL) on a motorized treadmill and a resting condition (REST; no exercise during the day). After each condition, nocturnal autonomic nervous system activity and core body temperature (CBT) were measured and sleep was analysed using polysomnography and actigraphy. Markers of muscle damage (maximal voluntary contraction [MVC], plasma creatine kinase concentration [CK] and perceived muscle soreness) were recorded before and immediately (POST), 24 hr (H24) and 48 hr (H48) after exercise. TRAIL induced a high level of fatigue and mild exercise-induced muscle damage, as determined by a reduction in MVC (-9.4%, p < .01, d = -1.36) and increases in [CK] (+176.0%, p < .01, d = 1.49) and perceived muscle soreness (+4.5 UA, p < .01, d = 2.17) compared with REST at H24. A trend for increased non-rapid eye movement (+4.2%; p = .10; d = 0.86) and reduced rapid eye movement (-4.4%; p = .07; d = -0.87) during sleep was observed for TRAIL compared with the REST condition. Moreover, compared with REST, TRAIL significantly increased CBT and nocturnal HR during the first part of the night. In conclusion, sleep architecture was modified after night-time, high-intensity exercise among well-trained runners.

 

How Even a Little Sleep Loss Hinders Your Athletic Performance

Cleveland Clinic, health essentials from

… Doctors see the biggest detriment in lost sleep for those in endurance sports, Dr. Downey says. You’re less likely to see an impact in athletic events like weightlifting, where you need short bursts of energy.

This is mainly because lack of sleep reduces motivation, a key driver in maintaining performance in endurance sports.

With these sports, runners or cyclists often hit a wall at some point and motivation is what helps them push through to the finish. The less sleep you have, the less likely you are to summon that motivation when you need it, Dr. Downey says.

 

Running Stride | Will Changing Your Stride Prevent Injuries?

Runner's World, Elizabeth Millard from

Playing around with form changes during running—such as trying a mid- or forefoot strike—could be a strategy worth trying for those who struggle with repeated injuries. But if you’re looking to help prevent injuries or get a speed boost, there’s little evidence to suggest the change is worth it, according to a new research review published in the journal Sports Medicine.

Australian researchers looked at 53 studies that focused either on non-rearfoot strike (NRFS) patterns compared to injury risk, or overall running efficiency. They found limited results related to NRFS and repetitive stress injury, and that running economy didn’t differ between runners who used NRFS patterns—at any speed—and those who preferred a heel-to-toe stride.

In fact, changing your stride may make you less efficient, at least in the short term, lead author Christian Barton, Ph.D.

 

In Search of the Brain’s Social Road Maps

Scientific American, Matthew Schafer and Daniela Schiller from

  • How do animals, from rats to humans, intuit shortcuts when moving from one place to another? Scientists have discovered mental maps in the brain that help animals picture the best routes from an internalized model of their environments.
  • Physical space is not all that is tracked by the brain’s mapmaking capacities. Cognitive models of the environment may be vital to mental processes, including memory, imagination, making inferences and engaging in abstract reasoning.
  • Most intriguing is the emerging evidence that maps may be involved in tracking the dynamics of social relationships: how distant or close individuals are to one another and where they reside within group hierarchies.
  •  

    More isn’t always better

    Footwear Science journal from

     

    Brilliant Technology Helps Athletes Improve Biomechanics

    Orthopedics This Week, Tracey Romero from

    IncludeHealth is teaming up with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to commercialize a new technology that allows athletes to correct their own biomechanics.

    IncludeHealth, a digital health and performance technology company, has entered into a licensing agreement with the hospital to bring to market Augmented Neuromuscular Training (aNMT) technology developed by researchers there in conjunction with University of Cincinnati researchers. It uses camera-based real-time movement analysis and corrective feedback to help athletes and other at-risk groups change the way they move in order to reduce their risk for injury. The technology can also be used to boost an athlete’s performance.

    Through this new partnership, IncludeHealth will integrate this new technology with its digital health platform to make it more accessible. The aNMT technology captures a patient’s movement on camera and then provides feedback on whether the movement was performed correctly or not. All feedback is in real-time so the patient can adjust movements immediately.

     

    A Look at EatMyRide: Automated Nutrition Planning with Strava/Garmin Integration

    Ray Maker, DC Rainmaker blog from

    While at CES last week I had the chance to get a bit of a demo from one of the companies within startup pavilion. This pavilion is a bit like speed dating for companies. They’ve got a very small stand (as in, about the size of a cafeteria tray) within a larger grouping of companies, in this case, the Dutch tech pavilion. Ironic that I’d fly 6,200 miles to stumble into a sport tech company only a mere 45km from me.

    In any event, despite the curious name, EatMyRide actually has a pretty darn cool concept once you walk through the details of it. In a nutshell it uses your historical data on Strava to figure out your VO2Max, and then from there it’ll work out your exact nutrition needs for a given ride/route. This is beyond just simple calories, but instead actually breaking down the contents of XYZ gel packet or specific foods to figure out the exact order you should take them in, as well as the timing. All of which then enumerates via detailed instructions on your Garmin device (and soon other companies too).

     

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) can detect low-glucose levels via ECG without fingerprick test

    University of Warwick (UK), Press Releases from

    A new technique developed by researchers at the University of Warwick uses the latest findings of Artificial Intelligence to detect hypoglycaemic events from raw ECG signals, via wearable sensors

    The technology works with an 82% reliability, and could replace the need for invasive finger-prick testing with a needle, which could be particularly useful for paediatric age patients

     

    Should Parents Be Afraid To Let Their Kids Play Football?

    FiveThirtyEight, Leah Shaffer from

    … It is difficult to parse the research, let alone conduct it: CTE can only be diagnosed post-mortem. Unless scientists are looking at the actual brains of former players, argue researchers such as Dr. Lee Goldstein of Boston University School of Medicine’s CTE Center, they are not getting a complete picture.

    Goldstein argues the case against football and other high-impact sports is open and shut. “Association is very clear. Risk increases with greater exposure, so if you don’t want to have this disease or any risk of it, you shouldn’t do it,” Goldstein said of playing football at any level.

    Goldstein and colleagues published a paper in the journal Brain in 2018 in which they found that mice subjected to different kinds of hits showed early signs of CTE, even without signs of concussion, implying subconcussive hits could also start the progression of the disease.

    C. Munro Cullum, a neuropsychologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, wants to understand what factors make some individuals more vulnerable to the negative outcomes of concussions.

     

    Contentious statement: teams get most out of their performance analysis department by hiring a skill acquisition specialist. A skill acq specialist can use the data collated by performance analysts to develop meaningful interventions.

    Twitter, Job Fransen from

    In my experience, the gap between performance analysis departments (which often consist of multiple individuals) and coaches is too great. In the age of big data we need analysts, but we also need those who understand when findings are meaningful (ie subject to change 2/4

     

    Oli McBurnie reveals his theory behind Sheffield United’s superb injury record as they challenge Wolverhampton Wanderers in one area for best in Premier League

    The Star (UK), Danny Hall from

    Only Wolverhampton Wanderers boast more ever-present players in the Premier League than Sheffield United so far this season; a stat the Midlands club owe to the contractual status of Dean Henderson over anything else.

     

    The Warriors and the Myth of the Silicon Valley-Driven Team

    WIRED, Culture, Jason Parham from

    The team might operate like a fast-moving startup, but Golden State’s rise and fall proves the influence of tech insiders hasn’t revolutionized the NBA all that much.

     

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