Isokinetic assessment of shoulder complex strength in adolescent elite synchronized swimmers

Bibliometric study on artistic swimming

Introduction

The objective of this paper is to study the research trends in the sport modality of artistic swimming and to analyse the scientific production regarding this sport.

Methods

Two hundred and twenty articles related to the theme were selected after a search in the PubMed, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science databases and some additional records, using the theme "synchronised swimming OR artistic swimming" up to December 2022. The variables scrutinized were the following: (1) title, (2) discipline, (3) type, (4) sample size and (5) sporting level.

Results

The results indicate that (1) 53.6% of the artistic swimming articles were case studies, (2) 23.2% talked about physiology, (3) 32.7% had a sample of 11-50 participants, and (4) 30.9% of the sample was elite/international swimmers.

Discussion

Over the years there has been a considerable increase in studies on artistic swimming; the topics of greatest interest in artistic swimming have been physiology, sports performance and injuries. Even so, it seems that for the moment artistic swimming has little impact, probably due to its status as a minority sport and it having limited social and economic impact.

Artistic Swimming Injuries in Young Elite Athletes: An 11-year Follow-Up

OBJECTIVE

Artistic swimming is a highly challenging discipline, requiring physical skills and creativity. There are almost no published data on trauma. We aimed to assess the incidence and the nature of injuries in artistic swimmers.

DESIGN

An 11-year retrospective single-center cohort study.

SETTING

Department of Sport Medicine of a University Hospital.

PATIENTS

One hundred and twenty-four elite female artistic swimmers aged 12.9 ± 1.6 years.

INTERVENTIONS

The cohort was divided into 3 groups according to the competition categories (from 9 to 12 years old called "future", 12-15 years old called "youth", 15-19 years old called "junior").

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Injury rate per season and per athlete was assessed.

RESULTS

The injury rate was 0.95 injuries/season/athlete and 1.05 injuries/1000 hours of practice. The most frequent injuries were rotator cuff tendinopathy (13.6%), acute low back pain (13.6%), and patellofemoral syndrome (11.9%). Swimmers in the youth and junior categories had significantly more injuries than those in the future category (P = 0.009), possibly because of more training hours (P < 0.001). Twelve major injuries occurred, all in the same group of youth swimmers.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study investigating trauma during artistic swimming practice. A better knowledge of the main injuries is necessary for the physician to provide optimal care for athletes and to develop prevention. Attention should be particularly paid to the swimmers' shoulders and knees.

Investigating The Association Between Supraspinatus Tendon Abnormality, Shoulder Pain and Isokinetic Strength in Elite Swimmers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Shoulder pain is common among elite swimmers due to the tremendous stress over shoulders during swimming. Supraspinatus muscle is one of the major prime movers and stabilizers of shoulder and is highly susceptible to overloading and tendinopathy. An understanding of the relationship between supraspinatus tendon and pain; and between supraspinatus tendon and strength would assist health care practitioners for developing training regime. The objectives of this study are to evaluate 1) the association between structural abnormality of supraspinatus tendon and shoulder pain and 2) the association between structural abnormality of supraspinatus tendon and shoulder strength. We hypothesized that structural abnormality of supraspinatus tendons positively associated with shoulder pain and negatively associated with shoulder muscle strength among elite swimmers. 44 elite swimmers were recruited from the Hong Kong China Swimming Association. Supraspinatus tendon condition was evaluated using diagnostic ultrasound imaging and shoulder internal and external rotation strength was evaluated by the isokinetic dynamometer. Pearson's R was used to study the correlation between shoulder pain and supraspinatus tendon condition and to evaluate the association between isokinetic strength of shoulders and supraspinatus tendon condition. 82 shoulders had supraspinatus tendinopathy or tendon tear (93.18%). However, there was no statistically significant association between structural abnormality of supraspinatus tendon and shoulder pain. The results showed that there was no association between supraspinatus tendon abnormality and shoulder pain and there was a significant correlation between left maximal supraspinatus tendon thickness (LMSTT) and left external rotation/ concentric (LER/Con) and left external rotation/ eccentric (LER/Ecc) shoulder strength (p < 0.05) while internal rotation/ external rotation (IR/ER) ratio can also be a significant predicator on LMSTT >6mm (R² = 0.462, F = 7.016, df = 1, p = 0.038). Structural change of supraspinatus tendon was not associated with shoulder pain, but could be a predictor on MSTT >6mm in elite swimmers.

Substantiation of Methods for Predicting Success in Artistic Swimming

To develop a methodology for predicting success in artistic swimming based on a set of morphofunctional indicators and indices, 30 schoolgirls, average age (12.00 ± 0.22), were divided into two groups. Group 1: 15 athletes, training experience 4–5 years. Group 2: 15 schoolgirls without training experience. For each participant, we determined the length and weight of the body, the circumference of the chest, vital lung capacity, and the circumference of the biceps in a tense and at rest. The Erisman index, biceps index, and the ratio of proper and actual vital lung capacity was calculated. Them, we conducted the Stange and Genchi hypoxic tests, and flexibility tests for “Split”, “Crab position”, and “Forward bend”. Prediction was conducted using the Wald test with the calculation of predictive coefficients and their informativeness. A predictive table containing results of functional tests and indices of artistic swimming athletes is developed. It includes nine criteria, which informativeness varied in the range of 395.70–31.98. The content of the prediction consists of evaluating the results, determining the appropriate predictive coefficient, and summing these coefficients before reaching one of the predictive thresholds. The conducted research allowed us to substantiate and develop a method for predicting the success of female athletes with the use of morphofunctional indicators and indices.

Evaluation of Shoulder and Knee Isokinetic Strength Profile Among Elite Adolescent Badminton Players

CONTEXT

Badminton continues to be a highly competitive sport where training is introduced at an early age and load has intensified. This exposes players to a greater risk of injuries, in particular when assessing related training outcomes such as strength, agonist-antagonist ratio, and bilateral deficit among adolescents where age- and sex-associated growth and development should be considered.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate strength profile of the upper and lower limbs among adolescent elite Malaysian badminton players.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS

Forty-eight asymptomatic athletes (24 males and 24 females) were grouped into early and late adolescence (13-14 y old and 15-17 y old, respectively).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

Strength (absolute and normalized) of the external/internal rotators of the shoulder and flexor/extensor of the knee and strength derivatives, conventional strength ratio (CSR), dynamic control ratio (DCR), and bilateral deficits were measured.

RESULTS

Males showed greater strength in all strength indices (P < .05). The older group had greater strength compared to younger for most of the upper and lower limb indices (P < .05); these effects diminished when using normalized data. For females, there was no age group effect in the shoulder and knee strength. All players displayed lower shoulder and knee normative values for CSR and DCR. Dominant and non-dominant knee strength were comparable between sex and age groups.

CONCLUSIONS

For males, growth and maturation had a greater contribution to strength gained compared to training, whereas for females, growth, maturation, and training did not improve strength. The normalized data indicated that training did not improve all indices measured apart from external rotator strength in females. All players also displayed lower normative values of CSR and DCR. These results suggest that training in elite adolescent Malaysian badminton players lacks consideration of strength gain and injury risk factors.