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Tian N, Xu G. Determinants of fast attack performance on match outcome in the elite women's ice hockey. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0306469. [PMID: 38968196 PMCID: PMC11226076 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The primary objective of this study was to discern the determinants affecting the ice hockey game based on the performance of the fast attack between the winning and losing teams. Data from the women's ice hockey games at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics (n = 28) were used. A total of 2011 fast attacks were recorded, which included winning team 1156 times and losing team 855 times. 29 variables from nine categories were involved and analysed using chi-square tests, univariate tests and binary logistic regression. As a result, that fast attack performance varies between winning and losing teams, Effective Offensive Play. Scoring Analysis of the 2005 World Championships and the 2006 Olympics, INT, DZ, OZ, one-timer, dekes, shooting zone 1, shooting zone 3, shooting zone 4, SOG, SG%, 2nd period, PK, are key variables in distinguishing the winner and loser (P<0.05). The predictive model shows that shooting zone 4 (OR = 0.824), one-timer (OR = 1.255), 2nd period (OR = 1.193), SOG (OR = 1.230), and SG% (OR = 1.170) are determining factors of game outcomes. The current information has important practical applications as it allows coaches and players to improve the tactical strategy and offensive efficiency of the game.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naiyuan Tian
- School of Physical Education, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, China
| | - Gang Xu
- College of Competitive Sports, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
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2
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Rago V, Fernandes T, Mohr M. Identifying Key Training Load and Intensity Indicators in Ice Hockey Using Unsupervised Machine Learning. RESEARCH QUARTERLY FOR EXERCISE AND SPORT 2024:1-13. [PMID: 38959981 DOI: 10.1080/02701367.2024.2360162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
To identify key training load (TL) and intensity indicators in ice hockey, practice, and game data were collected using a wearable 200-Hz accelerometer and heart rate (HR) recording throughout a four-week (29 days) competitive period (23 practice sessions and 8 competitive games in 17 elite Danish players (n = 427 observations). Within-individual correlations among accelerometer- (total accelerations [Acctot], accelerations >2 m·s-2 [Acc2], total accelerations [Dectot], decelerations <- 2 m·s-2 [Dec2]), among HR-derived (time >85% maximum HR [t85%HRmax], Edwards' TL and modified training impulse) TL indicators, and between acceleration- and HR-derived TL parameters were large to almost perfect (r = 0.69-0.99). No significant correlations were observed between accelerometer- and HR-derived intensity indicators. Three between- and two within-components were found. The K-means++ cluster analysis revealed five and four clusters for between- and within-loadings, respectively. The least Euclidean distance from their centroid for each cluster was reported by session-duration, Acctot, Dec2, TRIMPMOD, %t85HRmax for between-loadings, whereas session-duration, Acc2, t85HRmax and Dec2/min for within-loadings. Specific TL or intensity variables might be relevant to identify similar between-subject groups (e.g. individual player, playing positions), or temporal patterns (e.g. changes in TL or intensity over time). Our study provides insights about the redundancy associated with the use of multiple TL and intensity variables in ice hockey.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Magni Mohr
- University of the Faroe Islands
- University of Southern Denmark
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3
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Santos PDG, Vaz JR, Correia J, Neto T, Pezarat-Correia P. Long-Term Neurophysiological Adaptations to Strength Training: A Systematic Review With Cross-Sectional Studies. J Strength Cond Res 2023; 37:2091-2105. [PMID: 37369087 DOI: 10.1519/jsc.0000000000004543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Santos, PDG, Vaz, JR, Correia, J, Neto, T, and Pezarat-Correia, P. Long-term neurophysiological adaptations to strength training: a systematic review with cross-sectional studies. J Strength Cond Res 37(10): 2091-2105, 2023-Neuromuscular adaptations to strength training are an extensively studied topic in sports sciences. However, there is scarce information about how neural mechanisms during force production differ between trained and untrained individuals. The purpose of this systematic review is to better understand the differences between highly trained and untrained individuals to establish the long-term neural adaptations to strength training. Three databases were used for the article search (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus). Studies were included if they compared groups of resistance-trained with untrained people, aged 18-40 year, and acquired electromyography (EMG) signals during strength tasks. Twenty articles met the eligibility criteria. Generally, strength-trained individuals produced greater maximal voluntary activation, while reducing muscle activity in submaximal tasks, which may affect the acute response to strength training. These individuals also presented lower co-contraction of the antagonist muscles, although it depends on the specific training background. Global intermuscular coordination may be another important mechanism of adaptation in response to long-term strength training; however, further research is necessary to understand how it develops over time. Although these results should be carefully interpreted because of the great disparity of analyzed variables and methods of EMG processing, chronic neural adaptations seem to be decisive to greater force production. It is crucial to know the timings at which these adaptations stagnate and need to be stimulated with advanced training methods. Thus, training programs should be adapted to training status because the same stimulus in different training stages will lead to different responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo D G Santos
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - João R Vaz
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
- CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar Egas Moniz (CiiEM), Egas Moniz-Cooperativa de Ensino Superior, Monte da Caparica, Portugal; and
| | - Joana Correia
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Tiago Neto
- Department of Physiotherapy, LUNEX International University of Health, Exercise and Sports, Differdange, Luxembourg
| | - Pedro Pezarat-Correia
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
- CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon, Portugal
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Yaserifar M, Oliveira AS. Inter-muscular coordination during running on grass, concrete and treadmill. Eur J Appl Physiol 2023; 123:561-572. [PMID: 36342514 DOI: 10.1007/s00421-022-05083-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Running is an exercise that can be performed in different environments that imposes distinct foot-floor interactions. For instance, running on grass may help reducing instantaneous vertical impact loading, while compromising natural speed. Inter-muscular coordination during running is an important factor to understand motor performance, but little is known regarding the impact of running surface hardness on inter-muscular coordination. Therefore, we investigated whether inter-muscular coordination during running is influenced by running surface. Surface electromyography (EMG) from 12 lower limb muscles were recorded from young male individuals (n = 9) while running on grass, concrete, and on a treadmill. Motor modules consisting of weighting coefficients and activation signals were extracted from the multi-muscle EMG datasets representing 50 consecutive running cycles using non-negative matrix factorization. We found that four motor modules were sufficient to represent the EMG from all running surfaces. The inter-subject similarity across muscle weightings was the lowest for running on grass (r = 0.76 ± 0.11) compared to concrete (r = 0.81 ± 0.07) and treadmill (r = 0.78 ± 0.05), but no differences in weighting coefficients were found when analyzing the number of significantly active muscles and residual muscle weightings (p > 0.05). Statistical parametric mapping showed no temporal differences between activation signals across running surfaces (p > 0.05). However, the activation duration (% time above 15% peak activation) was significantly shorter for treadmill running compared to grass and concrete (p < 0.05). These results suggest predominantly similar neuromuscular strategies to control multiple muscles across different running surfaces. However, individual adjustments in inter-muscular coordination are required when coping with softer surfaces or the treadmill's moving belt.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morteza Yaserifar
- Department of Exercise Physiology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Mazandaran, Iran
| | - Anderson Souza Oliveira
- Department of Materials and Production, Aalborg University, Fibigerstræde 16, Building 4, 9220, Aalborg Øst, Denmark.
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Verniba D, Di Bacco VE, Gage WH. Neuromuscular organization during balance-correcting responses induced with platform-translation and upper body cable-pull perturbation methods. Heliyon 2023; 9:e14856. [PMID: 37025885 PMCID: PMC10070079 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Balance-correcting responses are fast, accurate, and functionally- and directionally-specific. However, there remains a lack of clarity in the literature as to how balance-correcting responses are organized, perhaps due to use of various perturbation methods. This study investigated the differences in neuromuscular organization of balance-correcting responses induced with platform-translation (PLAT) and upper body cable-pull (PULL) methods. Healthy males (n = 15; age: 24.3 ± 3.0 years) underwent unexpected forward and backward PLAT and PULL perturbations of equivalent intensity. EMG of leg, thigh, and trunk anterior and posterior muscles was recorded bilaterally during forward-stepping trials. Muscle activation latencies were calculated with respect to perturbation initiation. Repeated measures ANOVAs tested for differences in muscle activation latencies between perturbation methods and body sides (anterior/posterior muscles, swing/stance limb sides); Holm-Bonferroni sequentially rejective procedure adjusted alpha during multiple comparisons. Anterior muscle activation latencies were similar between methods (∼210 ms). During PLAT trials, posterior muscles demonstrated symmetrical distal-proximal activation between 70 ms and 260 ms, bilaterally. During PULL trials, stance-limb side posterior muscles demonstrated proximal-distal activation 70-130 ms; the activation latencies (∼80 ms) were not different between the stance-limb side posterior muscles. Previous examinations of method comparisons have examined results across publications, and generally have not accounted for different stimulus characteristics. This study revealed markedly different neuromuscular organization of balance-correcting responses to two different perturbation methods that utilized, importantly, equivalent perturbation intensity. Interpretation of functional balance recovery responses requires clear understanding of the intensity and nature of the perturbation.
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Zemková E, Kováčiková Z. Sport-specific training induced adaptations in postural control and their relationship with athletic performance. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 16:1007804. [PMID: 36712149 PMCID: PMC9877433 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.1007804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Effects of various exercise programs on postural balance control in athletes and their underlying physiological mechanisms have been extensively investigated. However, little is known regarding how challenging sport-specific conditions contribute to the improvement of body balance and to what extent these changes may be explained by sensorimotor and/or neuromuscular function adaptations. Analysis of the literature could provide useful information on the interpretation of changes in postural sway variables in response to long-term sport-specific training and their association with performance measures. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review was (1) to analyze the literature investigating postural control adaptations induced by sport-specific training and their relationship with measures of athletic performance, and (2) to identify gaps in the existing research and to propose suggestions for future studies. A literature search conducted with Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library was completed by Elsevier, SpringerLink and Google Scholar with no date restrictions. Overall, 126 articles were eligible for inclusion. However, the association between variables of postural balance control and measures of sport-specific performance was investigated in only 14 of the articles. A relationship between static and/or dynamic balance and criterion measures of athletic performance was revealed in shooting, archery, golf, baseball, ice-hockey, tennis, and snowboarding. This may be ascribed to improved ability of athletes to perform postural adjustments in highly balanced task demands. However, the extent to which sport-specific exercises contribute to their superior postural stability is unknown. Although there is a good deal of evidence supporting neurophysiological adaptations in postural balance control induced by body conditioning exercises, little effort has been made to explain balance adaptations induced by sport-specific exercises and their effects on athletic performance. While an enhancement in athletic performance is often attributed to an improvement of neuromuscular functions induced by sport-specific balance exercises, it can be equally well ascribed to their improvement by general body conditioning exercises. Therefore, the relevant experiments have yet to be conducted to investigate the relative contributions of each of these exercises to improving athletic performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Zemková
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia,Faculty of Health Sciences, University of St. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Trnava, Slovakia,*Correspondence: Erika Zemková,
| | - Zuzana Kováčiková
- Institute of Physical Education and Sport, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Košice, Slovakia
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Asemi A, Maghooli K, Rahatabad FN, Azadeh H. Handwritten signatures verification based on arm and hand muscles synergy. Biomed Signal Process Control 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bspc.2022.103697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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8
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Akbaş A, Marszałek W, Drozd S, Czarny W, Król P, Warchoł K, Słomka KJ, Rzepko M. The effect of expertise on postural control in elite sport ju-jitsu athletes. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 2022; 14:86. [PMID: 35562833 PMCID: PMC9101935 DOI: 10.1186/s13102-022-00477-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Due to the high postural control demands of sport ju-jitsu, it is likely that long-term sport ju-jitsu training may induce sport-specific adaptations in postural control, especially in positions directly related to combat. The aim of the study was to assess the differences in postural control between elite sport ju-jitsu athletes and untrained controls in non-ecological and ecological conditions and to investigate the relative contribution of spinal and supraspinal mechanisms to postural control in expert athletes. Methods The study was conducted on eleven male elite ju-jitsu athletes and ten non-athletes. The data was collected with the use of a force plate under two conditions: quiet standing and ju-jitsu combat stance. Apart from the standard analysis of the spatial–temporal parameters of center of foot pressure, non-linear measures were used, namely rambling-trembling and sample entropy. The non-parametric Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare both groups. Results The main findings of the study showed that in quiet standing, elite ju-jitsu athletes and non-athletes had comparable postural control in both the anterior–posterior and mediolateral planes. In contrast, in the combat stance, elite athletes had lower values of postural sway and rambling component (range and rms) and higher values of sample entropy in comparison to the non-athletes (p < 0.05). No differences were found in the trembling component of sway between groups in the combat stance (p < 0.05). Conclusions Smaller postural sway and its rambling component in sport ju-jitsu athletes may indicate the more precise control of center of foot pressure and improved ability in estimating its position. The sample entropy results confirmed that the displacement of center of foot pressure for sport ju-jitsu athletes was more irregular, which demonstrates greater automatization in postural control. The results also confirm the importance of ecological validity in investigating postural adaptations associated with sports expertise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Akbaş
- Department of Motor Human Behavior, Institute of Sport Sciences, Academy of Physical Education, 72a Mikołowska Str., 40-065, Katowice, Poland.
| | - Wojciech Marszałek
- Department of Motor Human Behavior, Institute of Sport Sciences, Academy of Physical Education, 72a Mikołowska Str., 40-065, Katowice, Poland
| | - Sławomir Drozd
- Institute of Physical Culture, University of Rzeszów, 16c Aleja Rejtana Str., 35-959, Rzeszów, Poland
| | - Wojciech Czarny
- Institute of Physical Culture, University of Rzeszów, 16c Aleja Rejtana Str., 35-959, Rzeszów, Poland
| | - Paweł Król
- Institute of Physical Culture, University of Rzeszów, 16c Aleja Rejtana Str., 35-959, Rzeszów, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Warchoł
- Institute of Physical Culture, University of Rzeszów, 16c Aleja Rejtana Str., 35-959, Rzeszów, Poland
| | - Kajetan J Słomka
- Department of Motor Human Behavior, Institute of Sport Sciences, Academy of Physical Education, 72a Mikołowska Str., 40-065, Katowice, Poland
| | - Marian Rzepko
- Institute of Physical Culture, University of Rzeszów, 16c Aleja Rejtana Str., 35-959, Rzeszów, Poland
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Hagio S, Ishihara A, Terada M, Tanabe H, Kibushi B, Higashibata A, Yamada S, Furukawa S, Mukai C, Ishioka N, Kouzaki M. Muscle synergies of multi-directional postural control in astronauts on Earth after a long-term stay in space. J Neurophysiol 2022; 127:1230-1239. [PMID: 35353615 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00232.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Movements of the human biological system have adapted to the physical environment under the 1-g gravitational force on Earth. However, the effects of microgravity in space on the underlying functional neuromuscular control behaviors remain poorly understood. Here, we aimed to elucidate the effects of prolonged exposure to a microgravity environment on the functional coordination of multiple muscle activities. The activities of 16 lower limb muscles of 5 astronauts who stayed in space for at least 3 months were recorded while they maintained multidirectional postural control during bipedal standing. The coordinated activation patterns of groups of muscles, i.e., muscle synergies, were estimated from the muscle activation datasets using a factorization algorithm. The experiments were repeated a total of 5 times for each astronaut, once before and 4 times after spaceflight. The compositions of muscle synergies were altered, with a constant number of synergies, after long-term exposure to microgravity, and the extent of the changes was correlated with the severity of the deficits in postural stability. Furthermore, the muscle synergies extracted 3 months after the return were similar in their activation profile but not in their muscle composition compared with those extracted in the preflight condition. These results suggest that the modularity in the neuromuscular system became reorganized to adapt to the microgravity environment and then possibly reoptimized to the new sensorimotor environment after the astronauts were re-exposed to a gravitational force. It is expected that muscle synergies can be used as physiological markers of the status of astronauts with gravity-dependent change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shota Hagio
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.,Unit of Synergetic Studies for Space, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Akihiko Ishihara
- Laboratory of Cell Biology and Life Science, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Masahiro Terada
- Unit of Synergetic Studies for Space, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Hiroko Tanabe
- Institutes of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University, Aichi, Japan
| | - Benio Kibushi
- Faculty of Sport Science, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan
| | - Akira Higashibata
- Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Shin Yamada
- Graduate School of Medicine, Kyorin University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Satoshi Furukawa
- Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Chiaki Mukai
- Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Noriaki Ishioka
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Motoki Kouzaki
- Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.,Unit of Synergetic Studies for Space, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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Zemková E, Zapletalová L. The Role of Neuromuscular Control of Postural and Core Stability in Functional Movement and Athlete Performance. Front Physiol 2022; 13:796097. [PMID: 35283763 PMCID: PMC8909639 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.796097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Balance and core stabilization exercises have often been associated with improved athlete performance and/or decreased incidence of injuries. While these exercises seem to be efficient in the prevention of injuries, there is insufficient evidence regarding their role in sport-specific performance and related functional movements. The aim of this scoping review is (1) to map the literature that investigates whether currently available variables of postural and core stability are functionally related to athlete performance in sports with high demands on body balance and spinal posture and (2) to identify gaps in the literature and suggest further research on this topic. The literature search conducted on MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases was completed by Google Scholar, SpringerLink, and Elsevier. Altogether 21 articles met the inclusion criteria. Findings revealed that postural stability plays an important role in performance in archery, biathlon, gymnastics, shooting, and team sports (e.g., basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis). Also core stability and strength represent an integral part of athlete performance in sports based on lifting tasks and trunk rotations. Variables of these abilities are associated with performance-related skills in cricket, cycling, running, and team sports (e.g., baseball, football, hockey, netball, soccer, tennis). Better neuromuscular control of postural and core stability contribute to more efficient functional movements specific to particular sports. Training programs incorporating general and sport-specific exercises that involve the use of postural and core muscles showed an improvement of body balance, back muscle strength, and endurance. However, there is controversy about whether the improvement in these abilities is translated into athletic performance. There is still a lack of research investigating the relationship of body balance and stability of the core with sport-specific performance. In particular, corresponding variables should be better specified in relation to functional movements in sports with high demands on postural and core stability. Identifying the relationship of passive, active, and neural mechanisms underlying balance control and spinal posture with athlete performance would provide a basis for a multifaced approach in designing training and testing tools addressing postural and core stability in athletes under sport-specific conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Zemková
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Sports Technology Institute, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Trnava, Slovakia
| | - Ludmila Zapletalová
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Trnava, Slovakia
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Trajković N, Kozinc Ž, Smajla D, Šarabon N. Relationship between ankle strength and range of motion and postural stability during single-leg quiet stance in trained athletes. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11749. [PMID: 34083684 PMCID: PMC8175377 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91337-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between strength of ankle plantar and dorsal flexors and range of motion (RoM), and body sway variables during single-leg quiet stance, in highly trained athletes. The participants for this study were young athletes from 9 disciplines (n = 655). Center of pressure (CoP) velocity, amplitude, and frequency were measured during single-leg quiet stance. Moreover, athletes were measured for passive ankle plantar flexion (PF) and dorsal flexion (DF) RoM, and for rate of torque development (RTD) in the 0–50 (RTD50) and 0–200 ms time windows (RTD200). Ankle strength and RoM could not predict CoP velocity total, anterior–posterior (AP), and medial–lateral (ML) (p > 0.05). However, PFRTD50 and PFRoM and PFRoM positively influenced CoP amplitude in ML direction (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.10). Moreover, CoP frequency in ML direction significantly increased with lower PFRTD50, DFRTD50, DFRTD200, PFRoM, and DFRoM (p < 0.05). We have demonstrated that ankle strength and RoM were related to single-leg quiet stance postural balance in trained athletes. The ankle RoM showed the greatest influence on CoP variables in ML directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nebojša Trajković
- Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Niš, 18000, Niš, Serbia
| | - Žiga Kozinc
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Polje 42, 6310, Izola, Slovenia.,Andrej Marušič Institute, University of Primorska, Muzejski trg 2, 6000, Koper, Slovenia
| | - Darjan Smajla
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Polje 42, 6310, Izola, Slovenia.,Human Health Department, InnoRenew CoE, Livade 6, 6310, Izola, Slovenia
| | - Nejc Šarabon
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Polje 42, 6310, Izola, Slovenia. .,Andrej Marušič Institute, University of Primorska, Muzejski trg 2, 6000, Koper, Slovenia. .,Human Health Department, InnoRenew CoE, Livade 6, 6310, Izola, Slovenia. .,Laboratory for Motor Control and Motor Behavior, S2P, Science to Practice, Ltd., Tehnološki Park 19, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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12
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Santos PDG, Vaz JR, Correia PF, Valamatos MJ, Veloso AP, Pezarat-Correia P. Intermuscular Coordination in the Power Clean Exercise: Comparison between Olympic Weightlifters and Untrained Individuals-A Preliminary Study. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21051904. [PMID: 33803182 PMCID: PMC7963197 DOI: 10.3390/s21051904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2021] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Muscle coordination in human movement has been assessed through muscle synergy analysis. In sports science, this procedure has been mainly applied to the comparison between highly trained and unexperienced participants. However, the lack of knowledge regarding strength training exercises led us to study the differences in neural strategies to perform the power clean between weightlifters and untrained individuals. Synergies were extracted from electromyograms of 16 muscles of ten unexperienced participants and seven weightlifters. To evaluate differences, we determined the pairwise correlations for the synergy components and electromyographic profiles. While the shape of activation patterns presented strong correlations across participants of each group, the weightings of each muscle were more variable. The three extracted synergies were shifted in time with the unexperienced group anticipating synergy #1 (−2.46 ± 18.7%; p < 0.001) and #2 (−4.60 ± 5.71%; p < 0.001) and delaying synergy #3 (1.86 ± 17.39%; p = 0.01). Moreover, muscle vectors presented more inter-group variability, changing the composition of synergy #1 and #3. These results may indicate an adaptation in intermuscular coordination with training, and athletes in an initial phase of training should attempt to delay the hip extension (synergy #1), as well as the upper-limb flexion (synergy #2).
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulo D. G. Santos
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon University, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal; (P.D.G.S.); (P.F.C.); (M.J.V.); (P.P.-C.)
| | - João R. Vaz
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon University, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal; (P.D.G.S.); (P.F.C.); (M.J.V.); (P.P.-C.)
- CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon University, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal;
- Correspondence:
| | - Paulo F. Correia
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon University, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal; (P.D.G.S.); (P.F.C.); (M.J.V.); (P.P.-C.)
| | - Maria J. Valamatos
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon University, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal; (P.D.G.S.); (P.F.C.); (M.J.V.); (P.P.-C.)
- CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon University, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal;
| | - António P. Veloso
- CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon University, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal;
- Biomechanics and Functional Morphology Laboratory, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon University, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal
| | - Pedro Pezarat-Correia
- Neuromuscular Research Lab, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon University, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal; (P.D.G.S.); (P.F.C.); (M.J.V.); (P.P.-C.)
- CIPER, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Lisbon University, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal;
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13
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Turpin NA, Uriac S, Dalleau G. How to improve the muscle synergy analysis methodology? Eur J Appl Physiol 2021; 121:1009-1025. [PMID: 33496848 DOI: 10.1007/s00421-021-04604-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Muscle synergy analysis is increasingly used in domains such as neurosciences, robotics, rehabilitation or sport sciences to analyze and better understand motor coordination. The analysis uses dimensionality reduction techniques to identify regularities in spatial, temporal or spatio-temporal patterns of multiple muscle activation. Recent studies have pointed out variability in outcomes associated with the different methodological options available and there was a need to clarify several aspects of the analysis methodology. While synergy analysis appears to be a robust technique, it remain a statistical tool and is, therefore, sensitive to the amount and quality of input data (EMGs). In particular, attention should be paid to EMG amplitude normalization, baseline noise removal or EMG filtering which may diminish or increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the EMG signal and could have major effects on synergy estimates. In order to robustly identify synergies, experiments should be performed so that the groups of muscles that would potentially form a synergy are activated with a sufficient level of activity, ensuring that the synergy subspace is fully explored. The concurrent use of various synergy formulations-spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal synergies- should be encouraged. The number of synergies represents either the dimension of the spatial structure or the number of independent temporal patterns, and we observed that these two aspects are often mixed in the analysis. To select a number, criteria based on noise estimates, reliability of analysis results, or functional outcomes of the synergies provide interesting substitutes to criteria solely based on variance thresholds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas A Turpin
- IRISSE (EA 4075), UFR SHE-STAPS Department, University of La Réunion, 117 Rue du Général Ailleret, 97430, Le Tampon, France.
| | - Stéphane Uriac
- IRISSE (EA 4075), UFR SHE-STAPS Department, University of La Réunion, 117 Rue du Général Ailleret, 97430, Le Tampon, France
| | - Georges Dalleau
- IRISSE (EA 4075), UFR SHE-STAPS Department, University of La Réunion, 117 Rue du Général Ailleret, 97430, Le Tampon, France
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14
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Borzucka D, Kręcisz K, Rektor Z, Kuczyński M. Differences in static postural control between top level male volleyball players and non-athletes. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19334. [PMID: 33168913 PMCID: PMC7653955 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76390-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
It is argued that elite athletes often demonstrate superior body balance. Despite the apparent significance of perfect balance ability in volleyball, little is known about the specific nature of postural control adjustments among first-rate volleyball competitors. This study compared postural performance and strategies in quiet stance between world vice-champions and young, healthy, physically active male subjects. The center-of-pressure (COP) signals recorded on a force plate were used to compute several measures of sway. In both axes of movement, athletes had lower COP range, but not its standard deviation and higher COP speed and frequency than controls. These findings indicate that postural regulation in athletes was more precise and less vulnerable to external disturbances which support optimal timing and precision of actions. Postural strategies in athletes standing quietly were similar to those exhibited by non-athletes performing dual tasks. It demonstrates a significant effect of sport practice on changes in postural control. In anterior–posterior axis, athletes displayed a much higher COP fractal dimension and surprisingly lower COP–COG frequency than controls. This accounts for their high capacity to use diversified postural strategies to maintain postural stability and significantly reduced the contribution of proprioception to save this function for carrying out more challenging posture-motor tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorota Borzucka
- Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Opole University of Technology, ul. Prószkowska 76, 45-758, Opole, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Kręcisz
- Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Opole University of Technology, ul. Prószkowska 76, 45-758, Opole, Poland.
| | - Zbigniew Rektor
- Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Opole University of Technology, ul. Prószkowska 76, 45-758, Opole, Poland
| | - Michał Kuczyński
- Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Opole University of Technology, ul. Prószkowska 76, 45-758, Opole, Poland.,Faculty of Physiotherapy, University School of Physical Education in Wroclaw, Al. I.J. Paderewskiego 35, 51-612, Wrocław, Poland
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15
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Borzucka D, Kręcisz K, Rektor Z, Kuczyński M. Postural control in top-level female volleyball players. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil 2020; 12:65. [PMID: 33101691 PMCID: PMC7576872 DOI: 10.1186/s13102-020-00213-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Background The aim of this study was to compare the postural control of the Poland national women’s volleyball team players with a control group of non-training young women. It was hypothesized that volleyball players use a specific balance control strategy due to the high motor requirements of their team sport. Methods Static postural sway variables were measured in 31 athletes and 31 non-training women. Participants were standing on a force plate with eyes open, and their center of pressure signals were recorded for the 20s with the sampling rate of 20 Hz in the medial-lateral (ML) and anterior-posterior (AP) planes. Results In both AP and ML planes, athletes had lower range and higher fractal dimension of the COP. They had also higher peak frequency than control group in the ML plane only. The remaining COP indices including variability, mean velocity and mean frequency did not display any intergroup differences. Conclusion It can be assumed that due to the high motor requirements of their sport discipline Polish female volleyball players have developed a unique posture control. On the court they have to distribute their sensory resources optimally between balance control and actions resulting from the specifics of the volleyball game. There are no clearly defined criteria for optimal postural strategies for elite athletes, but they rather vary depending on a given sport. The results of our research confirm this claim. Trial registration The tests were previously approved by the Bioethical Commission of the Chamber of Physicians in Opole. (Resolution No. 151/13.12.2007). This study adheres to the CONSORT guidelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorota Borzucka
- Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Opole University of Technology, ul. Prószkowska 76, 45-758 Opole, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Kręcisz
- Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Opole University of Technology, ul. Prószkowska 76, 45-758 Opole, Poland
| | - Zbigniew Rektor
- Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Opole University of Technology, ul. Prószkowska 76, 45-758 Opole, Poland
| | - Michał Kuczyński
- Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Opole University of Technology, ul. Prószkowska 76, 45-758 Opole, Poland.,Faculty of Physiotherapy, University School of Physical Education in Wroclaw, Al. I.J. Paderewskiego 35, 51-612 Wrocław, Poland
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16
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Muscle Synergies Reliability in the Power Clean Exercise. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol 2020; 5:jfmk5040075. [PMID: 33467290 PMCID: PMC7739416 DOI: 10.3390/jfmk5040075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Muscle synergy extraction has been utilized to investigate muscle coordination in human movement, namely in sports. The reliability of the method has been proposed, although it has not been assessed previously during a complex sportive task. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate intra- and inter-day reliability of a strength training complex task, the power clean, assessing participants' variability in the task across sets and days. Twelve unexperienced participants performed four sets of power cleans in two test days after strength tests, and muscle synergies were extracted from electromyography (EMG) data of 16 muscles. Three muscle synergies accounted for almost 90% of variance accounted for (VAF) across sets and days. Intra-day VAF, muscle synergy vectors, synergy activation coefficients and individual EMG profiles showed high similarity values. Inter-day muscle synergy vectors had moderate similarity, while the variables regarding temporal activation were still strongly related. The present findings revealed that the muscle synergies extracted during the power clean remained stable across sets and days in unexperienced participants. Thus, the mathematical procedure for the extraction of muscle synergies through nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) may be considered a reliable method to study muscle coordination adaptations from muscle strength programs.
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17
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Ondra L, Svoboda Z. Balance abilities of junior ice hockey players. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2020; 61:183-187. [PMID: 32734754 DOI: 10.23736/s0022-4707.20.11057-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Postural control is required during various fast-paced and offensive ice hockey actions, and therefore seems to be an important component in ice hockey performance. METHODS Data were collected from two ice hockey teams with differing performance levels. The higher-performance team consisted of 26 players (with ages of 16.3±0.9 y, heights of 178.26±6.71 cm, and weights of 74.3±9.6 kg). The lower-performance team consisted of 19 players (with ages of 16.2±1.8 y, heights of 176.11±9.81 cm, and weights of 68.7±13.9 kg). Each participant performed six unilateral stances under static conditions on a balance pad placed on a force platform and five bilateral stances under dynamic conditions using a wobble board placed on the force platform. RESULTS The higher-level players performed better in the unilateral static stance task in both the anterior-posterior direction and the medial-lateral direction (with a P value of P<0.001), and total velocity (P=0.001). The higher-level players also performed better in both the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions, and total velocity (with P value of P<0.001), in the bilateral dynamic stance task and therefore performed significantly better than the lower-level players. CONCLUSIONS Hockey players who possess a highly developed postural control strategy have a superior ability to compensate for unexpected postural disturbances and collisions, and thus possess a strong competitive advantage. Therefore, testing the balance abilities of hockey players under static and dynamic conditions may be useful for evaluating their competitive performance levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Ondra
- Department of Natural Sciences in Kinanthropology, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic -
| | - Zdenek Svoboda
- Department of Natural Sciences in Kinanthropology, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
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18
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Temporal and quantitative variability in muscle electrical activity decreases as dexterous hand motor skills are learned. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0236254. [PMID: 32687520 PMCID: PMC7371173 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Muscle activity changes quantitatively and temporally during the motor learning process. However, the association between variability in muscle electrical activity and the learning and performance of dexterous hand movements is not well understood. Therefore, we undertook this study to investigate the relationships between temporal and quantitative variabilities in muscle activity and the learning of motor skills. Thirty-eight healthy participants performed 30 trials of a task that measured the time taken to rotate two cork balls 20 times using their non-dominant hand. The electromyographic (EMG) activities of the abductor pollicis brevis (APB), first dorsal interosseous, and extensor digitorum (ED) muscles were recorded. Temporal and quantitative variabilities in the EMG activity were evaluated by calculating the coefficient of variation of the duration and area of EMG activation. As motor learning proceeded, the task was completed more quickly and the EMG variability decreased. For all three muscles, significant correlations were observed between individual participants’ ball rotation time and EMG variability. Furthermore, significant positive correlations were observed between improvement in ball rotation time and reduction in EMG variability for the APB and ED muscles. These novel findings provide important insights regarding the relationships between temporal and quantitative variabilities in muscle activity and the learning of fine motor skills.
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19
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Bekius A, Bach MM, van der Krogt MM, de Vries R, Buizer AI, Dominici N. Muscle Synergies During Walking in Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review. Front Physiol 2020; 11:632. [PMID: 32714199 PMCID: PMC7343959 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Walking problems in children with cerebral palsy (CP) can in part be explained by limited selective motor control. Muscle synergy analysis is increasingly used to quantify altered neuromuscular control during walking. The early brain injury in children with CP may lead to a different development of muscle synergies compared to typically developing (TD) children, which might characterize the abnormal walking patterns. Objective: The overarching aim of this review is to give an overview of the existing studies investigating muscle synergies during walking in children with CP compared to TD children. The main focus is on how muscle synergies differ between children with CP and TD children, and we examine the potential of muscle synergies as a measure to quantify and predict treatment outcomes. Methods: Bibliographic databases were searched by two independent reviewers up to 22 April 2019. Studies were included if the focus was on muscle synergies of the lower limbs during walking, obtained by a matrix factorization algorithm, in children with CP. Results: The majority (n = 12) of the 16 included studies found that children with CP recruited fewer muscle synergies during walking compared to TD children, and several studies (n = 8) showed that either the spatial or temporal structure of the muscle synergies differed between children with CP and TD children. Variability within and between subjects was larger in children with CP than in TD children, especially in more involved children. Muscle synergy characteristics before treatments to improve walking function could predict treatment outcomes (n = 3). Only minimal changes in synergies were found after treatment. Conclusions: The findings in this systematic review support the idea that children with CP use a simpler motor control strategy compared to TD children. The use of muscle synergy analysis as a clinical tool to quantify altered neuromuscular control and predict clinical outcomes seems promising. Further investigation on this topic is necessary, and the use of muscle synergies as a target for development of novel therapies in children with CP could be explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annike Bekius
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Institute of Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Margit M Bach
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Institute of Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Marjolein M van der Krogt
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Ralph de Vries
- Medical Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Annemieke I Buizer
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Nadia Dominici
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Institute of Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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20
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Sport Biomechanics Applications Using Inertial, Force, and EMG Sensors: A Literature Overview. Appl Bionics Biomech 2020; 2020:2041549. [PMID: 32676126 PMCID: PMC7330631 DOI: 10.1155/2020/2041549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2019] [Revised: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In the last few decades, a number of technological developments have advanced the spread of wearable sensors for the assessment of human motion. These sensors have been also developed to assess athletes' performance, providing useful guidelines for coaching, as well as for injury prevention. The data from these sensors provides key performance outcomes as well as more detailed kinematic, kinetic, and electromyographic data that provides insight into how the performance was obtained. From this perspective, inertial sensors, force sensors, and electromyography appear to be the most appropriate wearable sensors to use. Several studies were conducted to verify the feasibility of using wearable sensors for sport applications by using both commercially available and customized sensors. The present study seeks to provide an overview of sport biomechanics applications found from recent literature using wearable sensors, highlighting some information related to the used sensors and analysis methods. From the literature review results, it appears that inertial sensors are the most widespread sensors for assessing athletes' performance; however, there still exist applications for force sensors and electromyography in this context. The main sport assessed in the studies was running, even though the range of sports examined was quite high. The provided overview can be useful for researchers, athletes, and coaches to understand the technologies currently available for sport performance assessment.
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21
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Paillard T. Relationship Between Sport Expertise and Postural Skills. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1428. [PMID: 31293483 PMCID: PMC6603331 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The review addresses the relationship between sport expertise (i.e., sport competition level), postural performance (amount of motion of the center of mass/of pressure of foot or ability to preserve body balance), and postural strategy (geometric organization of different body segments as well as neurobiological involvement of organism). Since the conditions of postural evaluation are likely to influence results, the aim is to compare athletes at different competition levels in ecological postural conditions (specific postural conditions related to the sport practiced) and non-ecological postural conditions (decontextualized postural conditions in relation to the sport practiced). Evidence suggests that the most successful athletes in terms of sport competition level have the best postural performance both in ecological and non-ecological postural conditions. However, in non-ecological conditions, the postural tasks should be preferentially challenging or relatively close to the sport practice stance. Moreover, the most successful athletes also have more elaborate postural strategies compared with athletes at lower competition level. Mechanistic explanations as well as conceptual models are proposed to explain the role of different factors influencing the relationship between sport expertise and postural performance and strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thierry Paillard
- Laboratoire Mouvement, Equilibre, Performance et Santé (UPRES EA 4445), Département STAPS, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, Tarbes, France
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Shuman BR, Goudriaan M, Desloovere K, Schwartz MH, Steele KM. Muscle synergies demonstrate only minimal changes after treatment in cerebral palsy. J Neuroeng Rehabil 2019; 16:46. [PMID: 30925882 PMCID: PMC6441188 DOI: 10.1186/s12984-019-0502-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have altered synergies compared to typically-developing peers, reflecting different neuromuscular control strategies used to move. While these children receive a variety of treatments to improve gait, whether synergies change after treatment, or are associated with treatment outcomes, remains unknown. METHODS We evaluated synergies for 147 children with CP before and after three common treatments: botulinum toxin type-A injection (n = 52), selective dorsal rhizotomy (n = 38), and multi-level orthopaedic surgery (n = 57). Changes in synergy complexity were measured by the number of synergies required to explain > 90% of the total variance in electromyography data and total variance accounted for by one synergy. Synergy weights and activations before and after treatment were compared using the cosine similarity relative to average synergies of 31 typically-developing (TD) peers. RESULTS There were minimal changes in synergies after treatment despite changes in walking patterns. Number of synergies did not change significantly for any treatment group. Total variance accounted for by one synergy increased (i.e., moved further from TD peers) after botulinum toxin type-A injection (1.3%) and selective dorsal rhizotomy (1.9%), but the change was small. Synergy weights did not change for any treatment group (average 0.001 ± 0.10), but synergy activations after selective dorsal rhizotomy did change and were less similar to TD peers (- 0.03 ± 0.07). Only changes in synergy activations were associated with changes in gait kinematics or walking speed after treatment. Children with synergy activations more similar to TD peers after treatment had greater improvements in gait. CONCLUSIONS While many of these children received significant surgical procedures and prolonged rehabilitation, the minimal changes in synergies after treatment highlight the challenges in altering neuromuscular control in CP. Development of treatment strategies that directly target impaired control or are optimized to an individual's unique control may be required to improve walking function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin R. Shuman
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Stevens Way, Box 352600, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
| | - Marije Goudriaan
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, VU university, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Department of Rehabilitation Science, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kaat Desloovere
- Department of Rehabilitation Science, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Clinical Motion Analysis Laboratory, University Hospitals Leuven Campus Pellenberg, Pellenberg, Belgium
| | - Michael H. Schwartz
- James R. Gage Center for Gait & Motion Analysis, Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, St. Paul, MN USA
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA
| | - Katherine M. Steele
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Stevens Way, Box 352600, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
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23
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The Effects of Selective Muscle Weakness on Muscle Coordination in the Human Arm. Appl Bionics Biomech 2018; 2018:5637568. [PMID: 30402139 PMCID: PMC6192169 DOI: 10.1155/2018/5637568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the fundamental importance of muscle coordination in daily life, it is currently unclear how muscle coordination adapts when the musculoskeletal system is perturbed. In this study, we quantified the impact of selective muscle weakness on several metrics of muscle coordination. Seven healthy subjects performed 2D and 3D isometric force target matches, while electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded from 13 elbow and shoulder muscles. Subsequently, muscle weakness was induced by a motor point block of brachialis muscle. Postblock subjects repeated the force generation tasks. We quantified muscle coordination pre- and postblock using three metrics: tuning curve preferred direction, tuning curve area, and motor modules analysis via nonnegative matrix factorization. For most muscles, the tuning direction for the 2D protocol was not substantially altered postblock, while tuning areas changed more drastically. Typically, five motor modules were identified from the 3D task, and four motor modules were identified in the 2D task; this result held across both pre- and postblock conditions. The composition of one or two motor modules, ones that involved mainly the activation of shoulder muscles, was altered postblock. Our results demonstrate that selective muscle weakness can induce nonintuitive alternations in muscle coordination in the mechanically redundant human arm.
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Feasibility of Muscle Synergy Outcomes in Clinics, Robotics, and Sports: A Systematic Review. Appl Bionics Biomech 2018; 2018:3934698. [PMID: 29808098 PMCID: PMC5902115 DOI: 10.1155/2018/3934698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2017] [Revised: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In the last years, several studies have been focused on understanding how the central nervous system controls muscles to perform a specific motor task. Although it still remains an open question, muscle synergies have come to be an appealing theory to explain the modular organization of the central nervous system. Even though the neural encoding of muscle synergies remains controversial, a large number of papers demonstrated that muscle synergies are robust across different tested conditions, which are within a day, between days, within a single subject, and between subjects that have similar demographic characteristics. Thus, muscle synergy theory has been largely used in several research fields, such as clinics, robotics, and sports. The present systematical review aims at providing an overview on the applications of muscle synergy theory in clinics, robotics, and sports; in particular, the review is focused on the papers that provide tangible information for (i) diagnosis or pathology assessment in clinics, (ii) robot-control design in robotics, and (iii) athletes' performance assessment or training guidelines in sports.
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Abstract
Muscle synergy describes reduced set of functional muscle co-activation patterns. We aimed to identify muscle synergies of turning compared with straight walking. Twelve healthy adults (men: 7, women: 5) performed straight walking (SW), left turning (LT), and right turning (RT) at self-selected speeds. By using non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), we extracted muscle synergies from sixteen electromyography (EMG) signals on the right side and assigned similar muscle synergies among SW, LT, and RT into the same cluster by combining k-means clustering and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analysis. We obtained task-specific clusters of muscle synergies extracted from SW, LT, or RT condition and identified the clusters that share synergies among the conditions. The central nervous system produces specific synergies involving turning behaviors and fundamental synergies for walking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoonjin Choi
- a Department of Physical Therapy , College of Health Science, Korea University , Seoul , South Korea
| | - Yushin Kim
- b Mechanical Technology Research Center , Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology , Daejeon , South Korea
| | - Minhee Kim
- a Department of Physical Therapy , College of Health Science, Korea University , Seoul , South Korea
| | - BumChul Yoon
- a Department of Physical Therapy , College of Health Science, Korea University , Seoul , South Korea
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