Effect of Prior Fatiguing Sport-Specific Exercise on Field Hockey Passing Ability

The mechanical response to hockey-specific running gait: implications for the objective monitoring of (p)rehabilitation

Field hockey is characterized by a unique dribbling position which has been associated with a prevalence of low back pain and lumbar injury. To quantify the biomechanical response of the hockey-specific running gait, twelve field hockey players completed treadmill running at speeds of 6, 9 and 12 km·hr-1 with a normal running gait and whilst manipulating the hockey stick to replicate dribbling. Mechanical loading was quantified using tri-axial accelerometery at L4, and muscular activity was measured for biceps femoris (BF), gluteus medius (GM) and quadratus lumborum (QL) of each limb. Running with the stick elicited greater mechanical loading in the medio-lateral (p = 0.001) and antero-posterior (p = 0.003) planes, and increased peak (p = 0.004) and mean (p = 0.002) EMG response of QL (p = 0.004). The greater planar mechanical loading and QL activation in response to hockey-specific running technique support epidemiological observations of lower back pain prevalence. The sensitivity of uni-axial mechanical loading to the hockey-specific running posture provides an efficacious means of objectively monitoring mechanical loading in-vivo, whilst the QL activation response has implications for (p)rehabilitative interventions. Running posture and speed can be considered as discrete progressions when considering training load.

Effects of Acute Fatigue on Cognitive Performance in Team Sport Players: Does It Change the Way They Perform? A Scoping Review

Fatigue caused by exercise or mentally demanding tasks can lead to an alteration in the cognitive functioning of athletes. Therefore, it is important to investigate whether and to what extent fatigue influences athletes cognitive performance in sports with high cognitive demands. This scoping review aims to map research articles dealing with the effects of acute fatigue on players cognitive performance in team sports. The main inclusion criterium was that studies had to examine the impact of any form of acute fatigue on (i) cognitive functions only, (ii) reactive agility, (iii) sport-specific skills with reactive components included. In total, 12 articles met our inclusion criteria. Results indicated that prolonged exercise causes a decline in the decision-making, attention, and perception abilities of players. Accuracy of sport-specific tasks with cognitive components included rather deteriorated after both exercise and mental fatigue inducement. However, alteration of players cognitive performance depends on the intensity and duration of fatigue-inducing tasks. Mental fatigue and consequent decision-making deterioration can be triggered by at least 30 min of a Stroop color-word task as well as smartphone application exposure. Analysis of the studies revealed a lack of research investigating the acute effect of fatigue on reactive agility, along with cognitive functions such as memory or learning. Due to possible acute negative effects of fatiguing exercise or mentally demanding tasks on human cognition, future research should consider the examination of different types and intensities of exercise on players’ cognitive performance.