ECSS Paris 2023: CP-AP07
INTRODUCTION: Rugby Union is a high-intensity contact invasion sport with an inherent risk of injury. Monitoring training has become integral to the injury risk management practices of coaches in recent years [1]. Evidence is emerging supporting the use of Likert and visual analogue scales as a method of monitoring wellness with studies [2] supporting their ecological validity. The purpose of this study was to explore (1) associations between various subjective self-reported measures of wellness and injury occurrence in amateur Rugby Union and (2) the influence of various lag periods (time between the dose and injury) on these associations. METHODS: Forty-three male players (mean ± SD; age 24.8 ± 4.1 years; height 184.1 ± 7.2 cm; body mass 100.4 ± 16.8 kg; playing experience 13.7 ± 4.7 years) from six teams participated in the study over one competitive season. Participants recorded six subjective wellness measures (fatigue, muscle soreness, sleep duration, sleep quality, mood, and readiness to train) on a chromatic coloured 1 – 5 Likert scale immediately prior to each training session and match. An overall daily wellness score was also calculated by summating all 6 scores (i.e. minimum score = 6, maximum score = 30). Injury data were collected by each team’s physiotherapist. Multilevel logistic regression was used to analyse any associations between injuries and the wellness variables across 0, 3 and 7 day lag periods. RESULTS: The logistic regression found significant weak to strong associations between the occurrence of injury and the six individual measures of wellness, resulting in odds ratios (OR) ranging from 1.642 - 4.870 (p < 0.001 - 0.01) with 0-days lag. A strong association (OR = 6.172, p < 0.001) between the occurrence of injury and the summative score of overall wellness was found (0-day lag). No associations were found when lag periods of 3 and 7 days were examined. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study support the positive association between injury and subjective wellness. Practitioners should see subjective wellness measures as simple yet highly informative for monitoring players’ training with the aim of promoting positive adaptations while simultaneously mitigating injury risk. If players experience a negative overall wellness, it is likely their risk of injury is increased. Practitioners should act on the data instantaneously, which may be challenging, but conversing with the said player regarding their wellness data and subsequent training prescription may be good practice. REFERENCES: 1. West, S.W., et al., Training load and injury risk in elite rugby union: the largest investigation to date. Int J Sports Med, 2020. 42(08): p.731-739. 2. Cullen, B.D., McCarren, A.L. and Malone, S., Ecological validity of self-reported wellness measures to assess pre-training and pre-competition preparedness within elite Gaelic football. Sport Sci Health, 2021.17: p.163-172.
Read CV Alan GriffinECSS Paris 2023: CP-AP07
INTRODUCTION: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in Paralympic sports, aiming to ensure fair competition through a system that evaluates athletes residual abilities. According to the current classification present in Paralympic Water Polo (1), the lowest score is given to athletes who are unable to perform movements with their hands, so the study focused on the most typical movement in Water Polo that involves the use of at least one hand, i.e. shooting (2). METHODS: The study was conducted on 5 subjects of which 4 belonged to a Paralympic team, with different types of disabilities, and 1 competitive athlete belonging to a water polo team with no degree of disability for data comparison. Two IMU sensors synchronized with each other (Movella DOT, 120Hz) were placed on the body of the athletes. One sensor on the forearm to monitor degrees of movement (ROM) of the dominant upper limb during shooting, and one at the C7 vertebra to derive information on torso rotation (3). Athletes were asked to perform 7 shots at 5 m from the goal with the purpose of hitting a target. Two GoPro cameras (240 Hz) filmed aligned to the athletes shooting position from side and rear perspectives, to determine the height of the ball during the shot (instant of release) on the water surface. Kinovea free-license software was used for video analysis. RESULTS: The average values of player 5 were taken as a reference, which were trunk rotation of 60°, a forearm angle of 80° and a shooting height of 1.25m. It was considered the best performance of each Paralympic athlete. In terms of ROM of the dominant upper limb, athlete 1 had no limitation, athletes 2 and 3 had a limitation of 5°, and athlete 4 of 3°. Athlete 1 showed a limited trunk rotation of 20° and a lower shot height of 54.4%. Athlete 2 had a limitation of 10° in torso rotation, and a 48% lower jump height. Athlete 3 had no limitation in torso rotation, and a 51.2% lower jump height. Athlete 4 performed 6° less torso rotation, and 52.8% lower jump height. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study showed how the proposed assessment system using inertial sensors can detect the residual abilities of Paralympic athletes in specific sports actions. Subsequent studies on a large number of subjects could allow percentile tables and reference values to be drawn up, so as to provide an aid to classifiers of a more fair and objective classification. REFERENCES: 1) Italian Swimming Paralympic Federation, CLASSIFICATION RULES WATER POLO DISCIPLINE, 2022 2) Marion A. et al., Sport Biomechanics Lab, 2010 3) Tupling, S. G. et al., Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 1987
Read CV Cristiana FrontutoECSS Paris 2023: CP-AP07
INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to determine whether session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) derived training load correlates with GPS-derived measures of external load in Chinese Football Association (CFA) women’s super league football player. METHODS: Twenty-two CFA women’s football athletes took part in this study. Total distance, distance covered at high speed zone (19-23 km·h−1 ), times of acceleration and deceleration, and times of turn left and turn right and PlayerLoadTM were collected as external load during the match in 2021 CFA women’s football season by GPS systems. Within 30 minutes after the end of match, athletes were promoted to complete a questionnaire reporting their perceived exertion using BorgCR-10 scale. sRPE was calculated at the end of season by multiplying perceived exertion by respective session duration. RESULTS: There were strong correlations between sRPE and total distance (r=0.721, P<0.01), sRPE and PlayerLoadTM(r=0.584, P<0.05).. There were moderate correlations between sRPE and times of acceleration and deceleration(r=0.384, P<0.05). There were weekly correlations between sRPE and high speed running distance(r=0224, P<0.05) and times of turn left and turn right（r=0.227, P<0.05）. CONCLUSION: In CFA football players, sRPE were strongly correlated with total distance，PlayerLoadTM. sRPE as low cost, easy to learn tool is a good way to monitor players internal workload. Combination of internal and external workload is best way to know player workload.
Read CV Nan LiECSS Paris 2023: CP-AP07