Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to compare the validity of the take-off velocity method (TOV) measured with a force platform (FP) (gold standard) versus the flight time method (FT) in a vertical jump to measure jumping performance or neuromuscular fatigue-overload in professional female football players. For this purpose, we used a FP and a validated smartphone application (APP). A total of eight healthy professional female football players (aged 27.25 ± 6.48 years) participated in this study. All performed three valid trials of a countermovement jump and squat jump and were measured at the same time with the APP and the FP. The results show that there is a lack of validity and reliability between jump height (JH) calculated through the TOV method with the FP and the FT method with the FP (r = 0.028, p > 0.84, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = −0.026) and between the JH measured with the FP through the TOV method and the APP with the FT method (r = 0.116, p > 0.43, ICC = −0.094 (−0.314–0.157)). A significant difference between the JH measured through the TOV with the FP versus the APP (p < 0.05), and a trend between the JH obtained with the FP through the TOV and the FT (p = 0.052) is also shown. Finally, the JH with the FP through the FT and the APP did not differ (p > 0.05). The eta-squared of the one-way ANOVA was η2 = 0.085. It seems that only the TOV measured with a FP could guarantee the accuracy of the jump test in SJ+CMJ and SJ, so it is recommended that high-level sportswomen and men should be assessed with the FP through TOV as gold standard technology to ensure correct performance and/or fatigue-overload control during the sport season.
Highlights
The vertical jump (VJ) is one of the most widely used performance tests
Several researchers have found that counter movement jump (CMJ) performance is an interesting objective marker of fatigue and overcompensation for athlete performance [9], being one of the factors related to the high incidence of injuries in the lower limb muscles [10,11]
The results of the present study showed that in female professional soccer players, there is a lack of validity and reliability between jump height (JH) in squat jump (SJ) + CMJ and SJ calculated with the take-off velocity method (TOV) method versus the flight time method (FT)
Summary
The vertical jump (VJ) is one of the most widely used performance tests. Its popularity is due both to its simplicity and effectiveness [1], and to the similarity between its movement patterns and sports, explosiveness, speed, and intensity [2,3]. It is estimated that the CMJ value can be up to 25% higher than the SJ in athletes [8] Their performance has been used to: (1) monitor the positive effects of strength, plyometric, resistance, and speed training; and (2) control mechanical and neuromuscular fatigue status in individual and team sports [9]. A relationship has been observed between height loss in the CMJ and metabolic markers such as lactate or ammonium in the sprint [12], and after a Wingate test [13] This suggests that through decreases in the CMJ’s mechanical variables such as jump height (JH), it should be possible to estimate the metabolic stress, neuromuscular fatigue, and overload of the subject [5,12,14]
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