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Abstract
COVID-19 athletes reported persistent and residual symptoms many weeks after initial infection, including cough, fatigue, and neuromuscular disorders. Poor neuromuscular control may cause inefficient movement strategies increasing anterior cruciate ligament load. This is particularly relevant in female athletes, who show a 3-time higher risk than male counterparts. Aim is to evaluate the impairment in thigh muscles activation, body composition, and physical performance after COVID-19 in volleyball athletes. We recruited a cohort of female professional players from the same team. We assessed the pre-activation time of Rectus Femoris (RF), Vastus Medialis (VM), Medial Hamstring (MH), and Lateral Hamstring (LH) before (T0) and after (T1) COVID-19 infection, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and jump tests. We included 12 athletes with COVID-19 infection diagnosis in January 2021. At T1 we found a significant (p < 0.05) delay (ms) of the activation time of RF (426 ± 188 vs. 152 ± 106); VM (363 ± 192 vs. 140 ± 96); BF (229 ± 60 vs. 150 ± 63); MH (231 ± 88 vs. 203 ± 89), and a significant reduction of body composition at BIA. The neuromotor imbalance of the knee stabilizer muscle in female athletes after COVID-19 infection determines a deficit of knee stabilization. Physicians should consider neuromuscular and metabolic sequelae to identify athletes at higher risk of injury and set up specific neuromuscular rehabilitation protocols.
Highlights
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is one of the most frequent and significant sport related diseases, with a high prevalence in young and active individuals [1]
Considering theisolated pre-activation timeParacetamol administered as primary outcome, the minimum and they were for 25 days
(32.04 ± 5.13 vs. 31.25 ± 4.67 cm; p = 0.140) after COVID-19. This retrospective study investigated the effects of COVID-19 infection on neuromuscular activation pattern of the knee stabilizer muscle in professional volleyball female players
Summary
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is one of the most frequent and significant sport related diseases, with a high prevalence in young and active individuals [1]. The insufficient neuromuscular control during dynamic movements is considered the main risk factor for ACL injury in athletes [5], with a consequent motion asymmetry and inefficient movement strategies [6] This factor is relevant in female subjects, showing typical muscular recruitment characteristics such as the preferential recruitment of the quadriceps over the hamstrings, the shorter quadriceps latency periods and an unbalanced quadriceps-to-hamstrings strength ratio [7,8,9,10]. In this context, Hewett et al [11] highlighted the importance of a dynamic neuromuscular control of the knee to prevent ACL injuries. On the other hand, when the system is altered, the preparatory contraction of the thigh muscles might stiffen the knee joint [7,12,13,14]
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