Abstract
Background: The body of research on field based player-surface interaction consists of some contradictory findings and the comparison of male and female physiological responses on different surfaces is limited. Objective: The study investigates the influence of surface properties on sprint running before and after completing a muscle fatiguing intervention. Methodology: Muscle activity was recorded using surface electromyography (EMG). The vastus medialis (VM), biceps femoris (BF), medial head of the gastrocnemius (MG), and the tibialis anterior (TA) sites were selected for analysis. The mechanical properties (MPs) of each field were shown to be different using ASTM F-3189 protocol. Results: A statistically significant three-way repeated measures ANOVA interaction between field properties, sprint trial and muscle groups was determined, F(3,36) = 10.82, p = .006, ηρ2 = .474. Further analyses revealed an interaction effect between field properties and sprint trial, F(1,12) = 26.57, p = .001, ηρ2 = .689, between muscle groups and field properties F(1,12) = 8.78, p = .012, ηρ2 = .422 and between muscle group and sprint trial F(1,12) = 7.29, p = .019, ηρ2 = .378. In addition, pre-intervention mean sprint time was less on the field possessing more energy return by 9.1%. Post-intervention sprint test results show a significant difference for BF peak muscle activity on the field displaying greater force attenuation. Conclusion: Both pre and post intervention sprint results suggest time-dependent properties associated with a sport field could potentially influence muscle activation patterns differently for males and females.
Highlights
Each time the foot contacts the ground during a competitive event the mechanical properties (MPs) of the playing surface has the potential to influence both biomechanical measures and physiological responses
The vastus medialis (VM), biceps femoris (BF), medial head of the gastrocnemius (MG), and the tibialis anterior (TA) sites were selected for analysis
Four digital (120 fps@1080 p) cameras (Hero4, GoPro, San Mateo, CA, USA) were positioned in the same location for each data collection session to record the agility course and two cameras were positioned perpendicular to the start and finish lines to record the 30-m sprint trials
Summary
Each time the foot contacts the ground during a competitive event the MPs of the playing surface has the potential to influence both biomechanical measures and physiological responses. Classifying sport surfaces based on type or composition must be reconsidered because it has been shown that synthetic turf systems or natural grass fields do not always demonstrate the same mechanical parameters from either an intra-classification or inter-classification perspective This is supported by the findings from recent studies, which examined random samples of synthetic turf fields, quantified differences for selected properties when compared across samples (Sanchez-Sanchez et al, 2018; Villacanas et al, 2017; Sanchez-Sanchez et al, 2016; Sanchez-Sanchez et al, 2014a). Conclusion: Both pre and post intervention sprint results suggest timedependent properties associated with a sport field could potentially influence muscle activation patterns differently for males and females
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