Sport-specific Drills Research Articles

Return to Sports After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are one of the most common orthopedic injuries among athletes. Although a small proportion of patients with isolated tears can return to sports after completing a nonsurgical rehabilitation program, ACL reconstruction is frequently recommended for young athletes, especially those with concomitant knee injuries or symptomatic knee instability. Alongside emerging evidence for the effect of prehabilitation, the current standard of care for postoperative ACL physical therapy includes pain control, range of motion, quadriceps strengthening, weight bearing, postoperative bracing, and dynamic limb stabilization and control. The early rehabilitation period includes non-weight-bearing exercises and passive range of motion, which is followed by a longer period of gradual strengthening focused on regaining preinjury strength, proprioception, and control with progressively more demanding dynamic movements. The total rehabilitation period is expected to take around 9 months, during which the patient should be evaluated at frequent intervals by a licensed physical therapist in addition to a daily home exercise program. Prior to discharge from the rehabilitation program, patients should be evaluated by both the surgeon and physical therapist. Patients are encouraged to return to sports once they meet a set of perceptual, subjective, objective, neuromuscular, functional, sport-specific drills, and load management testing criteria.

Association between match-related physical activity profiles and playing positions in different tasks: A data driven approach

ABSTRACT Assessing the intensity characteristics of specific soccer drills (matches, small-side game, and match-based exercises) could help practitioners to plan training sessions by providing the optimal stimulus for every player. In this paper, we propose a data analytics framework to assess the neuromuscular or metabolic characteristics of a soccer-specific exercise in relation with the expected match intensity. GPS data describing the physical tasks’ external intensity during an entire season of twenty-eight semi-professional soccer players competing at the fourth Italian division were used in this study. A supervised machine-learning approach was tested in order to detect difference in playing positions in different sport-specific drills. Moreover, a non-supervised machine-learning model was used to profile the match neuromuscular and metabolic characteristics. Players’ playing positions during matches and match-based exercises are characterised by specific metabolic and neuromuscular characteristics related to tactical demands, while in the small-side game these differences are not detected. Additionally, our framework permits to evaluate if the match performance request is mirrored during training drills. Practitioners could evaluate the type of stimulus performed by a player in a specific training drill in order to assess if they reflect the matches characteristics of their specific playing position.

Levels of ACL-straining activities increased in the six months prior to non-contact ACL injury in a retrospective survey: evidence consistent with ACL fatigue failure.

Introduction: Recent evidence has emerged suggesting that a non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear can result from repetitive submaximal loading of the ligament. In other words, when the intensity of ACL-straining athletic activities is increased too rapidly, microdamage can accumulate in the ligament beyond the rate at which it can be repaired, thereby leading to material fatigue in the ligament and its eventual failure. The objective of this survey-based exploratory study was to retrospectively determine whether the levels of various athletic activities performed by ACL-injured patients significantly changed during the 6months before injury. Methods: Forty-eight ACL-injured patients completed a survey to characterize their participation in various activities (weightlifting, sport-specific drills, running, jumping, cutting, pivoting/twisting, and decelerating) at three timepoints (1week, 3months, 6months) prior to ACL injury. Activity scores, which summarized the frequency and intensity of each activity, were calculated for each patient at each time interval. A series of linear mixed-effects regression models was used to test whether there was a significant change in levels of the various activities in the 6-month period leading up to ACL injury. Results: Patients who sustained a non-contact ACL injury markedly increased their sport-specific drills activity levels in the time leading up to injury (p = 0.098), while those patients who sustained a contact ACL injury exhibited no change in this activity during the same time period (p = 0.829). Levels of running, jumping, cutting, pivoting/twisting, and decelerating increased for non-contact ACL-injured patients but decreased for contact ACL-injured patients, though not significantly (p values > 0.10). Weightlifting activity significantly decreased leading up to injury among contact ACL-injured patients (p = 0.002). Discussion: We conclude that levels of ACL-straining athletic activities or maneuvers in non-contact ACL-injured patients markedly increased in the 6months leading up to their injury, providing evidence that changing levels of certain activities or maneuvers may play a role in ACL injury risk. This warrants further investigation of the hypothesis that too rapid an increase in activities or maneuvers known to place large loads on the ACL can cause microdamage to accumulate in the ligament, thereby leading to failure.

Return to sport decisions after an acute lateral ankle sprain injury: introducing the PAASS framework—an international multidisciplinary consensus

BackgroundDespite being the most commonly incurred sports injury with a high recurrence rate, there are no guidelines to inform return to sport (RTS) decisions following acute lateral ankle sprain injuries....

Drill design using the ’control-chaos continuum’: Blending science and art during return to sport following knee injury in elite football

Establishing the level of risk, planning and adapting the return to sport (RTS) process following a complex knee injury involves drawing on a combination of relevant high-quality evidence and practitioner experience. On-pitch rehabilitation is a critical element of this process, providing an effective transition from rehabilitation to team training. The ‘control-chaos continuum’ (CCC) is an adaptable framework for on-pitch rehabilitation moving from high control to high chaos, progressively increasing running load demands and incorporating greater perceptual and neurocognitive challenges within sport-specific drills. Drills are a key element of the CCC, and are designed to ensure specificity, ecological validity and maintaining player interest. We showcase drill progression through the phases of the CCC, highlighting the use of constraints to create drills that incorporate the physical, technical, tactical and injury-specific needs of the player. We also provide recommendations to help practitioners create training session content using the CCC to help replicate the demands of team training within their own environment.

Peak Running Intensity of Elite Female Field Hockey Players During Competitive Match Play.

McGuinness, A, Passmore, D, Malone, S, and Collins, K. Peak running intensity of elite female field hockey players during competitive match play. J Strength Cond Res 36(4): 1064-1070, 2022-In recent years, backroom coaching staff have relied heavily on the global demands of competitive match-play to monitor running performance within training and match environments. Although, these figures help prepare players for the demands of match-play, they do not account for the physical and physiological stress of the most intense periods of competition. The aim of the current study was to quantify the duration and position-specific maximal running performance during match-play using a 1-10-minute moving average epoch methodology. Twenty-six (n = 26) elite international female field hockey players (23 ± 3 years; 162.6 ± 13 cm; 66 ± 6 kg) participated in the current observational study. Data were collected during 22 international games, resulting in over 360 individual samples (n = 368) being obtained for analysis. Players were categorized based on their positional lines of play (defenders, midfielders, and forwards). Variables of interest included relative total (m·min-1), high-speed (>16 km·h-1; m·min-1) and sprint distance (>20 km·h-1; m·min-1). Regardless of position, varying differences were observed between 10-minute rolling average for relative total (mod-large), high-speed (mod-large), and sprint (mod-large) distance respectively. Furthermore, as the duration of the rolling average increased, so did the observed differences (small). The forwards (119.3 ± 19.7 m·min-1) were reported to have the highest peak output during minute one for relative high-speed distance when compared with the defenders (100.7 ± 19.7, effect size [ES] 0.9, large) and the midfield (106.8 ± 23.4 m·min-1, ES 0.5, moderate). The results of the current study show that the running performance of field hockey players alters during match-play irrespective of moving average. Finally, the data will aid practitioners in the development of sport-specific drills to adequately prepare hockey players for the maximal intensity periods of elite hockey match-play.

Evaluation of a Reactive Agility Assessment Device in Youth Football Players.

Hoffman, JR. Evaluation of a reactive agility assessment device in youth football players. J Strength Cond Res 34(12): 3311-3315, 2020-The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Blazepod reactive agility device on sport-specific movements in competitive youth football players. Thirty-one male athletes (16.7 ± 1.5 years; 179.4 ± 7.0 cm; 75.0 ± 21.0 kg), all members of a youth tackle football team, volunteered to participate in this study. Subjects performed 3 reactive agility drills (side shuffle reactive agility, 1-m reactive agility, and 3-m reactive agility) at least 72 hours apart. In addition, all subjects also performed 3 traditional agility exercises: proagility, T drill, and L drill. These sessions were part of the offseason conditioning program for the football team that involved sport-specific drills. All assessments occurred following a warm-up and conducted in the same order on each occasion. To assess the validity of the reactive agility drills, the head coach was asked to rank the football playing and agility ability of the players participating in the study. The intraclass correlation coefficient values indicated that all 3 reactive agility drills displayed excellent reliability (r's ranging from 0.833 to 0.884). The measurement error was smaller than the individual variability, indicating that measurement error had a very limited effect on the results. Subjective rankings for agility significantly correlated with each of the agility and reactive agility measurements. Results of this study indicate that the Blazepod reactive agility device is a reliable measure of reactive agility performance and are consistent with the coach's perception of the athlete's agility performance, thus demonstrating construct validity.

Knee Pain And Swelling - Volleyball Player

HISTORY: An 18 year old volleyball player presented with acute swelling and pain of her right knee with associated nausea, vomiting, and subjective fevers. Aside from an abrasion beneath her knee sustained during practice 2 weeks prior, she denied inciting injury or trauma. She complained of knee tightness, but denied feelings of instability or mechanical symptoms. She denied history of skin or soft tissue infections. PHYSICAL EXAM: On initial examination, she was febrile to 102°F (38.9°C). She had notably increased warmth and erythema along the lateral aspect of her right knee with tenderness to palpation. She had evidence of a healed abrasion inferior to her right knee without an associated joint effusion. There did appear to be swelling localized to the lateral aspect of her knee. She had full range of motion of her right knee without any indication of ligamentous injury. Her gait was non-antalgic. DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS: 1. Septic prepatellar bursitis 2. Necrotizing infection (cellulitis, myositis, fasciitis) 3. Septic arthritis 4. Morel-Lavallée Lesion 5. Reactive arthritis (gonococcal, chlamydial) TESTS AND RESULTS: 1. Pertinent labs: White blood cell count 27,000 X 109/L, sodium 127 mEq/L, potassium 3.2 mEq/L 2. Blood cultures negative times 2 3. Lower extremity MRI: Extensive cellulitis and probable phlegmon in subcutaneous fat throughout the distal thigh and knee; myositis in the distal vastus lateralis muscle and biceps femoris 4. Gram stain from I&D right thigh: Positive strep pyogenes (group A) 5. Surgical findings consistent with necrotizing fasciitis. FINAL/WORKING DIAGNOSIS: Subacute necrotizing fasciitis TREATMENT AND OUTCOMES: 1. She was initially treated with broad spectrum antibiotics, subsequently tailored to culture and sensitivities. 2. She underwent three surgical explorations to assess underlying muscle and fascia, including I&D of necrotic tissue along iliotibial tract. 3. With both subjective and objective improvement, she was discharged from the hospital to complete one week of IV Ceftriaxone. 4. She was cleared to start her rehabilitation and progressed to walk/jog/jump for four weeks focusing on quadriceps strengthening. 5. After one week of non contact play and sport specific drills, she returned to full contact practice six weeks after hospital discharge.

Mood-related changes in children and adolescents with persistent concussion symptoms following a six-week active rehabilitation program

ABSTRACT Primary objective The purpose of this study is to explore changes in mood in youth with persistent post-concussion symptoms following participation in a six-week active rehabilitation program. Research design A pre-post test design was used. Methods and procedures Participants (N = 40 children and adolescents with concussion symptoms >2 weeks post-injury) were recruited from the concussion services at an urban children’s rehabilitation hospital and the community. The program consisted of individualized low-intensity aerobic exercise, sport-specific drills, relaxation exercises and comprehensive education and support. The 6 week program was completed by participants in their home or local community with weekly check-ins with the research team. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regressions. Main outcomes and results Outcome measures included the Beck Youth Inventories (youth), and the Child Behavior Checklist (parents). Results indicated significant improvements in anger and anxiety post-intervention with anger reduction being more pronounced in girls. Conclusions Active rehabilitation interventions may have positive effects on mood in youth recovering from concussion. Clinicians may wish to consider addressing anxiety and anger management strategies as part of comprehensive concussion management in youth.

Functional progression milestones following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction are more appropriate than time-based criteria: a survey among the ESSKA.

The aim of this study was to report current rehabilitation recommendations after ACL reconstruction in ESSKA community, with a particular focus on the specific criteria utilized to guide activity progression METHODS: A web-based survey was developed to investigate preferences between time-based and functional ACL reconstruction rehabilitation progression milestones of ESSKA community. Eight hundred and twenty completed questionnaires were received. Responders were from 86 different countries worldwide, 63% of them from European countries. Functional criteria were considered more appropriate to decide if a patient can start specific activities/exercises by 67% of the responders. Good core and lower extremity neuromuscular control were the most often used functional criteria for decision-making regarding readiness for sport-specific rehabilitation (66%), sport-specific drills without (65%) and with contact (66%). Strength assessed with an isokinetic dynamometer was considered by about half of the responders a determinant to initiate sport-specific drills without (51%-isokinetic strength, LSI > 80%) and with contact (58%-isokinetic strength, LSI > 85-90%). To determine readiness for sport-specific drills, hop tests were used by 40% of respondents for drills without contact and 48% of respondents for drills with contact. The results of this survey involving mainly orthopaedic surgeons indicate that functional measures are considered more appropriate than milestones based on time from surgery to guide progression through the postoperative rehabilitation process after ACLR. The main clinical relevance of this study is that updated information on collective agreement could be useful for clinicians and physiotherapists to delineate their postoperative treatments after ACLR. These results should be interpreted with caution, as this sample represents only a small portion of ESSKA community involved in knee surgery and treating patients following ACLR. III.

Analysis of Physical Demands During Youth Soccer Match-Play: Considerations of Sampling Method and Epoch Length

ABSTRACTPurpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the physical match profiles of professional soccer players using 3 and 5 min fixed and rolling averages as well as fixed 1 min averages, with considerations to training prescription. Methods: Twenty-nine professional U23 soccer outfield players competed across 17 competitive matches during the 2017/18 season, equating to a total of 130 separate physical match profiles. Match activities were recorded using global positioning system (GPS) devices with integrated micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS), recording total distance (TD), high-speed running (HSR), and metabolic power (MP). For each individual match profile and variable, 1, 3, and 5 min peak, post-peak, and average values were calculated using fixed-time epochs (FIXED) and rolling averages (ROLL). Linear mixed models were employed to examine the differences in the dependent variables as a function of the method of measurement. Results: Results revealed significantly higher peak values, for relative TD, relative HSR and relative MP when employing the ROLL sampling method, in comparison to the FIXED method, for both 3 min and 5 min epoch lengths. Analysis of epoch length revealed significantly higher peak values, across all positions, for relative TD, relative HSR and MP for 1 min epochs, in comparison to 3 min and 5 min epochs. Conclusions: The data offers a novel insight into the appropriate identification of physical demands during youth soccer match-play. Researchers and practitioners should consider the sampling method and epoch length when assessing the physical demands of competitive match-play, as well as when designing and prescribing sport-specific conditioning drills.

Tendon of Achilles (TA) Repair: “This is How I Do It”

A torn TA is a devastating injury and majority of the cases are sports-related. Several procedures have been developed over the years and these have continued to evolve.The keys to a successful outcome are still the same: A Thorough Physical ExaminationA Sound Surgical TechniqueStrong Suture MaterialA Good Physical Therapy ProgramI would like to present a method I have been using for the past twenty years. Only the post-op rehabilitation course has changed.In 2008, I drastically changed my system after surgery. The highlights are the following: Full Weight Bearing Started Immediately with a Cast BootActive Range of Motion Allowed as ToleratedStretching Exercises Started After 4 WeeksStrengthening Program Started After 6 WeeksRunning, Trampoline Exercises and Sports-Specific Drills After 3 MonthsBack to Sports After 4 Months

Validity of the Catapult ClearSky T6 Local Positioning System for Team Sports Specific Drills, in Indoor Conditions.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine the validity of position, distance traveled and instantaneous speed of team sport players as measured by a commercially available local positioning system (LPS) during indoor use. In addition, the study investigated how the placement of the field of play relative to the anchor nodes and walls of the building affected the validity of the system.Method: The LPS (Catapult ClearSky T6, Catapult Sports, Australia) and the reference system [Qualisys Oqus, Qualisys AB, Sweden, (infra-red camera system)] were installed around the field of play to capture the athletes' motion. Athletes completed five tasks, all designed to imitate team-sports movements. The same protocol was completed in two sessions, one with an assumed optimal geometrical setup of the LPS (optimal condition), and once with a sub-optimal geometrical setup of the LPS (sub-optimal condition). Raw two-dimensional position data were extracted from both the LPS and the reference system for accuracy assessment. Position, distance and speed were compared.Results: The mean difference between the LPS and reference system for all position estimations was 0.21 ± 0.13 m (n = 30,166) in the optimal setup, and 1.79 ± 7.61 m (n = 22,799) in the sub-optimal setup. The average difference in distance was below 2% for all tasks in the optimal condition, while it was below 30% in the sub-optimal condition. Instantaneous speed showed the largest differences between the LPS and reference system of all variables, both in the optimal (≥35%) and sub-optimal condition (≥74%). The differences between the LPS and reference system in instantaneous speed were speed dependent, showing increased differences with increasing speed.Discussion: Measures of position, distance, and average speed from the LPS show low errors, and can be used confidently in time-motion analyses for indoor team sports. The calculation of instantaneous speed from LPS raw data is not valid. To enhance instantaneous speed calculation the application of appropriate filtering techniques to enhance the validity of such data should be investigated. For all measures, the placement of anchor nodes and the field of play relative to the walls of the building influence LPS output to a large degree.

Speed/Agility Editorial

This Special Topic Issue for the Strength and Conditioning Journal (SCJ) is on speed and agility. Over the course of my previous athletic career (D.J.S.), I often heard sport coaches say, “You cannot teach speed.” I never thought this was true, but I did not participate in track, so I did not have a sport coach who could technically teach me how to sprint better. In addition, I never had a sport coach who was exceptional at teaching me the most effective ways to change directions. Therefore, I did what I could to run fast and make defensive plays. Once I decided to be a baseball coach, I was determined to learn as much as I could about becoming an excellent coach through my formal education and practical experiences working with other knowledgeable baseball and sports performance coaches. At that time, I became a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. By reading articles and books, watching video tapes and DVDs, going to conferences, and then, later in my career, learning from some outstanding track coaches and sports performance coaches, I truly learned how to design and teach the skills necessary to enhance an athlete's speed and agility. This special issue provides you with a collection of articles written by top practitioners in the field of strength and conditioning that will help you better prepare the athletes you train for speed and agility. In this issue, you can read 5 articles related to linear sprinting covering such topics as various resistance training methods and sprint performance, attentional focus and cues for speed development, and mechanical limitations to sprinting and biomechanical recommendations. Furthermore, you will see 3 articles related to agility, such as valid ways to measure change of direction and agility, cognitive training to enhance agility performance, and a training model for the prevention and rehabilitation of anterior cruciate ligament injury. Finally, there are 2 articles that address both speed and agility. One discusses the speed and agility needs of baseball players and makes recommendations for sport-specific drills, whereas the second article describes postactivation potentiation and linear and change of direction speed. As guest editors, Dr. Jay Dawes and I would like to thank all the authors for this issue. Moreover, we thank the individuals who reviewed each article. This work takes place behind the scenes, requires great knowledge of the topic(s), takes time to do a thorough and thoughtful review, and often goes unrecognized. Without the dedication of the authors and the reviewers to the NSCA, this issue could not have been completed. We thank Dr. Jeff Chandler, the Editor-in-Chief of the SCJ, for his guidance and support throughout the entire publication process. In addition, we thank Managing Editor Britt Chandler for editorial support and assistance. We hope that you enjoy reading the articles in this issue and hope that they help you further your knowledge and ability to train those who need to improve their speed and agility.

Hip external rotation strength predicts hop performance after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Quadriceps strength and single-leg hop performance are commonly evaluated prior to return to sport after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). However, few studies have documented potential hip strength deficits after ACLR, or ascertained the relative contribution of quadriceps and hip strength to hop performance. Patients cleared for return to sports drills after ACLR were compared to a control group. Participants' peak isometric knee extension, hip abduction, hip extension, and hip external rotation (HER) strength were measured. Participants also performed single-leg hops, timed hops, triple hops, and crossover hops. Between-limb comparisons for the ACLR to control limb and the non-operative limb were made using independent two-sample and paired sample t tests. Pearson's correlations and stepwise multiple linear regression were used to determine the relationships and predictive ability of limb strength, graft type, sex, and limb dominance to hop performance. Sixty-five subjects, 20 ACLR [11F, age 22.8 (15-45) years, 8.3±2months post-op, mass 70.47±12.95kg, height 1.71±0.08m, Tegner 5.5 (3-9)] and 45 controls [22F, age 25.8 (15-45) years, mass 74.0±15.2kg, height 1.74±0.1m, Tegner 6 (3-7)], were tested. Knee extension (4.4±1.5 vs 5.4±1.8N/kg, p=0.02), HER (1.4±0.4 vs 1.7±0.5N/kg, p=0.04), single-leg hop (146±37 vs 182±38% limb length, p<0.01), triple hop (417±106 vs 519±102% limb length, p<0.01), timed hop (3.3±2.0 vs 2.3±0.6s, p<0.01), and crossover hop (364±107 vs 446±123% limb length, p=0.01) were significantly impaired in the operative versus control subject limbs. Similar deficits existed between the operative and non-operative limbs. Knee extension and HER strength were significantly correlated with each of the hop tests, but only HER significantly predicted hop performance. After ACLR, patients have persistent HER strength, knee extension strength, and hop test deficits in the operative limb compared to the control and non-operative limbs, even after starting sport-specific drills. Importantly, HER strength independently predicted hop performance. Based on these findings, to resolve between-limb deficits in strength and hop performance clinicians should include HER strengthening exercises in post-operative rehabilitation. Prognostic Study, Level II.

Active release technique in hamstrings strain: Rehabilitation and return to play – a case study

Hamstring injuries and its rehabilitation in competitive events such as football targets safe and early return to play. This is because hamstring injuries are more related to prolonged recovery time and high rate of re-injury. In this case study, Zakeer Mundampara, 26-year-old footballer of Chennaiyin FC team (Indian super league tournament), who was rehabilitated for Grade 2 hamstring strain was briefed. To describe the importance of conservative rehabilitation in hamstring injuries and report on player's rehabilitation program and clinical outcome. Zakeer Mundampara was conservatively treated with active release technique for 2 weeks duration. Data collected includes passive knee extension test range of motion and verbal rating score. After 2 weeks of rehabilitation, Zakeer Mundampara had nearly full range of pain-free movement, normal gait and trained to run safely. By the 3rd week, he started to perform all sports specific drills. He was rehabilitated and set fit to play after 4 weeks from the date of injury. Active release technique is effective in hamstring injuries. In this case study, rehabilitation program with an emphasis on active release technique is found to be effective in returning the footballer back to play.

Footballer's knee: Postoperative rehabilitation and return to play - A case study

Rehabilitation of athlete in competitive contact sports such as football targets safe and early return to play. Accelerated rehabilitation programs are constantly updated in research literature, but they are limited to isolated ligament injuries. In this case study, rehabilitation of Dhanpal Ganesh, 24-year-old footballer of Indian National Team, who underwent right knee arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, anterolateral ligament reconstruction, iliotibial band tenodesis, lateral meniscectomy, has been outlined. To describe the characteristics of complex soft tissue injuries, operated arthroscopically, and report on player's rehabilitation program and clinical outcome. Dhanpal Ganesh was rehabilitated postoperatively up to 3 months. Data collected include a range of motion (ROM), manual muscle testing grades, and functional tests. At 8-week postoperative period, Dhanpal Ganesh had nearly full ROM, normal gait, and trained to run safely. By 10th week, he started to perform all sports specific drills. He was rehabilitated and set fit to play after 4 months from the date of surgery. Accelerated and injury-specific postoperative rehabilitation program is found to be effective in returning the footballer to sports.

The Effects of Sport-Specific Drills Training or High-Intensity Interval Training in Young Tennis Players.

To compare the effects of combining high-intensity training (HIT) and sport-specific drill training (MT) versus sportspecific drill training alone (DT) on fitness performance characteristics in young tennis players. Twenty young tennis players (14.8 ± 0.1 y) were assigned to either DT (n = 10) or MT (n = 10) for 8 wk. Tennis drills consisted of two 16- to 22-min on-court exercise sessions separated by 3 min of passive rest, while MT consisted of 1 sport-specific DT session and 1 HIT session, using 16-22 min of runs at intensities (90-95%) related to the velocity obtained in the 30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test (VIFT) separated by 3 min of passive rest. Pre- and posttests included peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), VIFT, speed (20 m, with 5- and 10-m splits), 505 Agility Test, and countermovement jump (CMJ). There were significant improvements after the training period in VO2peak (DT 2.4%, ES = moderate; MT 4.2%, ES = large) and VIFT (DT 2.2%, ES = small; MT 6.3%, ES = large) for both DT and MT, with no differences between training protocols. Results also showed a large increase in the 505 Agility Test after MT, while no changes were reported in the other tests (sprint and CMJ), either for MT or DT. Even though both training programs resulted in significant improvements in aerobic performance, a mixed program combining tennis drills and runs based on the VIFT led to greater gains and should be considered the preferred training method for improving aerobic power in young athletes.

Focal dystonia and greater occipital neuralgia secondary to post concussion syndrome in a professional hockey player.

Event Abstract Back to Event Focal dystonia and greater occipital neuralgia secondary to post concussion syndrome in a professional hockey player. Frank E. Patterson1 and Nathan D. Keiser1, 2* 1 Innova Brain Rehabilitation, United States 2 Carrick Institute of Graduate Studies, United States Objective: Demonstrate resolution of focal dystonia, greater occipital neuralgia, and post concussive symptoms following neuromuscular re-education and vestibular rehabilitation program. Clinical Features: Male subject was 25 years old with a history of four concussions since the age of 17. Most recent concussion occurred with a blind-sided hit to the right side of his head leading to his current symptomatology. Subject reported difficulties with headaches, fogginess, head pressure, fatigue, neck pain, and a long standing low back pain extending in to left buttock and the posterior compartment of the left lower extremity. He also reported a history of three surgeries for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome on his left and one on his right. Examination revealed irregular optokinetic responses (OKR), catch up saccades with rightward pursuits, abnormal eye-head saccades, a positive slump test, and decreased speed of finger-tapping test (FTT) on the right and Grade I on the left on the unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (UPDRS). Interventions and Outcomes: A five day treatment protocol was implemented incorporating vestibular rehabilitation neuromuscular re-education and sport-specific athletic drills. Marked improvement after the protocol was observed with: normalized OKR, negative slump test with mild right-sided tightness, and normalized pursuits, FTT, and eye-head saccades. The patient noted resolution of headaches, fogginess, head pressure, fatigue, neck pain, and low back pain. Conclusions: Intensive rehabilitation addressed signs and symptoms in a patient with focal dystonia of the hip extensors, as well as occipital neuralgia secondary to post concussion syndrome. The subject demonstrated significant improvements subjectively and objectively after five days of therapy. Further investigation may establish a therapeutic approach for other individuals with greater occipital neuralgia, focal dystonia and/or post-concussion syndrome. Key Words: Post concussion syndrome, PCS, vestibular rehabilitation, neuromuscular re-education, dystonia, greater occipital neuralgia, femoroacetabular impingement, hip impingement. Keywords: Post concussion syndrome, PCS, Vestibular Rehabilitation, Neuromuscular re-education, Dystonia, Greater occipital neuralgia, Femoroacetabular impingement, hip impingement. Conference: International Symposium on Clinical Neuroscience: Clinical Neuroscience for Optimization of Human Function, Orlando, United States, 7 Oct - 9 Oct, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Abstracts ISCN 2016 Citation: Patterson FE and Keiser ND (2016). Focal dystonia and greater occipital neuralgia secondary to post concussion syndrome in a professional hockey player.. Front. Neurol. Conference Abstract: International Symposium on Clinical Neuroscience: Clinical Neuroscience for Optimization of Human Function. doi: 10.3389/conf.fneur.2016.59.00089 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 02 Sep 2016; Published Online: 07 Sep 2016. * Correspondence: Dr. Nathan D Keiser, Innova Brain Rehabilitation, Marietta, Georgia, United States, dockeiser@gmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Frank E Patterson Nathan D Keiser Google Frank E Patterson Nathan D Keiser Google Scholar Frank E Patterson Nathan D Keiser PubMed Frank E Patterson Nathan D Keiser Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Development of Aerobic Fitness in Young Team Sport Athletes.

The importance of a high level of aerobic fitness for team sport players is well known. Previous research suggests that aerobic fitness can be effectively increased in adults using traditional aerobic conditioning methods, including high-intensity interval and moderate-intensity continuous training, or more recent game-based conditioning that involves movement and skill-specific tasks, e.g. small-sided games. However, aerobic fitness training for youth team sport players has received limited attention and is likely to differ from that for adults due to changes in maturation. Given young athletes experience different rates of maturation and technical skill development, the most appropriate aerobic fitness training modes and loading parameters are likely to be specific to the developmental stage of a player. Therefore, we analysed studies that investigated exercise protocols to enhance aerobic fitness in young athletes, relative to growth and maturation, to determine current best practice and limitations. Findings were subsequently used to guide an evidence-based model for aerobic fitness development. During the sampling stage (exploration of multiple sports), regular participation in moderate-intensity aerobic fitness training, integrated into sport-specific drills, activities and skill-based games, is recommended. During the specialisation stage (increased commitment to a chosen sport), high-intensity small-sided games should be prioritised to provide the simultaneous development of aerobic fitness and technical skills. Once players enter the investment stage (pursuit of proficiency in a chosen sport), a combination of small-sided games and high-intensity interval training is recommended.