Context: Figure skating requires power and stability for take-off and landing from multi-rotational jumps and various on-ice skills. Repetitive forces may cause overuse injuries distally making lumbopelvic-hip endurance, strength, and neuromuscular control imperative. Objective: The purpose was to compare lumbopelvic-hip endurance and neuromuscular control in elite figure skaters between sex and limbs using common screening tests. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. Participants: Forty elite figure skaters (23.2±4.3 years, 169.1±12.2 cm, 20F, 40R landing limb) performed the Y-balance test, single leg squat (SLS), single leg squat jump (SLSJ), and unilateral hip bridge endurance test. Main Outcome Measures: Normalized reach difference (% of leg length) and composite scores (((Anterior + Posteromedial + Posterolateral)/Limb length x 3) x100) were calculated for Y-balance test. Skaters held the unilateral hip bridge until failure with a maximum allotted time of 120s. Participants performed 5 SLS and SLSJ, barefooted with the contralateral limb held behind them to mimic a landing position. Both tests were scored by the number of times the patella moved medially to the first ray (medial knee displacement (MKD)). MANOVA with post-hoc independent t-tests were performed between groups and sex. Paired t-tests were used to analyze limb differences. Results: Females had a larger composite Y-balance score (R:+10.8, p=.002; L:+10.5, p=.001) and hip bridge hold time (R:+26.4 sec, p=.004; L:+28.2 sec, p=.002) on both limbs compared to males. Males held the hip bridge longer on their landing limb. During the SLS and SLSJ, 6 skaters performed worse on their non-landing limb during the SLS, and 11 skaters had no MKD with either test. Conclusions: Females performed better on the Y-balance and unilateral hip bridge tests. Increased MKD for some skaters in the SLS and SLSJ may indicate hip abductor weaknesses. Understanding proximal lumbopelvic-hip variables during take-off and landing may elucidate contributing factors to distal overuse injuries.
Context Figure skating requires power and stability for takeoff and landing from multirotational jumps and various on-ice skills. Repetitive forces may cause overuse injuries distally, making lumbopelvic-hip endurance, strength, and neuromuscular control imperative. Objective To compare lumbopelvic-hip endurance and neuromuscular control in elite figure skaters between sexes and landing and nonlanding limbs using common screening tests. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. Patients or Other Participants Forty elite figure skaters (20 women, 20 men; age = 23.2 ± 4.3 years) performed the Y-balance test, single-legged squat (SLS), single-legged squat jump (SLSJ), and unilateral hip-bridge endurance test (40 right [R] landing limbs, length = 169.1 ± 12.2 cm). Main Outcome Measure(s) Normalized reach difference (% of leg length) and composite scores [(anterior + posteromedial + posterolateral)/(limb length × 3) × 100] were calculated for the Y-balance test. Skaters held the unilateral hip bridge until failure with a maximum allotted time of 120 seconds. They performed 5 SLSs and 5 SLSJs while barefoot with the contralateral limb held behind them to mimic a landing position. Both tests were scored by the number of times the patella moved medially to the first ray (medial knee displacement [MKD]). Multivariate analyses of variance with post hoc independent t tests were conducted between sexes and groups. Paired t tests were used to analyze limb differences. Results Women had a larger composite Y-balance score (R = 10.8% of leg length, P = .002; left = 10.5%, P = .001) and hip-bridge hold time (R = 26.4 seconds, P = .004; left = 28.2 seconds, P = .002) for both limbs compared with men. Men held the hip-bridge longer on their landing limb. Six skaters performed worse on their nonlanding limb during the SLS, and 11 skaters had no MKD with either the SLS or SLSJ. Conclusions Women performed better on the Y-balance and unilateral hip bridge tests. Increased MKD for some skaters during the SLS and SLSJ may have indicated hip-abductor weakness. Understanding the proximal lumbopelvic-hip variables during takeoff and landing may elucidate contributing factors to distal overuse injuries.
The use of wearable technology may provide useful insight to training using live feedback, and the use of multiple devices may provide a more comprehensive view of training differences. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of wearable technology in determining performance variables in endurance runners while running against varying levels of wind resistance. METHODS: 10 trained endurance runners (4 females, 6 males) were recruited for this study and were currently running at least 120 min/week for the past 3 months. Participants completed 2 sessions: preliminary testing included a VO2peak protocol, the test session involved a 20-min run at 70% VO2peak. The 20 minutes was divided into 10 min of no wind resistance (W0), and 10 min with a wind resistance of 10 mph (W10). Both sessions were performed at least 2 hours fasted, at the same time of day, and following the same dietary intake prior to each session. Power was calculated using a power meter, and muscle load (ML) of the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings were measured using EMG sensor-embedded compression shorts. HR was monitored via HR monitor. RER, VO2 were monitored using a metabolic cart. The middle 5 minutes were analyzed for session means to avoid non steady-state measures associated with beginning exercise and anticipation of completion. Paired t-tests were used to compare differences between wind resistances for all variables. Pearson correlations were conducted between power and ML for each segment. Significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between ML, RER, HR, or VO2 (p>0.119) between segments. There was a significant difference for power, with W10 greater than W0 (334.4±62.9 vs. 349.1±69.7 W; p=0.002). There were also strong correlations for power and ML for W0 (r =0.727; p=0.017) and a trend in W10 (r=0.630; p=0.051). CONCLUSIONS: The significant differences observed in power indicates the use for a power meter to differentiate between wind resistance. Additionally, there appears to be a significant correlation between power and ML, despite no significant changes in ML. These results suggest the combination of these two wearables may help determine changes in performance metrics in fluctuating conditions that can influence the physiological toll in a runner.
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