The epidemiology of injuries in female soccer has been studied extensively in several national leagues. Even so, data on the first division Spanish league are limited. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of the first division of the Spanish Women’s Soccer League and to analyze data in relation to game position, circumstance, or the moment of injury. Fifteen teams and 123 players participated in the study. Players’ characteristics and their injuries (location, type, diagnosis, circumstance, and moment) were collected. Injuries were described by their frequencies (number and percentage) and incidence rates (IR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Lower limb injuries accounted for 86.8% of total injuries. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus injuries occurred in totality in non-contact circumstance (0.35/1000 h; 95% CI, 0.18 to 0.62 and 0.23/1000 h; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.45, respectively). Match injury IRs (19.02/1000 h; 95% CI, 14.89 to 23.97) were significantly higher than training (1.70/1000 h; 95% CI, 1.27 to 2.22). As a conclusion, structures such as the ACL or meniscus are most commonly injured in the non-contact circumstance in the first division of the Spanish Women’s Soccer League. In addition, match situations involve a greater risk of injury than training, increasing the risk to the ankle and knee injuries as the season progresses.
Martín-San Agustín, R, Medina-Mirapeix, F, Alakhdar, Y, and Benítez-Martínez, JC. Sex differences in the velocity of muscle contraction of the hamstring and quadriceps among recreationally active young adults. J Strength Cond Res 33(5): 1252–1257, 2019—This study determines sex differences in the velocity of contraction (VC) of 5 isolated muscles (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, rectus femoris, vastus medialis, and vastus lateralis) and in the relationships between them. Thirty-six female and 34 male recreationally active young adults participated in the study. The VC was measured by tensiomyography using normalized response velocity (Vrn) to perform comparisons. Sex comparisons were adjusted by height and mass. The study of relationships was carried out by comparing and calculating means and ratios. Sex differences were observed in the VC of rectus femoris (mean difference = 6.20 mm·s−1; p < 0.001). Conversely, the biceps femoris only showed sex differences in the unadjusted analysis (mean difference = 6.66 mm·s−1; p = 0.002; d = 0.73. Both sexes showed lower VC values of the hamstring with respect to the quadriceps. Female participants showed differences greater than 15% relative to male participants between biceps femoris and quadriceps ratios and in ratios in the hamstring. Thus, our findings in the VC ratios indicate different mechanical contractile properties between sexes in the relations between the hamstring and quadriceps. Our analysis of the VC at these muscles supposes a new possibility to establish the relationships between knee agonists and antagonists, which allow monitoring the changes in the balance of the VC among the muscle groups.
Background Fatigue influences athletic performance and can also increase the risk of injury in sports, and most of the methods to evaluate it require an additional voluntary effort. Tensiomyography (TMG), which uses electrical stimulation and a displacement sensor to evaluate muscle contraction properties of one or more muscle bellies, has emerged as a technique that can assess the presence of peripheral and central fatigue without requiring additional voluntary efforts. However, the evaluation of the TMG’s ability to detect fatigue is limited, both at the level of muscle bellies and statistical methods. Thus, the aim of the present study was twofold: (i) to examine and compare the tensiomyographical responsiveness to quadriceps femoris (QF) fatigue by multiple statistical methods and (ii) to analyze sex differences in the variation produced by fatigue in TMG parameters. Methods Thirty-nine recreational athletes participated (19 males/20 females; aged 22 ± 2 years). TMG parameters of QF bellies and maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) were measured before and after a fatigue protocol. TMG parameters used were maximum radial deformation (Dm), contraction time between 10–90% of the Dm (Tc), contraction velocity between 10–90% (Vc) and of the first 10% (V10) of the Dm. Internal responsiveness of TMG to fatigue was analyzed by paired t-test and standardized response mean (SRM). External responsiveness was examined by correlations, regression models, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results All TMG parameters, except for Tc of rectus femoris and vastus medialis, showed large internal responsiveness. In adjusted regression models by sex, only Dm and V10 of rectus femoris were statistically associated (p < 0.05) with b coefficients of 0.40 and 0.43, respectively. r2 explained the 22% of the total variance. In addition, these parameters could discriminate between QF with and without fatigue. Conclusion Since the QF is the main strength contributor during multiple physical activities, clinicians and trainers will be able to discriminate the presence of fatigue and the magnitude of changes in the QF strength by TMG evaluation.
Background and Objectives: Within the clinical evaluation of multiple pathologies of the lower limb, the measurement of range of motion (ROM) of its joints is fundamental. To this end, there are various tools, from the goniometer as a reference to more recent devices such as inclinometry-based applications, photo capture applications, or motion capture systems. This study aimed to assess the validity, intra-rater, and inter-rater reliability of the VeloFlex system (VS), which is a new camera-based tool designed for tracking joint trajectories and measuring joint ROM. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five healthy volunteers (16 females; aged 18–61 years) participated in this study. All participants were assessed on two separate occasions, one week apart. During the first assessment session, measurements were obtained using a goniometer and the VS, whereas, in the second session, only the VS was used. In each assessment session, nine active movements were examined. For each movement, three trials were tested, and the mean of these three measures was used for analysis. To evaluate the concurrent validity and agreement, the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and Bland-Altmann plots were used. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability were evaluated using intra-class correlation (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM), and minimal detectable change (MDC). Results: Both devices showed excellent correlations for all movements (r ranged from 0.992 to 0.999). The intra-rater reliability of the VS was excellent (ICC ranged from 0.93 to 0.99), SEMs ranged from 0.53% to 2.61% and the MDC ranged from 0.68° to 3.26°. The inter-rater reliability of the VS was also excellent (ICC ranged from 0.88 to 0.98), SEMs ranged from 0.81% to 4.76% and the MDC ranged from 2.27° to 4.42°. Conclusions: The VS is a valid and reliable tool for the measurement of ROM of lower limb joints in healthy subjects.
Background Inertial hamstring exercises promote functional changes leading to lower rates of hamstring injuries. However, variable training measurement systems have not been specifically validated for hamstring exercises. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the validity of the Inertial Measurement System (IMS) to measure the velocity, force, and power during the performance of different hamstring exercises on a flywheel resistance training device. Methods Fifteen males (average age: 22.4 ± 2.5 years; body mass: 77.3 ± 9.8 kg; height: 179.5 ± 7.4 cm; weekly physical activity: 434.0 ± 169.2 min; years of strength training: 4.3 ± 2.2 years) performed the bilateral stiff-leg deadlift (SDL), 45° hip extension (HE), and unilateral straight knee bridge (SKB) in two sessions (familiarization and evaluation) with a 1-week interval between them. The velocity, force, and power (average and peak values) in the concentric and eccentric phases for each of the exercises were recorded simultaneously with IMS and MuscleLab. Results Consistency between IMS and MuscleLab was good to excellent for all variables, with r ranges from 0.824 to 0.966 in SDL, from 0.822 to 0.971 in HE, and from 0.806 to 0.969 in SKB. Acceptable levels of agreement between devices were observed in general for all exercises, the “bias” ranging from 1.1% to 13.2%. Although MuscleLab showed higher values than IMS for peak velocity, force and power values, the effect size was only relevant for 5 of the 36 parameters. IMS is a new and valid system to monitor inertial hamstring exercises on a new flywheel device. In this way, IMS could have potential practical applications for any professional or athlete who wants to monitor inertial hamstring exercises.
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