Investigating the Constrained Action Hypothesis: A Movement Coordination and Coordination Variability Approach

Vidal, Anthony; Wu, Will; Nakajima, Mimi; Becker, James

doi:10.1080/00222895.2017.1371111

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…After determining the coupling angles, we quantified intraparticipant coordination variability for each of the examined joint couplings by calculating the coupling-angle variability (CAV) 26 across each participant's DVJ trials (see Appendix). The CAV was interpreted as the variation in participants' landing strategies for each of the examined couplings; specifically, this quantified how variable each joint's angular motion was relative to the other in a given coupling across iterations of the DVJ task.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sport Specialization and Coordination Differences in Multisport Adolescent Female Basketball, Soccer, and Volleyball Athletes

DiCesare

Montalvo

Foss

et al. 2019

Journal of Athletic Training

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Context Early sport specialization, or the participation in 1 sport year-round to the exclusion of all others, is a growing concern in youth athletics because of its possible association with musculoskeletal injury. The underlying injury risk may be the result of coordination differences that sport-specialized athletes have been speculated to exhibit relative to multisport athletes; however, little evidence exists to support or refute this notion. Objective To examine relative hip- and knee-joint angular-motion variability among adolescent sport-specialized and multisport female adolescent athletes to determine how sport specialization may affect coordination. Design Cohort study. Setting Research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants A total of 366 sport-specialized and 366 multisport adolescent female basketball, soccer, and volleyball players. Intervention(s) Drop–vertical-jump (DVJ) assessment. Main Outcome Measure(s) Average coupling-angle variability (CAV) for hip flexion and knee flexion, knee flexion and ankle flexion, hip flexion and knee abduction, knee flexion and knee abduction, knee flexion and knee internal rotation, and knee abduction and knee internal rotation. Results The sport-specialized group exhibited increased coupling variability in dominant-limb hip flexion and knee flexion (P = .015), knee flexion and knee abduction (P = .014), and knee flexion and knee internal rotation (P = .048) while landing during the DVJ, although they had small effect sizes (η2 = 0.010, 0.010, and 0.007, respectively). No differences were present between groups for any of the other CAV measures of the dominant limb, and no differences were found for any CAV measures of the nondominant limb (all P values > .05). Conclusions Sport specialization was associated with increased variability of critical hip- and knee-joint couplings responsible for effective landing during the DVJ. Altered coordination strategies that involve the hip and knee joints may underlie unstable landings, inefficient force-absorption strategies, or greater contact forces that can place the lower extremities at risk for injury (or a combination of these).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sport Specialization and Coordination Differences in Multisport Adolescent Female Basketball, Soccer, and Volleyball Athletes

DiCesare

Montalvo

Foss

et al. 2019

Journal of Athletic Training

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“…The purpose of this study was to examine whether an individually tailored external FOA enhanced standing long jump (SLJ) performance. In an extension of previous investigations demonstrating the benefits of external FOA on motor performance, 6,7,15,18 we sought to determine if a fine-grain manipulation of an external target (i.e., distance effect) increased jump distances. Consistent with the attainability perspective proposed by Coker, 15 we hypothesized that both external targets (Tmax and Tmax+10) would result in greater jump distances than a control (Tno) condition with Tmax+10 resulting in the farthest jump distances.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5 Increased jump distances were also found in a standing long jump (SLJ) task when focusing on an external visual target rather than on rapid knee extension. 6,7 Collectively, an external FOA promotes enhanced task outcomes for both balance and high-power jumping activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of attainability and external focus of attention on standing long jump performance

Power

2021

BJMB

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BACKGROUND: External focus of attention (FOA) promotes enhanced performance and learning in comparison to internal FOA; however, several dimensions associated with external FOA appear to have varying influence on motor skill performance. AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an attainability aspect of external FOA elicits enhanced standing long jump performance. METHOD: Fifteen healthy males performed standing long jumps in the following conditions: without a visual target (Tno), target placed at maximum distance (Tmax), and a target placed 10% beyond maximum distance (Tmax+10). Jump distances were measured, and kinetic data were recorded using a force platform. RESULTS: One-way ANOVA showed significantly greater jump distances for Tmax+10 compared to Tno and Tmax (p < 0.01). Additionally, the impulse of the ground reaction force (GRFimpulse) in the anterior-posterior direction was significantly greater for Tmax and Tmax+10 compared to Tno (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Thus, an external FOA tailored to individual ability benefits standing long jump performance. Overall, the findings support the approach of adopting an external FOA with an emphasis on targets that are specific to the individual and based on attainability.

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“…Most recently, Vidal et al (2018) investigated the constrained action hypothesis using a standing long jump task with internal and external focus instructions. As expect, participants given an external focus of attention jumped significantly further than those given an internal focus instruction.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Attentional Focus Strategies in Weightlifting

Neumann

2019

Front. Sports Act. Living

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The way an athlete focuses their attention when lifting a weight has the potential to influence strength development during training and performance outcomes during competition. The effects of attentional focus strategies during weightlifting tasks was investigated through a systematic review. Major databases (SportDISCUS, PsycINFO, Scopus) were searched using key terms relevant to attentional focus and weightlifting and reference lists of identified articles were also searched. Following screening, 16 articles were retained for analysis. The review showed that researchers have recruited experienced and novice weightlifters of both genders in their studies, although male experienced weightlifters are the most commonly studied demographic. Weightlifting tasks have varied from bench press, biceps curls, squats, and leg extensions with some studies using measures of force production against a force plate. The predominant manipulations have been between internal-associative and external-associative foci. An external attentional focus has shown to be beneficial in terms of movement economy as reflected in a variety of outcome measures. The results are interpreted within the framework provided by the Constrained Action Hypothesis and more generally the advantages of an external attentional focus for motor skill learning. An external focus of attention promotes automatic control of actions, thus preventing the motor system being constrained by conscious cognitive control. Implications for informing training programs for athletes and for advising athletes to maximize performance during competition are discussed.

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Investigating the Constrained Action Hypothesis: A Movement Coordination and Coordination Variability Approach

Cited by 19 publications

References 27 publications

Sport Specialization and Coordination Differences in Multisport Adolescent Female Basketball, Soccer, and Volleyball Athletes

Sport Specialization and Coordination Differences in Multisport Adolescent Female Basketball, Soccer, and Volleyball Athletes

The role of attainability and external focus of attention on standing long jump performance

A Systematic Review of Attentional Focus Strategies in Weightlifting

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