Repeat sprint fatigue and altered neuromuscular performance in recreationally trained basketball players

Abstract

The primary aim of the present study was to investigate how the fatigue induced through a repeat sprint protocol acutely affected different measures of neuromuscular performance. Recreationally trained basketball players (n = 25) volunteered to participate in the study, and performed three countermovement jumps (CMJ), as well as three drop jumps (DJ) prior to a fatiguing repeat sprint protocol. These procedures were repeated two minutes, and 15 minutes, following the protocol. Various force-time metrics were extracted from the jump tasks, and linear mixed models with subject ID as the random factor, and time as the fixed factor were used to investigate changes across the three time points. To account for the performance during the repeat sprint protocol, a second, two factor model was performed with time and repeat sprint ability (RSA) as the fixed factors. Study results indicated that the sample as a whole merely experienced fatigue-induced decreases in jump height from pre-repeat sprint ability protocol (pre-RSA) within the CMJ compared to two minutes post-repeat sprint ability protocol (post-RSA1) and 15 minutes post-repeat sprint ability protocol (post-RSA2), while jump height within the DJ was only significantly different from pre-RSA at post-RSA1. Further, despite the implementation of the fatiguing RSA protocol, over the course of the three time-points, participants seemed to perform the two jump tasks more efficiently, seen through significantly lower contraction times, greater eccentric (ECC) peak power, and greater ECC mean deceleration force within the CMJ following the RSA task. The two-factor model revealed that several significant time*RSA interactions were found for metrics such as ECC peak velocity and peak power in the CMJ, as well as reactive strength index in the DJ. This suggests that the level of RSA influenced changes across CMJ and DJ characteristics and should be accounted for when interpreting fatigue-induced changes in neuromuscular performance.

Investigating the stretch-shortening cycle fatigue response to a high-intensity stressful phase of training in collegiate men's basketball

“…Yoshida et al recently showed that at 6 h following basketball-related high-intensity exercises, moderate to large performance decrements in peak force, flight-time:contraction-time, as well as positive impulse, unweighting impulse, eccentric rate of force development and duration, when compared to baseline ( 41 ). Metrics such as JH or peak power have been shown to be sensitive to fatigue or sport-specific training exposure at timepoints closer to the commencement of the fatiguing activity ( 4 , 24 ). Others have reported opposite or conflicting findings when looking at traditional or outcome-based metrics such as JH ( 4 , 42 , 43 ).…”

“…Similarly, in response to NMF through training and game performance in female basketball players, Spiteri et al proposed that jump height remained relatively unchanged, while jump duration increased, highlighting that flight-time:contraction-time may be a metric suited to study fatigue ( 22 ). On the other hand, others have proposed jump height to be sensitive to acute levels of fatigue ( 23 , 24 ). Further, Spencer et al recently aimed to explain maintenance in jump height following soccer competition through decreases in jump momentum, induced by acute reductions in body weight, which should be factored in when interpreting the acute fatigue response using vertical jump tasks ( 25 ).…”

Fatigue Index, Haemoglobin Level and Physical Fitness: A Correlation Analysis Study

“…High physical activity will affect the level of physical fatigue. A person with high physical activity will indirectly be easier to level of fatigue, especially physical fatigue (Philipp et al, 2023). Fatigue in sports reduces or weakens a person's ability to perform physical activity.…”

Recovery Methods in Basketball: A Systematic Review

“…Although it is challenging to specify the exact contribution of each energy source due to different playing styles, it is well-accepted that basketball players primarily rely on the anaerobic metabolism to satisfy on-court competitive demands [1,3,7,9]. Possessing an adequate level of anaerobic power is of critical importance to satisfy the need for rapid force production over a short period of time, when performing repetitive acceleration, deceleration, change in direction, and jumping movements [9][10][11][12]. On the other hand, aerobic capacity is needed to sustain repeated short bouts of high-intensity exercise during the entire game, including both offensive and defensive actions [9].…”

“…The countermovement vertical jump is a commonly used testing modality to assess neuromuscular performance and a level of fatigue in sportspecific settings [36,37]. When performed on innovative force plate systems that allow for rapid data analysis, a plethora of performance metrics can be obtained, focused on examining both eccentric and concentric phases of the movement [11,12,[36][37][38][39]. Besides solely being focused on examining jump height as an outcome metric, a detailed examination of force-time variables (e.g., peak concentric force, breaking phase duration, countermovement depth) may help practitioners monitor and quantify recovery-fatigue neuromuscular changes in basketball players to a greater extent [36,37,40].…”