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PERFORMANCE GAINS IN RELAY SWIMMING (PART I): THE RELAY START BENEFIT COMPONENT
Get PDFThe present study aimed to detect statistical differences in the start performance between relay and individual races accounting for gender and relay start techniques. Race data of relay races and corresponding individual races from European Championships (2019) were analysed. Linear mixed models for repeated measures were applied to compare the differences in the 15 m start times (after toe-off) between relay and individual races accounting for gender and relay start techniques. The results revealed a small time benefit for step-starts over no-step starts in the freestyle races. Furthermore, depending on techniques, male butterfly swimmers showed more pronounced differences in their start performance as compared to female swimmers. However, no statistical differences were found in breaststroke races for either gender or relay start technique. The findings of the present study may improve coaches\u27 and swimmers\u27 understanding of the downsides and benefits of different relay starts. Based on results, we suggest that, at least for freestyle relays, a step-start should be the relay start technique of choice
THE DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PLANTAR PRESSURE IN THREE TYPICAL BADMINTON FOOTWORK PATTERNS
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to investigate the dynamic characteristics of plantar pressure in the three-badminton footwork patterns (left-forward lunging step, LFLS, right-forward lunging step, RFLS, backward revolve to jump, BRJ). Twelve elite national-level male badminton athletes were recruited while performing the three typical footwork patterns tests in a laboratory-simulated badminton court. The results of the present study demonstrate that the normalized mean peak pressures (MPP) were significantly higher under the hallux and the 1st to 2nd metatarsals than other areas in the toe-off (TO) phase when performing the three footwork patterns. In the process of touching down (TD), both LFLS and RFLS showed significantly higher loads on the rearfoot and the lateral of the foot. Thus, the badminton players should be paying attention to modulating the load strategies on the front-foot, rear-foot, and lateral of the foot regions when performing the different footwork patterns, and select the appropriate footwear that can disperse the higher loads of the target areas to avoid excessive concentration of the plantar pressures
ESTIMATION OF LOWER LIMB KINETICS FROM LANDMARKS DURING SIDESTEPPING VIA ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to determine the validity of kinetics estimated from 3D coordinates of landmarks during sidestepping by artificial neural networks (ANN). 71 male college professional soccer athletes performed sidestepping with two directions (left and right) and two cutting angles (45° and 90°) 3times for every task, totally 12 times. Coordinates of reflective markers, ground reaction forces (GRF) and lower limb joint moments were measured. All 18 body landmarks such as joints center were obtained by reflective markers as inputs to estimate GRF and lower joint moments in the ANN whose type was multilayer perceptron. The most of kinetics estimated by ANN showed strong correlation(r\u3e0.9) with measured results. Just few kinetic curves of ANN existed significant differences in a few time points compared to measured results. ANN could accurately estimate kinetics from the coordinates of body landmarks druing sidestepping
IMPLEMENTATION OF AN ADVANCED OPERATING ROOM SCHEDULE TO INCREASE COMPLIANCE WITH CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR PREOPERATIVE ANTIBIOTIC SELECTION AND TIMING: A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
Get PDFSurgical site infection (SSI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in operative patients worldwide. The American Society for Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) published the most recent clinical practice guidelines for antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgery. These guidelines are based upon the available evidence and provide a standardized approach for the safe and effective selection, dosing, and administration of antibiotics for the prevention of SSI (Bratzler et al., 2013). This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project aimed to determine if incorporating an advanced operating room (OR) schedule, inclusive of ASHP presurgical antibiotics, increased compliance with ASHP standards of antibiotic selection and antibiotic timing. A retrospective pre-post design was used for this study; data were collected between December 1, 2021, and February 28, 2022, and the sample included 829 patients. No significant change to ASHP compliance was seen in antibiotic selection (p = 0.4776) or antibiotic timing (p = 0.8058) with the advanced OR schedule
Concussion and Mental Health: Case Series
Get PDFConcussion is the most common traumatic brain injury in the United States, and is thought to lead to adverse effects on mental health. No studies to date have examined mental health throughout concussion recovery. This project examined the effect of concussion on three aspects of mental health: anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale), depression (Beck’s Depression Inventory), and aggression, (Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire) at three time points (baseline, mid-season, and postseason) and if the athlete had a concussion, they completed the questionnaire once upon diagnosis, bi-weekly until return-to-play, and bi-weekly for two weeks after being cleared for participation. Each concussion showed an initial increase and then decrease in mental health symptoms throughout recovery. Additionally, a total of six athletes who participated in this research (baseline, midseason and postseason) sought mental health treatment as a result of this project. This research shows a need for the tracking of mental health symptoms for both concussed and non-concussed athletes throughout the competition season. Administration of these mental health questionnaires is a practice that could be integrated into multiple sports, and allow for athletic trainers and other sports medicine professionals to ensure the best possible mental and physical health care for athletes
PREDICTING GROUND REACTION FORCES FROM 2D VIDEO: BRIDGING THE LAB TO FIELD NEXUS
Get PDFThe accurate measurement of ground reaction forces (GRFs) is confined to laboratory-based settings. This poses an ongoing problem for sports biomechanists working in the field given the necessity of this variable for input into the commonly employed inverse dynamics modelling approach. In addition, GRFs are also used by the wider sport science community for assessing player “workload” metrics. Non-invasive in-field estimation of GRFs could facilitate the development of an in-field tool which has the potential to revolutionise the side-line management of players from a number of perspectives. The aim of this study was to use a least squares estimator (LSE) matrix to estimate GRFs from 2D video with r\u3e0.8 results found for the vertical and horizontal GRF components. These results provide early support for the efficacy of non-invasive estimation of GRFs in the field determined from 2D video footage in isolation
SHOT PERFORMANCE AND CUE STICK KINEMATICS OF TOP SPIN SHOTS IN CUE SPORTS PLAYERS OF VARIOUS PLAYING LEVELS
Get PDFThis study aimed to compare the shot performance and kinematics of the cue stick in top spin shots between less-skilled and skilled players. Twenty-five cue sports players were recruited and assigned to the less-skilled (n = 12) or skilled (n = 13) groups. Ten successful top spin trials were recorded for each participant. 2D video analysis was employed to evaluate shot performance which was represented by an error distance. A 3D motion capture system was used to obtain kinematic data of the cue stick during the cueing movement. The results showed that skilled players were more consistent in their performance with lower inter-trial variability than less-skilled players (p = 0.028). No significant differences between two groups were found in the cue stick kinematics including height (p = 0.723), speed (p = 0.153), and angle (p = 0.380). The results indicated that similar cueing techniques were adopted by all participants. Further analysis of human body kinematics is in need to uncover potential technique differences among players despite achieving similar cueing movements