Plymouth Marjon University Repository
Not a member yet
930 research outputs found
Sort by
Kinesiology tape: a brand comparison of stretch characteristics and the associated considerations in the management of athletic injury.
No full text
Higher insulin sensitivity in EDL muscle of rats fed a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet inhibits the caspase-3 and ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic systems but does not increase protein synthesis
Get PDFCompared with the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle of control rats (C), the EDL muscle of rats fed a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet (LPHC) showed a 36% reduction in mass. Muscle mass is determined by the balance between protein synthesis and proteolysis; thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the components involved in these processes. Compared with the muscle from C rats, the EDL muscle from LPHC diet-fed rats showed a reduction (34%) in the in vitro basal protein synthesis and a 22% reduction in the in vitro basal proteolysis suggesting that the reduction in the mass can be associated with a change in the rate of the two processes. Soon after euthanasia, in the EDL muscles of the rats fed the LPHC diet for 15 days, the activity of caspase-3 and that of components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system (atrogin-1 content and chymotrypsin-like activity) were decreased. The phosphorylation of p70S6K and 4E-BP1, proteins involved in protein synthesis, was also decreased. We observed an increase in the insulin-stimulated protein content of p-Akt. Thus, the higher insulin sensitivity in the EDL muscle of LPHC rats seemed to contribute to the lower proteolysis in LPHC rats. However, even with the higher insulin sensitivity, the reduction in p-E4-BP1 and p70S6K indicates a reduction in protein synthesis, showing that factors other than insulin can have a greater effect on the control of protein synthesis
Acclimation training improves endurance cycling performance in the heat without inducing endotoxemia
Get PDFPurpose: While the intention of endurance athletes undertaking short term heat training protocols is to rapidly gain meaningful physical adaption prior to competition in the heat, it is currently unclear whether or not this process also presents an overt, acute challenge to the immune system. The aim of this study was therefore to examine the effects of heat training on both endurance performance and biomarkers associated with inflammatory and immune system responses. Methods: Moderately-actively males (n=24) were allocated randomly to either HOT (n=8, 35oC and 70% RH; NEUTRAL (n=8, 20oC and 45% RH); or a non-exercising control group, (CON, n=8). Over the 18 day study HOT and NEUTRAL performed seven training sessions (40 min cycling at 55% of V̇O2 max) and all participants completed three heat stress tests (HST) at 35oC and 70% RH. The HST protocol comprised three x sub-maximal intervals followed by a 5 km time trial on a cycle ergometer. Serum samples were collected before and after each HST and analysed for interleukin-6, immunoglobulin M and lipopolysaccharide. Results: Both HOT and NEUTRAL groups experienced substantial improvement to 5 km time trial performance (HOT -33 ± 20 s, p = 0.02, NEUTRAL -39 ± 18 s, p = 0.01) but only HOT were faster (-45 ± 25 s and -12 s ± 7 s, p = 0.01) in HST3 compared to baseline and HST2. Interleukin-6 was elevated after exercise for all groups however there were no significant changes for immunoglobulin M or lipopolysaccharide. Conclusions: Short-term heat training enhances 5 km cycling time trial performance in moderately-fit subjects by ~6%, similar in magnitude to exercise training in neutral conditions. Three top-up training sessions yielded a further 3% improvement in performance for the HOT group. Furthermore, the heat training did not pose a substantial challenge to the immune system
Psychological demands experienced by recreational endurance athletes
Get PDFThis study aimed to identify psychological demands that are commonly experienced by endurance athletes so that these demands could inform the design of performance-enhancing psychological interventions for endurance athletes. Focus group interviews were conducted with 30 recreational endurance athletes of various sports (running, cycling, and triathlon), distances, and competitive levels to explore the psychological demands of training, competition preparation, and competition participation. An inductive thematic analysis was used to identify psychological demands that were experienced across sports, distances, and competitive levels. Seven themes captured demands that were commonly experienced away from the competitive environment (time investment and lifestyle sacrifices, commitment to training sessions, concerns about optimising training, and exercise sensations during training), preceding an endurance event (pre-event stressors), or during an event (exercise sensations, optimising pacing, and remaining focused despite adversity). Interventions that could be delivered to recreational athletes, who do not typically have access to a sport psychologist, are suggested. Experimental research examining the efficacy of interventions that help endurance athletes to cope with the reported psychological demands is encouraged
Public Diplomacy and the International Paralympic Committee: Reconciling the Roles of Disability Advocate and Sports Regulator
Get PDFWhilst the link between international diplomacy and the Olympic movement has been the subject of extensive academic and journalistic enquiry, the experience of diplomatic discourse relating to the relatively youthful Paralympic movement has received little attention. It occurs not just in the context of state diplomacy, where for example the Paralympic Games may provide a conduit for the pursuit of specific policy objectives, but also in relation to the engagement of the International Paralympic Committee [IPC] as an evolving non-state actor in the diplomatic process. The idea of the IPC as an advocacy body engaged through public diplomacy in promoting disability rights needs exploration as an element of the contemporary politics of disability. This analysis considers the relationship between the activities of the IPC and wider lobbying by disabled people’s organisations as a means of leveraging change in domestic and international policy toward disability. In relation to the global development agenda, it also assesses IPC responses to the gulf in resourcing for para-sport – as well as related health and education provision - between high- and low-resource regions. It considers the response of the organisation from the perspective of public diplomacy and locates that response within the wider diplomacy of development
Kinesiology Tape: Patient perceptions in the reduction of pain
Get PDFIntroduction:
The justification for using Kinesiology Tape (K Tape) as a pain relieving ergogenic aid, post injury, remains uncertain (Williams et al. 2012) with its effects still being established (Lim and Tay, 2015). The aim of the study was to investigate patient’s perceptions of K tape in the reduction of pain post injury.
Method:
Following University ethical approval a focus group informed the development of a 17 point questionnaire around the perceived magnitude and timing of pain reduction. The questionnaire was posted on social media sites inviting patients, who had used K tape specifically for pain relief (inclusion criteria), to complete.
Results:
One hundred and fifty two replies were received (male =57; female = 93). One hundred respondents (67.5%) reported using K tape to reduce pain following an injury that occurred in a sport or exercise activity. The most common site for the application of K tape was the lower limb (53.3%) while the back and upper limb recorded 15.8% and 14.5% respectively. A total of 113 (74.8%) respondents noted an immediate perceived reduction in pain (within 60mins) whilst 147 (96.7%) noted a reduction of pain within 48hrs. Seventy nine (52.3%) respondents noted an overall pain reduction of 50% or more. Of those who experienced a reduction in pain 76.8% also had additional treatment. Respondents further reported: reduced pain during load bearing activity; improved posture; reduction in swelling; improved circulation; increased support and cushioning; and increased mobility.
Discussion:
A perceived immediate reduction in pain was noted from the results. The combination of pre-treatment and K tape application could influence the immediate reduction in pain and its magnitude. The results suggest that the site of application does not appear to affect the perceived influence on pain reduction however application technique and tape quantity could be influencing factors based on the purported mechanisms of K tape (Williams et al., 2012). Respondent’s comments imply a confidence in the treatment process that could be credited to the K tape post treatment. The use of K tape to maintain the effects of the therapists’ treatment would seem valuable. Rehabilitation practitioners can be confident that K Tape is beneficial based on patients’ perceived reduction in pain.
References:
Lim ECW and Tay MGX (2015). Kinesio taping in musculoskeletal pain and disability that lasts for more than 4 weeks: is it time to peel off the tape and throw it out with the sweat? British Journal of Sports Medicine.0: 1-15.
Williams, S., Whatman, C., Hume, P.A. and Sheerin, K. (2012) Kinesio taping in treatment and prevention of sports injuries: a meta-analysis of the evidence for its effectiveness. Sports Medicine. Vol. 42, No. 2: 153-164
Another Visit to BE Supposed to from a Diachronic Constructionist Perspective
Get PDFThe BE supposed to string has meanings ranging from expressions of assumptions, hearsay, expectations, weak obligation, predestination and, in the negative, prohibition. Several problems have been discussed previously with the historical development of the deontic senses, most notably that it appears to break the “deontic to epistemic” unidirectionality constraint in grammaticalisation. Previous researchers have argued that the preceding accounts lacked support from the data and that SUPPOSE must have had an original “intend” sense when it was borrowed. They illustrated the paper with examples from the OED. However, the author shows how the OED interpretations are incorrect; none of the active or early passive examples cited actually have deontic senses. He presents a usage-based construction grammar account of the development, arguing that the deontic sense for BE supposed to arose when the form was re-interpreted as instantiating an existing passive deontic construction, licensed by analogy to the existing synonymy with BE expected to. This was possibly due to a process of metonymy, whereby part of the original meaning of the string, in particular usage-event contexts, becomes the whole meaning. The development may not in fact contravene unidirectionality constraints
