KNEE PROPRIOCEPTION MAY BE ALTERED BY TREATMENT IN ATHLETES SUFFERING FROM DELAYED ONSET MUSCLE SORENESS

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a very common musculoskeletal problem in athletes involved in extreme competitions. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of diathermy, sham diathermy and massage on the knee proprioception of athletes treated for DOMS. Forty athletes were enrolled after the second day of a demanding ski mountaineering race. They were randomly assigned to four groups: no treatment [Formula: see text], massage [Formula: see text], diathermy [Formula: see text], and sham diathermy [Formula: see text]. The knee reposition error was measured after the treatments in order to assess knee proprioception. Significant differences between the diathermy and sham diathermy groups were found ([Formula: see text]) with an absolute effect size of [Formula: see text]. No other significant differences were found among groups. This means that diathermy has a negative impact on joint proprioception and can be explained by the spindle desensitization consequent to deeper tissue heating. This information can be important in the DOMS management of athletes, since an altered proprioception may interfere with the athlete’s performance and can increase the risk of injury.

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Weekly Wellness Variations to Identify Non-Functional Overreaching Syndrome in Turkish National Youth Wrestlers: A Pilot Study

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13094667 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 4667

Author(s):

Hadi Nobari ◽

Zeki Akyildiz ◽

Maryam Fani ◽

Rafael Oliveira ◽

Jorge Pérez-Gómez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Sleep Quality ◽

Body Mass ◽

Muscle Soreness ◽

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness ◽

Daily Monitoring ◽

Delayed Onset ◽

Risk Of Injury ◽

Stress Levels

The present study aimed at (i) investigating weekly variations in wellness ratings relative to Hooper indicators (HI): fatigue (wFatigue), stress levels (wStress), delayed onset muscle soreness (wDOMS), sleep quality/disorders (wSleep), and wHI across the full preparation season (PS) and (ii) comparing the aforementioned variables between three periods: early-PS, week (W) W1 to W11; mid-PS, W12 to W22; end-PS, W23 to W32. Ten elite young wrestlers were involved in this study (age, 16 ± 0.7 years; height, 163 ± 4.8 cm; body mass, 57.7 ± 9.0 kg; VO2max, 48.7 ± 1.4 mL/kg−1/min−1). Wellness status was monitored daily using the HI questionnaire. The main results were found in W26 (24.2 ± 3.9 arbitrary units (AU)) and W14 (17.9 ± 7 AU) with the highest and lowest wDOMS, respectively. Decreases in wDOMS were reported during the PS. For wFatigue, the highest and lowest values belong to W19 (24.3 ± 3.3 AU) and W32 (16.7 ± 3.9 AU), respectively. In the case of wFatigue, the level increased within the PS. The highest wHI was observed in W19 (88.5 ± 7.7 AU) and the lowest in W32 (72.3 ± 6.1 AU). There were no significant changes between early-PS compared to mid- and end-PS, while significant changes were found for mid-PS in comparison to the end-PS. Changes in wDOMS, wStress, and wFatigue were in line with the changes in Hooper’s scoring. All PS daily monitoring results can provide a great standpoint from which coaches can determine wellness status throughout the season in elite youth level athletes. This information can be used to avoid the risk of injury, overtraining, and non-functional overreaching.

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