Eccentric-Overload Training in Team-Sport Functional Performance: Constant Bilateral Vertical Versus Variable Unilateral Multidirectional Movements

Purpose:To analyze the effects of 2 different eccentric-overload training (EOT) programs, using a rotational conical pulley, on functional performance in team-sport players. A traditional movement paradigm (ie, squat) including several sets of 1 bilateral and vertical movement was compared with a novel paradigm including a different exercise in each set of unilateral and multi-directional movements.Methods:Forty-eight amateur or semiprofessional team-sport players were randomly assigned to an EOT program including either the same bilateral vertical (CBV, n = 24) movement (squat) or different unilateral multidirectional (VUMD, n = 24) movements. Training programs consisted of 6 sets of 1 exercise (CBV) or 1 set of 6 exercises (VUMD) × 6–10 repetitions with 3 min of passive recovery between sets and exercises, biweekly for 8 wk. Functional-performance assessment included several change-of-direction (COD) tests, a 25-m linear-sprint test, unilateral multidirectional jumping tests (ie, lateral, horizontal, and vertical), and a bilateral vertical-jump test.Results:Within-group analysis showed substantial improvements in all tests in both groups, with VUMD showing more robust adaptations in pooled COD tests and lateral/horizontal jumping, whereas the opposite occurred in CBV respecting linear sprinting and vertical jumping. Between-groups analyses showed substantially better results in lateral jumps (ES = 0.21), left-leg horizontal jump (ES = 0.35), and 10-m COD with right leg (ES = 0.42) in VUMD than in CBV. In contrast, left-leg countermovement jump (ES = 0.26) was possibly better in CBV than in VUMD.Conclusions:Eight weeks of EOT induced substantial improvements in functional-performance tests, although the force-vector application may play a key role to develop different and specific functional adaptations.

The Relationship between Unilateral Dynamic Stability and Multidirectional Jump Performance in Team Sport Athletes

This study investigated relationships between dynamic stability and multidirectional jumping. A modified Star Excursion Balance Test (mSEBT), incorporating unilateral lower-body reaching in posteromedial, medial, and anteromedial directions, assessed dynamic stability. Unilateral vertical (VJ), standing broad (SBJ) and lateral jumps (LJ) assessed leg power. VJ power and relative SBJ and LJ distances were calculated. Thirty-two team sport athletes completed the mSEBT when each leg was used for stance, and left- and right-leg VJ, SBJ, and LJ. Correlations were drawn between data recorded from each leg when used for mSEBT stance and for each jump. Participants were dichotomized into better and lesser dynamic stability groups according to the sum of excursions for each leg. A one-way ANOVA determined mSEBT and jump differences (p< 0.05). The left-leg posteromedial and medial excursions correlated with VJ power; the medial excursion correlated with the LJ. The right-leg posteromedial excursion correlated with the SBJ; the anteromedial excursion correlated with the SBJ, and relative SBJ and LJ (r = 0.35-0.45). There were no differences in unilateral jumping between the better and lesser groups. Although there is some relationship with dynamic stability, this study further highlighted the complex interaction between the physical and technical characteristics of multidirectional jumping.

Healthy preterm infants: global motor coordination and early intervention

Introduction Studies recommend a participation by preterm children (PT) in Early Intervention Programs (EIP), as the coordination dysfunctions appear to occur more frequently in premature school children. Objectives Describe the global motor coordination (MC) in PT children that participate in an EIP; verify the difference in MC between the sexes and correlate the coordination results of PT children and those with gestation age (GA) and the birth weight (BW); and compare the results of MC between PT children and full-term children (FT). Materials and methods 57 children (5-6 years old) – 20 PT that participate in EIP, and 37 FT. For the analysis of MC, it was used the Körperkoordination für Kinder (KTK) – Test of Body Coordination for Children. To the comparisons, it was used independent-samples T-test and the Mann-Whitney test (α = 0.05), and the Pearson correlation to verify the influence of GA and BW in the coordinated results. Results 80% of the PT children presented normal MC; the girls demonstrated a better performance on the tasks balance beam and lateral jumps and with regard to the MC corresponding to the sum of the gross scores on the tasks; the GA and BW did not influence MC; and, there was no difference between MC in PT and FT children. Conclusion The PT children presented, in their majority, satisfactory levels of MC, and the girls presented better results. In addition, the GA and BW did not interfere in the MC results. Lastly, there was no difference in the coordination performance between PT and FT children.