Injury Risk in Elite Young Male Soccer Players: A Review on the Impact of Growth, Maturation, and Workload.

Ribeiro, N, Martinho, DV, Pereira, JR, Rebelo, A, Monasterio, X, Gonzalo-Skok, O, Valente-dos-Santos, J, and Tavares, F. Injury risk in elite young male soccer players: a review on the impact of growth, maturation, and workload. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2024-The long-term development of young male soccer players involves a prolonged period of significant adjustments, highlighting the importance of studying the complex interaction between dynamic variables, including workload, and inherent elements like growth and maturity.

External Training Loads and Soft-Tissue Injury Occurrence During Congested Versus Noncongested Periods in Football.

Objective: To analyze the influence of congested and noncongested fixture periods during 2 seasons in a professional male football team on soft-tissue injury incidence and external load.

Methods: Thirty-three professional football players from a Portuguese Liga I team participated in this study. Weekly external load and soft-tissue injury rate and burden of 2 consecutive seasons (2021-22 and 2022-23) were analyzed.

In-situ acceleration-speed profile of an elite soccer academy: A cross-sectional study.

Speed is an essential skill in sports performance and an important performance metric in talent identification. This study aims to evaluate and compare the sprint acceleration characteristics across different age groups in an elite soccer academy. A total of 141 elite academy soccer players were recruited to participate in the study, and they were assigned to their respective competitive age groups, ranging from under-14 to the B-team.

Preparation and In Vitro Characterization of Magnetic CS/PVA/HA/pSPIONs Scaffolds for Magnetic Hyperthermia and Bone Regeneration.

Conventional bone cancer treatment often results in unwanted side effects, critical-sized bone defects, and inefficient cancer-cell targeting. Therefore, new approaches are necessary to better address bone cancer treatment and patient's recovery. One solution may reside in the combination of bone regeneration scaffolds with magnetic hyperthermia.

A survey of organizational structure and operational practices of elite youth football academies and national federations from around the world: A performance and medical perspective.

Aim: Medical and performance units are integral components of player development programmes in elite football academies. Nevertheless, the nature of the operational processes implemented by practitioners within clubs and national federations remains unexplored. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to survey elite youth professional football academies from around the world regarding the operational processes adopted by their medical and performance units.

Nutritional Intake and Training Load of Professional Female Football Players during a Mid-Season Microcycle.

Football (soccer) is a high-intensity intermittent sport with large energy demands. In a repeated-measures design, we analysed the nutritional intake and training load of fourteen female football players (22.50 ± 4.

The effect of a controlled mandible position mouthguard on upper body strength and power in trained rugby athletes - A randomized within subject study.

Background: It is widely accepted that mouthguards are effective for injury protection in sports. However, findings on the effects of mouthguards in strength and power production remains controversial. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether controlled-mandible position mouthguards influence strength and power production in well trained athletes.

A New Portable Device to Reliably Measure Maximal Strength and Rate of Force Development of Hip Adduction and Abduction.

Gonçalves, BM, Mesquita, RNO, Tavares, F, Brito, J, Correia, P, Santos, P, and Mil-Homens, P. A new portable device to reliably measure maximal strength and rate of force development of hip adduction and abduction. J Strength Cond Res 36(9): 2465-2471, 2022-Groin injuries are a major issue in sports involving kicking or quick changes of direction.

The Acute and Longer-Term Effects of Cold Water Immersion in Highly-Trained Volleyball Athletes During an Intense Training Block.

The use of cold water immersion (CWI) as a recovery strategy following exercise has drawn mixed findings over the last few decades. The purpose of the current study was two-fold; (1) to determine the acute effects of CWI within the training week, and (2) to investigate the longer-term effects of CWI over a 16-day period. In a randomized, controlled trial, 13 national-level volleyball athletes were allocated to two groups, an experimental (CWI, = 7) and a control group ( = 6) during a 3-week national training camp.

The Effect of Tissue Flossing on Ankle Range of Motion, Jump, and Sprint Performance in Elite Rugby Union Athletes.

Context: Given the relatively novel technique of tissue flossing is currently lacking in the research literature despite some positive findings in preliminary studies, the modality clearly requires further research. Current evidence suggests that band flossing results in performance improvements and may also be an effective method in injury prevention.

Objective: Previous research has shown that tissue flossing may result in increased ankle range of motion, jump, and sprinting performance in recreational athletes.

Leucine Metabolites Do Not Enhance Training-induced Performance or Muscle Thickness.

Unlabelled: Leucine metabolites, α-hydroxyisocaproic acid (α-HICA) and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (calcium, HMB-Ca and free acid, HMB-FA), have been proposed to augment resistance training-induced changes in body composition and performance.

Purpose: We aimed to conduct a double-blind randomized controlled pragmatic trial to evaluate the effects of off-the-shelf leucine metabolite supplements of α-HICA, HMB-FA, and HMB-Ca on resistance training-induced changes in muscle thickness and performance.

Methods: Forty men were randomly assigned to receive α-HICA (n = 10, fat-free mass [FFM] = 62.

Adding omega-3 fatty acids to a protein-based supplement during pre-season training results in reduced muscle soreness and the better maintenance of explosive power in professional Rugby Union players.

Evidence suggests that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation could reduce muscle soreness and maintain muscle function following eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage. The aim of this applied field study was to investigate the effectiveness of consuming a protein-based supplement containing 1546 mg of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (551 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 551 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) twice daily (FO) compared to a protein-based placebo (P) on muscle soreness, countermovement jump (CMJ) performance and psychological well-being in 20 professional Rugby Union players during 5 weeks of pre-season training. Players completed a 5-point-Likert soreness scale with 5 indicating "no soreness" and a questionnaire assessing fatigue, sleep, stress and mood each morning of training, plus they performed CMJ tests once or twice per week.

Influence of full range of motion vs. equalized partial range of motion training on muscle architecture and mechanical properties.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a 15-week partial range of motion (ROM) resistance training program on the vastus lateralis (VL) architecture and mechanical properties, when the time under tension (TUT) was equalized.

Methods: Nineteen untrained male subjects were randomly assigned to a control (Control; n = 8) or training (TG; n = 11) group. In the TG, the dominant and nondominant legs were randomly selected to be trained with a full ROM (FULL) or a partial ROM (PART) in an isokinetic dynamometer.

Effects of Chronic Cold-Water Immersion in Elite Rugby Players.

Purpose: Although the acute effects of cold-water immersion (CWI) have been widely investigated, research analyzing the effects of CWI over a chronic period in highly trained athletes is scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of CWI during an intense 3-wk preseason phase in elite rugby athletes.

Methods: A total of 23 elite male rugby union athletes were randomized to either CWI (10 min at 10°C, n = 10) or a passive recovery control (CON, n = 13) during 3 wk of high-volume training.

What wrist should you wear your actigraphy device on? Analysis of dominant vs. non-dominant wrist actigraphy for measuring sleep in healthy adults.

Objective: Differences in sleep results due to the placement of actigraphy devices (non-dominant vs. dominant wrist) are yet to be determined.

Methods: 65 nights of data from 13 adult participants was collected while participants wore two actigraphy devices, one on each wrist.

Effect of Cold-Water Immersion on Elbow Flexors Muscle Thickness After Resistance Training.

Matos, F, Neves, EB, Rosa, C, Reis, VM, Saavedra, F, Silva, S, Tavares, F, and Vilaça-Alves, J. Effect of cold-water immersion on elbow flexors muscle thickness after resistance training. J Strength Cond Res 32(3): 756-763, 2018-Cold-water immersion (CWI) is commonly applied to speed up the recovery process after exercise.

Wellness, muscle soreness and neuromuscular performance during a training week in volleyball athletes.

Background: The purpose of the current study is to analyze the acute effects of volleyball training and to compare the responses of different perceptual and neuromuscular measures to overall training load.

Methods: The training load, wellness, neuromuscular performance and perceptual measures of soreness of 13 highly-trained volleyball athletes (18±1 years; 187.1±7.

Tissue flossing on ankle range of motion, jump and sprint performance: A follow-up study.

Objectives: Previous results from our laboratory suggest that band flossing results in increased ankle range of motion (ROM) and jump performance 5-min following application. However, the time-course of such benefits is yet to be examined.

Design: Parallel group design.

The effect of training load on neuromuscular performance, muscle soreness and wellness during an in-season non-competitive week in elite rugby athletes.

Background: In the elite rugby setting, it is critical to understand the effects of training load on the levels of fatigue, soreness and readiness of the athletes.

Methods: The training load, wellness, neuromuscular markers of fatigue and various perceptual measures of soreness of 16 elite rugby athletes were monitored during a training week. Training load was obtained for field training sessions, extra conditioning and gym-based sessions.

Fatigue and Recovery in Rugby: A Review.

The physical demands and combative nature of rugby lead to notable levels of muscle damage. In professional rugby, athletes only have a limited timeframe to recover following training sessions and competition. Through the implementation of recovery strategies, sport scientists, practitioners and coaches have sought to reduce the effect of fatigue and allow athletes to recover faster.

Diagnoses behind patients with hard-to-classify tremor and normal DaT-SPECT: a clinical follow up study.

The [(123)I]ioflupane-a dopamine transporter radioligand-SPECT (DaT-SPECT) has proven to be useful in the differential diagnosis of tremor. Here, we investigate the diagnoses behind patients with hard-to-classify tremor and normal DaT-SPECT. Therefore, 30 patients with tremor and normal DaT-SPECT were followed up for 2 years.

[Cytomegalovirus: is there a place for screening during pregnancy?].

The maternal and fetal/congenital infection by cytomegalovirus (CMV) during pregnancy is the leading infectious cause of neurologic impairment and hearing loss. CMV screening during pregnancy has been widely discussed for several years, but still no consensus has been established. Most developed countries do not recommend it because the majority of infected fetuses will be free of any symptom, and there is currently no reliable knowledge about fetal and neonatal prognosis and also due to lack of valid, effective and safe treatment during fetal life.