The effect of sport specific exercises on the visual skills of rugby players

INTRODUCTION: Visual performance is an important factor in sport excellence. Visual involvement in a sport varies according to environmental demands associated with that sport. These environmental demands are matched by a task specific motor response. The purpose of this study was to determine if sport specific exercises will improve the visual performance of male rugby players, in order to achieve maximal results on the sports field. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty six adult male rugby players, aged 16-22, were chosen as subjects. In order to evaluate the effect of sport specific exercises on visual skills, a pre-test - post-test experimental group design was adopted for the study. RESULTS: Significant differences (p≤0.05) were seen in the focussing, tracking, vergence, sequencing, eye-hand coordination and visualisation components Discussion & Conclusions: Sport specific exercises improved visual skills in rugby players which may provide them with an advantage over their opponents. This study suggests that these training programs and participation in regular on-line EyeDrills sports vision exercises (www.eyedrills.co.za) aimed at improving the athlete’s visual co-ordination, concentration, focus, hand-eye co-ordination, anticipation and motor response should be incorpotated in the rugby players exercise regime. Keywords— Rugby players, sport specific exercises, visual skillshttp://www.waset.org/journals/waset/v76.ph

The effect of sympathomimetic medication on cardiovascular functioning of children with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder

OBJECTIVE : The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sympathomimetic medication on the cardiovascular system of children with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS : Cardiovascular functioning of children with ADHD (n = 19) was tested while the children were stimulant free and during a period in which they were on stimulant medication. Electrocardiograms (ECGs) were obtained by means of a Schiller CardioLaptop AT-110 ECG recorder using the standard 12-lead cable positioning for a resting ECG. Blood pressure was measured by means of a stethoscope and mercury sphygmomanometer. RESULTS : The main findings of this study were that methylphenidate usage is associated with increases in heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP), and that it does not adversely affect HR-corrected QT and JT intervals or cardiac dispersion values. CONCLUSION : Methylphenidate causes an increase in HR as well as increases in both systolic and diastolic BP, but no change in cardiac depolarisation and repolarisation duration or homogeneity

Sport vision assessment in soccer players

Sport has become a very competitive business and focus has been placed on reaching ones full potential. Few aspects like hand-eye co-ordination and visual reaction time have been addressed in the past. Visual involvement in a sport varies according to environmental demands associated with that particular sport. These environmental demands are matched by a task of specific motor responses. This study was carried out in order to determine the relevance of sport vision testing and visual skills training in soccer players. This study also seeks to determine the visual skills of soccer players by assessing depth perception, accommodation flexibility, eye tracking, eye jumps, peripheral awareness and visual memory of soccer players. Fourty-eight soccer players aged 12 to 20 were assessed. The results were compared according to age group and the four main positions in soccer, namely: striker, midfielder, defender and goalkeeper. The results indicated that visual skills tend to improve with age and that different positions do not necessarily require different levels of visual skills. This reinforces the suggestion that visual skills are not necessarily a function of the position one plays. Sportsmen will have a great advantage over their fellow rivals due to improvements in their exercise and sports vision training programs. These training programs can help improve and train the athlete's visual coordination, increase concentration and focus, hand-eye co-ordination, anticipation as well as gain knowledge about their motor response. These principles can also be implemented in a similar evaluation of other athletes and non-athletes

Die belangrikheid van antropometrie, fisiese en motoriese vaardighede, sport spesifieke toetsing en sport visie tegnieke in die evaluering van rugbyspelers

<div style="font-size: 12px; font-family: serif; left: 227.349px; top: 480.463px; transform: scale(1.08152, 1); transform-origin: 0% 0% 0px;" dir="ltr">Sport is ‘n toenemend mededingende gebied van kundigheid, dus is dit noodsaaklik dat ‘n</div><div style="font-size: 12px; font-family: serif; left: 227.349px; top: 496.463px; transform: scale(1.11202, 1); transform-origin: 0% 0% 0px;" dir="ltr">atleet te alle tye op die hoogste moontlike vlak kan presteer. Baie afrigters en atlete is onder die</div><div style="font-size: 12px; font-family: serif; left: 227.349px; top: 512.463px; transform: scale(1.05414, 1); transform-origin: 0% 0% 0px;" dir="ltr">valse indruk dat prestasie uitsluitlik bepaal word deur fisiese vermoëns en as gevolg daarvan</div><div style="font-size: 12px; font-family: serif; left: 227.349px; top: 528.463px; transform: scale(1.11119, 1); transform-origin: 0% 0% 0px;" dir="ltr">het hulle versuim om in ag te neem faktore soos: fiksheidsvlakke, visuele vaardighede, liggaam samestelling, voedingstatus en die lewenstyl van die atlete.</div

Influence of basic military training on visual skills

Studies have shown that visual skills can be subjected to exertion during exercise, thus implying that entrainment of vision is possible through interaction with the environment. It has been established that by simply participating in physical activity, one naturally improves visual awareness as well as visual processing skills and visual-motor integration. The purpose of the present study was to examine the changes in various visual skills during a 20-week military basic training programme. The training included cardio-respiratory endurance, fitness, muscular strength (upper body and abdominal), muscular endurance, speed, power, agility and flexibility. The participants (n=234) consisted of both male and female recruits who were enrolled for basic training at the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). Only those recruits who complied with the inclusion criteria and were willing to give informed consent participated in the study. The data collection occurred before the onset of the basic training programme and again after 12 and 20 weeks of intensive training. This schedule was proposed in order to ensure the specific requirements demanded by the various tests, and to observe the rate at which the visual skills and physiological parameters changed. The improvement of various visual skills observed in this research provides evidence that physical exercise, along with an enhanced state of physical fitness, does have a positive effect on visual proficiency. These findings could be elucidated by an alteration in the neuronal architecture, which subsequently leads to faster decision making, as well as a quicker and more efficient motor response.http://www.omicsonline.org/scientifi c-reports.ph