Relations between methods for assessment of voluntary and involuntary muscle contractile properties.

Kontraktilne karakteristike mišića su izuzetan predmet interesovanja stručnjaka iz oblasti sporta i sportskih nauka, ali i drugih srodnih stručnih i naučnih oblasti. Mišićne kontrakcije mogu biti voljne ili nevoljne. Jedan od načina za procenu voljnih odnosno nevoljnih (evociranih) mišićnih kontrakcija jeste metoda izokinetičke dinamometrije odnosno tenziomiografije (TMG). Pregledom relevantne literature moţe se uočiti da je još uvek nedovoljno jasna relacija između ovih metoda čijim proučavanjem se mogu dobiti saznanja koja su od velikog značaja za sport, medicinu i kretanje uopšteno. U skladu sa tim, u ovom istraţivanju su ispitivane relacije između izokinetičke dinamometrije i tenziomiografije kod muškaraca i ţena različito utreniranih odnosno različitog nivoa ispoljavanja mišićne snage. Uzorak ispitanika je činilo 159 osoba (84 muškaraca i 75 ţena) uzrasta 18 do 30 godina podeljenih u subgrupe prema dva kriterijuma; prema utreniranosti (fizički aktivni, fizički neaktivni, sportisti iz brzinsko-snaţne grupe sportova, sportisti iz sportova izdrţljivosti, sportisti iz grupe kolektivnih sportova) i prema nivou ispoljavanja mišićne snage (ispodprosečno snaţni, prosečno snaţni, nadprosečno snaţni). Voljne mišićne kontrakcije (prosečna snaga – Pavg, relativna prosečna snaga – RPavg, maksimalni moment sile – Tmax, prosečan rad – Wavg) su merene metodom izokinetičke dinamometrije na mišićima opruţačima i pregibačima zgloba kolena desne i leve noge u koncetričnom reţimu rada pri brzinama od 60 i 180 ˚/s. Nevoljne mišićne kontrakcije (vreme kontrakcije – Tc, odloţeno vreme kontrakcije – Td, vreme trajanja kontrakcije – Ts, maksimalno vertikalno pomeranje mišića – Dm, vreme relaksacije – Tr, brzina kontrakcije – RMTD) su merene metodom tenziomiografije (TMG) na mišićima rektus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), biceps femoris (BF) i semitendinozus (ST) desne i leve noge. Od statističkih procedura u radu je primenjena metoda deskriptivne statistike, Pirsonov koeficijent korelacije, višestruka (multipla) linearna regresiona analiza i faktorska analiza...Muscle contractile properties are of great interest to experts from the field of sport and sports science, but also from other related professional and scientific fields. Muscle contractions can be voluntary or involuntary. One of the ways to measure voluntary and involuntary (evoked) muscle contractions are the methods of isokinetic dynamometry and tensiomyography (TMG). By reviewing the relevant literature, it can be noticed that the relationship between these methods is still unclear. Investigation of these relations can lead to information which is of great importance for sport, medicine, and movement in general. Accordingly, this study examined the relations between isokinetic dynamometry and tensiomyography in men and women differently trained and different muscle power manifestation level. The sample of participants consisted of 159 persons (84 men and 75 women) aged 18 to 30 divided into subgroups according to two criteria; according to training level (physically active, physically inactive, athletes from strength and power sports, athletes from endurance sports, athletes from team sports) and according to the muscle power manifestation level (below average power manifestation level, average power manifestation level, above average power manifestation level). Voluntary muscle contractions (average power – Pavg, relative average power – RPavg, peak torque/moment – Tmax, average work – Wavg) were measured by the method of isokinetic dynamometry on quadriceps and hamstring muscles of right and left leg in concentric work regime at angular speeds of 60 and 180 ˚/s. Involuntary muscle contractions (contraction time – Tc, delayed contraction time – Td, sustain time – Ts, maximal displacement – Dm, relaxation time – Tr, rate of muscle tension development – RMTD) were measured by the method of tensiomyography (TMG) on muscles rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), biceps femoris (BF) and semitendinosus (ST) of right and left leg. Of statistical analysis, a method of descriptive statistic, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, multiple linear regression analysis, and factor analysis were used..

The Effects of Massage Therapy on Sport and Exercise Performance: A Systematic Review

© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Background: A massage is a tool that is frequently used in sports and exercise in general for recovery and increased performance. In this review paper, we aimed to search and systemize current literature findings relating to massages’ effects on sports and exercise performance concerning its effects on motor abilities and neurophysiological and psychological mechanisms. Methods: The review has been written following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis) guidelines. One hundred and fourteen articles were included in this review. Results: The data revealed that massages, in general, do not affect motor abilities, except flexibility. However, several studies demonstrated that positive muscle force and strength changed 48 h after the massage was given. Concerning neurophysiological parameters, the massage did not change blood lactate clearance, muscle blood flow, muscle temperature, or activation. However, many studies indicate pain reduction and delayed onset muscle soreness, which are probably correlated with the reduction of the level of creatine kinase enzyme and psychological mechanisms. In addition, the massage treatment led to a decrease in depression, stress, anxiety, and the perception of fatigue and an increase in mood, relaxation, and the perception of recovery. Conclusion: The direct usage of massages just for gaining results in sport and exercise performance seems questionable. However, it is indirectly connected to performance as an important tool when an athlete should stay focused and relaxed during competition or training and recover after them.Peer reviewe

Neuromehaničke funkcionalne kontraktilne karakteristike mišića butine merene metodom tenziomiografije kod sportista i nesportista muškog pola

Involuntary neuromechanical muscle contractile properties, especially of the extensor muscles and knee joint flexors as the largest muscle groups of the caudal part of the body, play an important role in both everyday movement and sport. Based on these data we can obtain important information on the functional properties of muscles. The basic means of evaluation of the functional involuntary neuromechanical muscles contractile properties is the non-invasive tensiomyographic method (TMG). The aim of this study was to determine the differences between the involuntary neuromechanical contractile properties of the thigh muscles measured using the TMG method on a sample of male athletes and non-athletes. The sample of participants was made up of 17 athletes and 10 non-athletes. By applying the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and the t-test, we achieved results which indicate that of the overall 30 variables, a difference was determined among 13 of them. Most of the differences were determined for the extensor muscles of the right knee, especially of the rectus femoris muscle. It was also shown that in addition to the main knee joint extensor muscle (rectus femoris) the main knee joint flexor muscle (biceps femoris) also takes part in the definition of the difference between athletes and non-athletes. The results have shown that the following variables: contraction time (Tc) and delay contraction time (Td) are the functional parameters for which the highest difference between athletes and non-athletes were determined (from t = -2.284, p lt 0.05 for the vastus lateralis of the right leg to t = -4.018, p lt 0.01 for the rectus femoris of the left leg). These results have shown that it is possible to determine the differences in the functional involuntary neuromechanical contractile properties of the thigh muscles among trained and untrained individuals using the tensiomyographic method, but at the same time indicated that these differences were very specific since they refer only to certain properties.Nevoljne neuromehaničke kontraktilne karakteristike mišića, naročito mišića opružača i pregibača zgloba kolena kao najvećih mišićnih grupa kaudalnog dela tela, imaju važnu ulogu kako u svakodnevnom kretanju tako i u sportu. Na osnovu tih podataka mogu se dobiti važne informacije o funkcionalnim karakteristikama mišića. Osnovni način za procenu funkcionalnih nevoljnih neuromehaničkih kontraktilnih karakteristika mišića jeste neinvazivna metoda tenziomiografije (TMG). Cilj ovog istraživanja je da se utvrdi razlika nevoljnih neuromehaničkih kontraktilnih karakteristika mišića butine merenih TMG-om između sportista i nesportista muškog pola. Uzorak ispitanika činilo je 17 sportista i 10 nesportista. Primenom multivarijantne analize varijanse (MANOVA) i t-testa došlo se do rezultata koji ukazuju na to da je od ukupno 30 varijabli utvrđena razlika kod 13. Najviše razlika utvrđeno je kod mišića opružača zgloba kolena desne noge, a naročito kod mišića rektus femorisa. Takođe pokazalo se da pored mišića koji je glavni opružač (rektus femoris) i mišić glavni pregibač zgloba kolena (biceps femoris), učestvuje u definisanju razlike između sportista i nesportista. Rezultati su pokazali da su varijable: vreme kontrakcije (Ts) i odloženo vreme kontrakcije (Td), funkcionalni parametri kod kojih je utvrđena najveća razlika između sportista i nesportista (od t = -2.284, r lt 0.05 za vastus lateralis desne noge do t = -4.018, r lt 0.01 za rektus femoris leve noge). Ovi rezultati su pokazali da je moguće utvrditi razlike funkcionalnih nevoljnih neuro-mehaničkih kontraktilnih karakteristika mišića butine kod treniranih i netreniranih osoba primenom metode tenziomiografije, ali su isto tako pokazali da su te razlike vrlo specifične jer se odnose samo na pojedine karakteristike

THE RELATIONS OF MORPHOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS AND MOTOR ABILITIES OF JOUNG WATER POLO PLAYERS

The aim of our research was to determine the connection between morphologic characteristics and motor abilities of young water polo players. The sample of participants for this research can be defined as the population of water polo swimmers (N=60) aged 16 to 18, who were only included in the study under the condition that they have taken part in the water polo training process for a period of at least four years. In order to evaluate morphological characteristics of the participants we used 20 anthro¬po¬me¬tric variables (IBP) to evaluated longitudinal and transversal dimenions, mass and body voluminosity and subcutaneous fatty tissue. In this study, the measurings of the sig¬ni¬ficant motor dimensions were carried by means of the following measuring instruments which the authors (Gredelj, Hošek, Metikoš, Momirović, 1975) had previously evaluated with the help of physiological mechanisms: the integration factor, based on the me¬cha¬nism for movement structure (MSK), the synergistic automatism and tonus regulation factor (SRT); the factor for excitation intensity regulation (RIE); the excitation duration re¬gulation factor (RTE). The relations between morphological and motor dimensions we¬re determined using a canonical correlation analysis. A correlation analysis was carried out and it indicated a very high correlation between dimesions morphological cha¬ra¬cte¬ri¬stics and motor abilities of young water polo players

Muscle Contractile Properties Measured by the Tensiomyography (TMG) Method in Top-Level Football Players of Different Playing Positions: The Case of Serbian Super League

The aim of this study is to investigate the differences in muscle contractile properties measured by the TMG method between top-level football players of different playing positions. The sample consisted of 57 football players from the Serbian Super League, divided into three groups: defenders—DF, midfielders—MF, and forwards—FW. Muscles included in the study were the Rectus Femoris (RF), Vastus Medialis (VM), Vastus Lateralis (VL), Biceps Femoris (BF), and Semitendinosus (ST) of the right (R) and left (L) leg. The TMG parameters used in this study were contraction time (Tc), delay time (Td), relaxation time (Tr), maximal displacement (Dm), and sustain time (Ts). The ANOVA results showed that differences in TMG parameters between top-level football players of different playing positions are small and exist only in the Tr of RF (F = 4.658, p = 0.014), BF (F = 4.433, p = 0.016), and ST muscle (F = 3.808, p = 0.028), and the Tc (F = 3.214, p = 0.048) and Td (F = 3.705, p = 0.031) of the VM muscle. All differences were detected between DF and FW players, and all differences were in the left (non-dominant) leg. The results obtained in this study indicate that the training and selection process in football, from the aspect of functional and mechanical muscle properties, should be similar for all players, regardless of playing position. It has been shown that TMG has relatively low sensitive strength for detecting differences between football players of different playing positions

The neuromechanical functional contractile properties of the thigh muscles measured using tensiomyography in male athletes and non-athletes

Involuntary neuromechanical muscle contractile properties, especially of the extensor muscles and knee joint flexors as the largest muscle groups of the caudal part of the body, play an important role in both everyday movement and sport. Based on these data we can obtain important information on the functional properties of muscles. The basic means of evaluation of the functional involuntary neuromechanical muscles contractile properties is the non-invasive tensiomyographic method (TMG). The aim of this study was to determine the differences between the involuntary neuromechanical contractile properties of the thigh muscles measured using the TMG method on a sample of male athletes and non-athletes. The sample of participants was made up of 17 athletes and 10 non-athletes. By applying the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and the t-test, we achieved results which indicate that of the overall 30 variables, a difference was determined among 13 of them. Most of the differences were determined for the extensor muscles of the right knee, especially of the rectus femoris muscle. It was also shown that in addition to the main knee joint extensor muscle (rectus femoris) the main knee joint flexor muscle (biceps femoris) also takes part in the definition of the difference between athletes and non-athletes. The results have shown that the following variables: contraction time (Tc) and delay contraction time (Td) are the functional parameters for which the highest difference between athletes and non-athletes were determined (from t = -2.284, p < 0.05 for the vastus lateralis of the right leg to t = -4.018, p < 0.01 for the rectus femoris of the left leg). These results have shown that it is possible to determine the differences in the functional involuntary neuromechanical contractile properties of the thigh muscles among trained and untrained individuals using the tensiomyographic method, but at the same time indicated that these differences were very specific since they refer only to certain properties

RELACIJE IZMEĐU SITUACIONO-MOTORIČKIH SPOSOBOSTI I USPEŠNOSTI U IGRI FUDBALERA

The main aim of this research was to determine to which degree the system of variables used to evaluate specific motor skills correlated with the system of variables used to evaluate successful performance in football play. The study was conducted on a sample of 170 senior football players. There were 16 predictor variables to assess specific motor skills and eight criterion variables to assess successful performance. A canonical correlation analysis was applied in the statistical procedure to determine the relationships (correlations) between these spaces. Correlations were established between the investigated spaces with four pairs of canonical factors, and it has been shown that situational motor skills have high correlations with performance success in the game of football (Can R.=0.71, on average). It is indicated that the participants whose performance in football play was more successful also had better situational motor skills and that the mechanism for structuring movement is shown to be of great importance for the successful performance of tactical and technical elements in football players.Cilj istraživanja je da se utvrdi stepen povezanost sistema variajbli za procenu situaciono-motoričkih sposobnosti sa varijabliama za procenu uspešnosti u fudbalskoj igri. Istraživanje je sprovedeno na uzorku od 170 ispitanika, fudbalera – seniora. U istraživanju je primenjeno 16 varijabli za procenu specifčnih motoričkih sposobnosti i osam varijabli za procenu uspešnosti u fudbalskoj igri. Za utvrđivanje povezanosti (relacija) između navedenih prostora primenjena je kanonička korelaciona analiza. Na osnovu dobijenih rezultata, utvrđeno je da su istraživani prostori međusobno povezani sa četiri para kanoničkih faktora, odnosno da situaciono-motoričke sposobnosti imaju visoku povezanost sa uspešnosti u fudbalskoj igri (Can R. = 0.71, u proseku). Pokazalo se da ispitanici koji postižu bolje rezultate u uspešnosti u fudbalskoj igri imaju bolje situaciono-motoričke sposobnosti kao i da je za uspešno izvođenje taktičko tehničkih elemenata kod fudbalera od velike važnosti mehanizam za strukturiranje kretanja. 

Body Height of Elite Basketball Players: Do Taller Basketball Teams Rank Better at the FIBA World Cup?

Body height is among the most important attributes of basketball players. Whether it differs among the basketball players who compete at the world basketball championship (FIBA-WC) is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences between the basketball players from the teams ranked 1&ndash;16 and those ranked below 16th place. The body heights of all players from the last three FIBA-WCs were collected and allocated according to the ranking at the FIBA-WC and analyzed by position in team. An independent sample t-test was conducted to analyze the difference in body height of players ranked 1&ndash;16 and players who ranked below 16th place. The players from the first 16 teams were significantly taller at three positions: point guards (Difference = 2.92 cm, p &lt; 0.05), shooting guards (Difference = 2.16 cm, p &lt; 0.05), and small forwards (Difference = 2.49 cm, p &lt; 0.01). Body height seems to be an important factor for the performance of the basketball team at the FIBA-WC. Considering that all players at the FIBA-WC went through rigorous selection process to be in their national teams, body height of the higher-ranked players could be used as a reference value

Isometric strength in volleyball players of different age

Physical abilities modelling has a profound connection with long-term athlete development and talent identification. There is not enough data to support evidence about age-related changes in volleyball players’ isometric strength. This study aimed to define the age-related model of volleyball players multidimensional muscles’ contractile characteristics. The participants were divided according to gender (male n = 112, female n = 371) and according to age into four groups: under 15 (U15), under 17 (U17), under 19 (U19), and under 21 (U21) years old. Participants performed three isometric strength tests: handgrip, lumbar extensors, and ankle extensors. Maximal force and rate of force development results from all three tests were transformed into a single Score value as a representation of contractile potentials using principal component analysis. The main findings were that Score values of both genders showed significant differences between age groups (male: F = 53.17, p < 0.001Female: F = 41.61, p < 0.001). Trends of those yearly changes were slightly more balanced for female subjects (3.9%) compared to male subjects (6.3%). These findings could help in strength training adjustments when working with volleyball players of a certain age, and enable coaches to detect ones that stand out positively, considering them as strong in regard to their age