Analysis of Whole-Body Coordination Patterning in Successful and Faulty Spikes Using Self-Organising-Map-Based Cluster Analyses: A Secondary Analysis

This study was designated to investigate the whole-body coordination patterning in successful and faulty spikes using Self-Organising-Map-Based Cluster Analyses. Ten young elite volleyball players (aged 15.5 ± 0.7 years) performed 60 volleyball spikes in real-game circumstances with two blocks. Adopting the cluster analysis based on a Self-Organising-Map, the whole body coordination patterning was explored between the successful and faulty spikes of individual players. The cluster analysis portrayed that the whole-body, upper-limbs and lower-limbs coordination patterning of each individual’s successful spikes were similar to his faulty spikes. The same condition was authenticated for the ROMs patterning. Nevertheless, the upper-limbs angular velocity patterning of the players’ successful/faulty spikes was similar. The SPM analysis also portrayed significant differences between the normalized upper-limbs angular velocities from 35% to 45% and from 76% to the end of the spike movement. Alt-hough the lower-limbs angular velocities are vital for achieving higher jumps in volleyball spike, the results of this study por-trayed that the upper-limbs angular velocities distinguish the differences between successful and faulty spikes among the attack-ers. This confirms the fact that volleyball coaches could shift their focus toward the upper-limbs’ strength and coordination training for higher success rates among the volleyball attackers

Strength training to prevent falls in older adults: A systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

We performed a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effects of strength training (ST), as compared to alternative multimodal or unimodal exercise programs, on the number of falls in older adults (=60 years). Ten databases were consulted (CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EBSCO, EMBASE, PEDro, PubMed, Scielo, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science), without limitations on language or publication date. Eligibility criteria were as follows: RCTs with humans =60 years of age of any gender with one group performing supervised ST and a group performing another type of exercise training, reporting data pertaining falls. Certainty of evidence was assessed with Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Meta-analysis used a random effects model to calculate the risk ratio (RR) for number of falls. Five RCTs with six trials were included (n = 543, 76% women). There was no difference between ST and alternative exercise interventions for falls (RR = 1.00, 95% CI 0.77–1.30, p = 0.99). The certainty of evidence was very low. No dose–response relationship could be established. In sum, ST showed comparable RR based on number of falls in older adults when compared to other multimodal or unimodal exercise modalities, but evidence is scarce and heteroge-neous, and additional research is required for more robust conclusions. Registration: PROSPERO CRD42020222908