MOVEMENT VARIABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH HORIZONTAL ECCENTRIC TOWING

The purpose of this study was to determine the movement variability associated with a novel custom built horizontal eccentric towing (HET) device. HET involves the athlete trying to move forwards whilst being pulled backwards. The variables of interest were the impulse, peak (PHEF), and mean (MHEF) horizontal eccentric force. Ten elite female field hockey players were tested on four occasions, each of which were separated by seven days. During each session, participants were required to perform three isokinetic maximal effort trials at 0.8 m/s over a distance of 10 m. The data from the three trials was averaged and the change in mean (CM), coefficient of variation (CV), and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were quantified across the four testing occasions. There were large percent CMs for all three variables in initial testing (8.51% - 20.5%), this change reducing with latter testing (T4 - T3 = 1.41% - 8.47%), indicating a systematic learning effect. The between sessions CVs for all three variables ranged from 5.59% to 12.9%, the greatest variability associated with the first testing occasions (10.1% to 12.2%) and the least variability noted with the latter T4-T3 testing (5.59% to 8.49%). Only one ICC was less than 0.70 (T3-T2) and by the T4-T3 comparison all ICCs were greater than 0.85. This study concludes that two familiarisation sessions are required for the HET device in order to obtain reliable MHEF and impulse variables

SCIENCE TO COMMERCIALISATION –TRANSLATING SCIENCE TO COMMERCIAL OUTCOMES

Validation is a critical component to the scientific method and translation of scientific knowledge, algorithms, and technology to real-world sporting or clinical settings, and requires rigorous testing by multiple stakeholders. This process can take decades to have an influence on clinical practice. Validation is also a crucial part of translating technology and science into commercial application, although in this context validation needs to take into account usability, manufacturing, price/performance trade-offs, finding a product-market fit and determining your value proposition in the market place. This discussion will draw on the experience of a diverse panel to highlight some of the challenges of translating science to commercial applications. By illustrating through examples from the diverse and experienced panel members, various validation methods and their implications for commercialising a product or algorithm, compared with validating a hypothesis, will be covered

ISBS 2018 AUCKLAND CONFERENCE SPORTS TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE PROGRAMME

The coordinators Amber Taylor (AUT Ventures), Rosanne Ellis (AUT Research and Innovation Office), and Ryan Archibald (ATEED) have selected companies with new products to be explored by biomechanists. We hope you gain ideas for your research and learn how to commercialise your products at this showcase. ISBS 2018 Auckland Conference Industry Partner Tekscan are supporting the lunch during the showcase. Dr Jono Neville, Shelley Diewald, and Farhan Tinwala will be showcasing AUT Strain Gauge. AUT Strain gauge allows for a valid and reliable assessment of the strength of an entire class or team in a relatively short amount of time. Steve Leftly and Farshid Sarmast will be showcasing Myovolt which is a breakthrough muscle massage system that you wear. It delivers vibration therapy to any part of the body, it\u27s easy to use, lightweight and has benefits backed by clinical research. Parn Jones, Eric Helms and Wilson Huang will be showcasing Avice which is a wearable device that gives you real-time actionable feedback during weight training. It measures changes in muscle performance to inform you how close to muscular failure you are. Xiaoyou Lin and Bandt Li are showcasing Pressure Mat which is a new resistive-sensing contact mat for detecting the pseudo force, of sports activities such as running, jumping, stepping. Holly Sutich and Bradley Phagan will be showcasing Beta-Energy which is a healthier natural energy drink. It provides sustainable energy so you don’t get the crash that you do from a normal energy drink. Arien Hielkema and Yasir Al-Hilali will showcase MyBio Motion which is a smart wearable knee sleeve. It provides support for rehabilitation from post-operative or knee trauma, and prevention from a knee injury. Daniel Thomson and Emily Coates will showcase Circuband which has successfully paired Virtual Reality with Resistance Training to make fitness more engaging and stimulating for both athletes and the public. Colin Anderson will demonstrate Physio Wear

ISBS 2018 AUCKLAND CONFERENCE SPRINZ-HPSNZ-AUT MILLENNIUM APPLIED PROGRAMME

An interactive afternoon of sessions delivered by High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) and AUT SPRINZ Biomechanists, Performance Analysts and other biomechanics relevant sport facing practitioners. The 11 sessions are at AUT Millennium (AUTM), which is a satellite site of AUT University and the Auckland training hub for many HPSNZ supported sports such as athletics, sailing, and swimming. These sports and others (cycling, rowing, snow sports etc.) will be represented in the line-up. The applied sessions involve practical demonstrations of aspects of analysis and/or tools used to deliver in the field to directly positively impact athletes performances on the world stage. Following these engaging sessions there will be tasting of New Zealand wine, allowing for further discussion and networking. Sir Graeme Avery will be acknowledged for his contribution to sport science. Mike Stanley is AUT Millennium Chief Executive & NZ Olympic Committee President will explain the partners in the facility. AUT Millennium is a charitable trust established to help New Zealanders live longer and healthier lives, and to enjoy and excel in sport through the provision of world-class facilities, services, research and education. Founded in 2002 as Millennium Institute of Sport and Health (MISH) by Sir Stephen Tindall and Sir Graeme Avery as a premium health and fitness facility for both athletes and the public alike. Partnered with AUT University in 2009, forming AUT Millennium, to expand research and education in the sporting sector. Professor Barry Wilson is an Adjunct Professor with SPRINZ at Auckland University of Technology and will be outlining the research and student opportunities. Martin Dowson is the General Manager Athlete Performance Support at High Performance Sport New Zealand and has overall responsibility for the programme. Simon Briscoe, AUT Millennium Applied Session Coordinator, is the head of the Performance and Technique Analysis discipline within HPSNZ. Simon is coordinating the applied sessions along with technical support from Dr Allan Carman, Research Fellow, AUT SPRINZ. Jodi Cossor and Matt Ingram will provide a demonstration of a multidisciplinary approach driven by biomechanical analysis for Paralympic swimmers. Justin Evans and Sarah-Kate Millar will provide a practical session assessing the athletes rowing stroke to assist the coach on technical changes. This session will demonstrate various rowing traits and how the biomechanist and coach can work together to optimise boat speed. Mike Schofield and Kim Hébert-Losier will provide a session looking at shotput and the evidence based approach to coaching. Dr Craig Harrison and Professor John Cronin will provide examples from the AUTM Athlete Development programme. Kim Simperingham and Jamie Douglas who work with high performance rugby athletes will outline sprinting mechanics in practice. Dr Bruce Hamilton, Fiona Mather, Justin Ralph and Rone Thompson will demonstrate the approach of HPSNZ and Cycling NZ performance health teams in the use of some specific tools for prevention of injury and optimisation of performance. Kelly Sheerin, Denny Wells and Associate Professor Thor Besier will provide examples of using IMU and motion capture methods for running and basketball biomechanics research, education and service. Dr Rodrigo Bini and Associate Professor Andrew Kilding will show how linking of biomechanics and physiology improves injury prevention and performance enhancement. Robert Tang, Andre de Jong and Farhan Tinwala discuss select projects developed by Goldmine, HPSNZ’s in-house engineering team, and how these innovations have enabled unprecedented levels of biomechanics feedback. Cameron Ross and Paul McAlpine demonstrate the technology being used at the Snow Sports NZ training centre in Cadrona to enhance load monitoring of athletes. This application allows greater insight into training performances and biomechanical loads than has been previously possible in the training environment. AUT Millennium tour guides are coordinated by Josh McGeown and include Enora Le Flao, Dustin Oranchuk, Erika Ikeda, Jono Neville, Aaron Uthoff, Andrew Pichardo, Farhan Tinwala, Shelley Diewald, Renata Bastos Gottgtroy, Jessica Yeoman, Casey Watkins, Eric Harbour, Anja Zoellner, Alyssa Joy Spence, Victor Lopez Jr, and Albert Chang

Horizontal Eccentric Towing and Its Effects on Sprint Performance

The success of many team sports and track and field athletes can be in part linked with their sprint performance. Therefore, improving sprint performance has been the foci of researchers and practitioners alike. The most commonly used tools that deliver sprint-specific training stimuli are resisted towing devices (RST) (e.g. sleds). RST provides a predominantly concentric (CON) horizontal overload to the musculo-skeletal system, especially in the acceleration phase of the sprint. Perhaps an eccentric (ECC) horizontal overload may be beneficial given the benefits of ECC training; such as, injury prevention and rehabilitation, shift towards faster muscle phenotypes, hypertrophy, strength and power improvements. This resulted in the overarching research question, “Can a novel horizontal ECC towing device improve sprint performance?”. The aim of this thesis was to develop a device that would provide a horizontal ECC stimulus, evaluate the biomechanics of the device and test its effects on sprint performance. A review of existing ECC training devices found limited devices overload in the horizontal plane and none eccentrically overload the musculo-skeletal system in a sprint-specific gait. Therefore, a movement termed horizontal ECC towing (HET) was developed which involves an athlete in a sprint stance trying to move forwards but is being pulled backwards. A device termed the HET device was then developed to automate this movement. The device was powered by a 10 kW electric motor that can tow athletes at velocities up to 3.58 m/s and can tolerate forces up to 2.8 kN. Two familiarisation sessions were found to achieve movement consistency during HET. Biomechanics analysis was conducted to further understand the movement which would help inform training programme development for coaches. Since HET is a novel movement, no research existed. Thus, ECC towing was compared to its opposite, the CON towing direction (CTD). Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) analysis of ground reaction force (GRF) profiles found that the two directions were significantly different (p<0.05) and were applying different movement strategies to produce force. This suggested that different lower limb joints were likely responsible for CON and ECC force production. Vertical and horizontal GRFs were lower in the ECC direction (p<0.05), which may be limited by the coefficient of friction and indicated that isokinetic horizontal towing does not follow the contractile-force-velocity relationship. Power and work analysis of the lower limb joints showed that the ankle and hip joints are absorbing energy and likely dissipating it in the ECC towing direction (ETD). ETD has greater ankle and hip joint power absorption and much smaller power production. A four-week intervention of ECC and CON towing in elite female field hockey players (n=10) resulted in no improvements in split times. There is still an opportunity for practitioners and researchers to apply a unique ECC stimulus to their athletes. The intervention study had its limitations as it was based out of the lab in a practical setting. However, no tool provides a similar overload as the HET device. We recommend to those that are interested in overloading the power absorption phase of the ankle and hip joints should incorporate HET. Further research with the HET device involving a larger cohort of athletes could provide more conclusive evidence on the effects on sprint performance

Determining friction and effective loading for sled sprinting.

International audienceUnderstanding the impact of friction in sled sprinting allows the quantification of kinetic outputs and the effective loading experienced by the athlete. This study assessed changes in the coefficient of friction (µk) of a sled sprint-training device with changing mass and speed to provide a means of quantifying effective loading for athletes. A common sled equipped with a load cell was towed across an athletics track using a motorised winch under variable sled mass (33.1-99.6 kg) with constant speeds (0.1 and 0.3 m · s-1), and with constant sled mass (55.6 kg) and varying speeds (0.1-6.0 m · s-1). Mean force data were analysed, with five trials performed for each condition to assess the reliability of measures. Variables were determined as reliable (ICC > 0.99, CV < 4.3%), with normal-force/friction-force and speed/coefficient of friction relationships well fitted with linear (R2 = 0.994-0.995) and quadratic regressions (R2 = 0.999), respectively (P < 0.001). The linearity of composite friction values determined at two speeds, and the range in values from the quadratic fit (µk = 0.35-0.47) suggested µk and effective loading were dependent on instantaneous speed on athletics track surfaces. This research provides a proof-of-concept for the assessment of friction characteristics during sled towing, with a practical example of its application in determining effective loading and sled-sprinting kinetics. The results clarify effects of friction during sled sprinting and improve the accuracy of loading applications in practice and transparency of reporting in research

Eccentric strength training: A review of the Available technology

Eccentric (ECC) strength training is becoming increasingly popular among strength and conditioning coaches and practitioners given the proven benefits for performance improvements, injury prevention and rehabilitation. The purpose of this article is to understand the devices that are available for the training of ECC strength, the technology involved, and the associated advantages and disadvantages. It is hoped that with this knowledge the practitioner is better informed at matching ECC strength training needs with the appropriate technology