ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Netball is the one of the most popular women's sports in the world. Since gaining professional status in 2008 there has been a rapid growth in research in the applied sports science and medicine of the sport. A scoping review of the area would provide practitioners and researchers with an overview of the current scientific literature to support on-court performance, player welfare and reduce injury. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to identify the current research on the applied sports science and medicine of netball. Additionally, the article provides a brief summary of the research in each topic of sports science and medicine in netball and identifies gaps in the current research. METHODS: Systematic searches of PubMed, SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE and CINAHL were undertaken from earliest record to Dec 2020 and reference lists were manually searched. The PRISMA-ScR protocol was followed. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they investigated netball as a sport or the applied sport science and medicine of netball athletes. RESULTS: 962 studies were identified in the initial search, 150 of which met the inclusion criteria. Injury was the most highly investigated sport science and medicine topic (n = 45), followed by physical qualities (n = 37), match characteristics (n = 24), biomechanics (n = 15), psychology (n = 13), fatigue and recovery (n = 9), training load (n = 4) and nutrition (n = 3). A range of cohorts were used from school to elite and international standards. All cohorts were female netballers, except for one study. A rapid growth in studies over recent years was demonstrated with 65% of studies published in the last decade. There still remains gaps in the literature, with a low evidence base for nutrition, training load and fatigue and recovery. CONCLUSION: This scoping review summarises the current evidence base and key findings that can be used in practice to enhance the applied sport science and medical support to netball athletes across a range of playing standards, and support the growth of the sport. It is evident that netball as a sport is still under-researched.
Subject(s)
Basketball , Athletes , Fatigue , Female , Humans , Physical ExaminationABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of crank length and cadence on mechanical efficiency in hand cycling. Eight wheelchair dependent, high performance athletes completed four 4-min submaximal exercise bouts at a constant power output of 90 W over the different experimental conditions (crank length, pedal rate) using a sports hand bike (Draft, Godmanchester, UK). Two different crank lengths (180 and 220 mm) were tested at two different cadences (70 and 85 rev min(-1)) using the synchronous mode of cranking. Physiological measures of oxygen uptake (VO2) minute ventilation, blood lactate (B[La]), heart rate (HR), rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded, gross (GE) and net (NE) efficiency were calculated. A two-way ANOVA with repeated measures was applied to determine the effects of crank length, cadence and their interaction on these physiological measures. Both GE and NE were significantly higher and V(O)(2) significantly lower for the 180 mm crank (P < 0.05). No significant main effect was found for cadence on the physiological measures (P > 0.05). Likewise, no interactions between crank length and pedal rate were found. There was however, a trend observed with HR and B[La] often lower with the 180 mm crank, indicating lower physiological stress. The RPE data supported this finding, with a tendency for lower ratings with the 180 mm crank (9 +/- 2 vs. 10 +/- 3). The short crank length when used at 85 rev min(-1) was found to be the most efficient (GE 21.4 +/- 3.1%). In conclusion, crank length has a significant effect on ME in hand cycling. A shorter crank length of 180 mm was found to be more efficient than the 220 mm, regardless of pedal rate during hand cycling.
