Neuromuscular and inflammatory responses to handball small-sided games: the effects of physical contact.

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of physical contact on neuromuscular impairments and inflammatory response during handball small-sided games. Using a counterbalanced design, 12 elite male junior handball players were divided into two groups: contact (C-SSG) and no-contact (NC-SSG), performing both contact and no-contact small-sided games, in reverse order on two training sessions separated by 5 days. The methodology and rules were identical for the two SSG regimens, with the only difference being the inclusion or prohibition of upper body use for physical contacts. Upper and lower body neuromuscular performances and blood concentrations of inflammatory cytokine IL-6 were assessed before and immediately after the games. During small-sided games, video analysis was used to establish the physical contact counts. Significant differences were found in most upper and lower limbs muscles kinetic variables and in the physical contact events (all P < 0.001) following the two training regimens. There was an increase in IL-6 after C-SSG and no changes following NC-SSG (P < 0.05 and P = 0.12, respectively). Moreover, a strong correlation was found between the number of physical contacts and IL-6 responses (r = 0.971, P < 0.001) in C-SSG. This study indicates that an inflammatory response and large upper and lower body neuromuscular impairments result from physical contact in elite handball players. These outcomes outline the specific physiological profile of C-SSG that, in turn, might be used by practitioners and coaches as a practical approach to strategically select exercises in athlete's overall training program.

Repeated sprint ability related to recovery time in young soccer players.

This study aimed to describe the influence of recovery duration during a repeated sprint ability (RSA) test (6 × 40 m) by investigating a number of variables, such as general performance, metabolic demand, and muscular stretch-shortening performance. Seventeen male soccer outfield players (16 ± 0 years, 66 ± 10 kg) performed three field shuttle-running tests with 15, 20, and 25-sec recoveries. In addition to specific shuttle test's variables, blood lactate concentration and vertical jump height were assessed. Resulting measures were highly reliable (intra-class correlation coefficient up to 0.86). 25-sec recovery improved test performance (-3% total time from 15-sec to 25-sec recovery), vertical jump height (+7% post-test height from 15-sec to 25-sec recovery), and decreased blood lactate accumulation (-33% post-test from 15-sec to 25-sec recovery). Study findings suggest that metabolic acidosis plays a role in worsening performance and fatigue development during the shuttle test. A 25-sec recovery duration maximized performance, containing metabolic-anaerobic power involvement and muscular stretch-shortening performance deterioration during a RSA test.