The Effects of Aquatic Plyometric Training on Repeated Jumps, Drop Jumps and Muscle Damage.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of land- vs. aquatic based plyometric training programs on the drop jump, repeated jump performance and muscle damage. Sixty-five male students were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: aquatic plyometric training group (APT), plyometric training group (PT) and control group (CG). Both experimental groups trained twice a week for 10 weeks performing the same number of sets and total jumps. The following variables were measured prior to, halfway through and after the training programs: creatine kinase (CK) concentration, maximal height during a drop jump from the height of 30 (DJ30) and 50 cm (DJ50), and mean height during a repeated vertical jump test (RJ). The training program resulted in a significant increase (P<0.01-0.001) in RJ, DJ30, and DJ50 for PT, whereas neither APT nor CG reached any significant improvement APT showed likely/possibly improvements on DJ30 and DJ50, respectively. Greater intra-group Effect Size in CK was found for PT when compared to APT. In conclusion, although APT seems to be a safe alternative method for reducing the stress produced on the musculoskeletal system by plyometric training, PT produced greater gains on reactive jumps performance than APT.

Diagnóstico clínico de hiperreactividad bronquial en deportistas de alto rendimiento / Clinical diagnosis of bronchial hyperreactivity in trained athletes

Objetivo: Determinar el diagnóstico de hiperreactividad bronquial inducida por el ejercicio (HIE) en deportistas de un país cálido. Pacientes y métodos: Se realizó un estudio en ochenta deportistas de programas de alto rendimiento. El número de atletas diagnosticados de asma, alergia y/o hiperreactividad bronquial fueron comparadas con las diagnosticadas de forma positiva mediante un test de metacolina. Resultados: Presentaban diagnostico previo un 21,30% de los deportistas estudiados. El presente estudio permitió diagnosticar un 75%, estando por ello no diagnosticados un 53,7%. Conclusión: La HIE ocurre en deportistas incluidos en programas de alto rendimiento y clima cálido más frecuentemente de lo esperado (AU)

The aim of this study is to determine if the clinical history accurately detects exercise-induced hyperresponsiveness (EIH) in sportsmen of high performance. Study design: Study of sportsmen participating in high performance programs. The number of persons positively screened of EIH by clinical history were compared with the number of persons with EIH diagnosed by methacholine test. Results: The screening history identified persons with previous diagnosis suggestive of EIH in 21,30 % of the participants. Among sportsmen with no previous diagnosis of bronchial hyperresponsiveness 53,70% had EIH by methacholine test. Among sportsmen with no previous physical examination of bronchial hyperresponsiveness 70% had EIH by methacholine test. Conclusions: EIH occurs frequently in sportsmen participating in programs of high performance, and hot whether than screening by clinical history accurately detect it (AU)