Evaluating the effect of sports compression tights on balance, sprinting, jumping and change of direction tasks.

Compression garments are commonly used during athletic tasks. However, the effect of compression garments on balance, sprinting, jumping and change of direction performance requires further investigation. In the current study, 24 recreationally active participants (12 males, 12 females, age 27 ± 3 years) completed single-leg balance tasks, countermovement jumps, drop jumps, 10 m straight line sprints and change of direction tasks wearing either compression tights (COMP) or regular exercise tights (CON). There was a significant main effect of the condition for 10 m sprint time (p = 0.03, d = -0.18) and change of direction time (p = 0.03, d = -0.20) in favour of COMP. In addition, there was a significant, small difference (p = 0.05, d = -0.30) in ellipse area and a small (p = 0.16, d = 0.21) difference in balance time in favour of COMP during a single-leg balance task. There were no significant differences between trials for any of the other balance or jump tests (p > 0.05). The application of compression tights during exercise may offer small benefits to the performance of balance and change of direction tasks, though these benefits are likely within the typical error of measurement for the tests used.

The Contribution of Lower-Body Kinematics to Pitching and Hitting Performance in Baseball: Utilizing the OpenBiomechanics Project.

As markerless motion capture systems become more affordable than ever, it is becoming far easier to collect and analyze kinematic data on baseballers. To ensure this data can be used impactfully, coaches and practitioners should possess a good understanding of specific technique characteristics that are associated with enhanced performance in pitchers and hitters. This study used the open-source data provided by Driveline Baseball's OpenBiomechanics Project to evaluate the contribution of lower-body kinematics to pitch velocity and bat speed. In addition to correlational analyses to examine the association between discrete kinematic variables and performance, statistical nonparametric mapping was used to compare slow and fast velocity groups across the entirety of pitching and hitting motions from peak knee height to ball release/contact. It was found that rotation of the trail leg and extension of the lead knee were both associated with performance in pitchers and hitters. Consequently, coaches and practitioners should ensure that individuals possess an adequate level of strength and flexibility to facilitate optimal movement of the trail hip and lead knee during pitching and hitting movements. If deficiencies exist, then training programs should be designed to address these issues and eventually bring about an improvement in performance.

External workload intensity in cricket fast bowlers across maximal and submaximal intensities: Modifying PlayerLoad and IMU location.

Workload is a commonly accepted risk factor for injury among fast bowlers, however many methods exist to characterise workload. Recently, automated intensity-sensitive measures like PlayerLoad have been used to improve the estimation of workload in fast bowlers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether similar variables could be extracted from a single inertial measurement unit (IMU) that highly correlate with intensity, according to release speed. Eight elite and pre-elite bowlers participated in the study, with each bowler bowling one over each at 60%, 80% and 100% intensity and repeating this across two sessions (36 balls per participant). IMUs were placed on the upper-back and non-bowling wrist and maximum PlayerLoad from each delivery (PLmax) was compared to the accumulated value across each delivery (PLacc). The strongest correlation with release speed was with PLacc from the non-bowling wrist (R = 0.74), followed by PLacc from the upper-back (R = 0.65) and PLmax from the upper back (R = 0.60). Consequently, an improved estimation of the intensity at which bowlers are working at could be gained by examining accumulated PlayerLoad values from an IMU on the non-bowling wrist.

Is there an association between external workload and lower-back injuries in cricket fast bowlers? A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the level of evidence for an association between external bowling workload and lower-back injuries in cricket fast bowlers. METHODS: Six online databases were searched using four sets of keywords (relating to cricket, bowler, lumbar, workload). Risk of bias was assessed using the NIH quality assessment tool, while quality of evidence was assessed according to the Cochrane Back and Neck (CBN) group guidelines. RESULTS: Eight articles were found to fit the inclusion/exclusion criteria. It was found that overall, there was a low quality of evidence amongst the included studies. A high risk of bias was present - both in the measurement of external workload and lower-back injuries. CONCLUSION: The association between external workload and lower-back injuries has minimal strength. Technological advancements that allow total workload to be measured accurately would potentially allow the association between workload and lower-back injury to be examined more precisely, possibly leading to effective injury prevention interventions in fast bowlers.