Musculoskeletal injury prevalence in professional padel players. A retrospective study of the 2021 season.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the influence of the gender, ranking and playing position on the musculoskeletal injuries in professional padel players. DESIGN: An epidemiological, observational, descriptive, retrospective cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: 44 injuries were reported by 36 players (20 men/16 women) who participated in the World Padel Tour 2021. SETTING: Online questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Descriptive statistics and injury prevalence were calculated. Spearman/Pearson correlations between sample characteristics and injury variables were calculated. The chi-square test was used to analyse the association between injury and descriptive variables. A Mann-Whitney U test was performed to compare the group differences with regard to days of absence. RESULTS: The results showed different injury prevalence (x1000 matches) in male (10.50) and female players (15.10). A higher injury incidence in top-ranked players, both in male (44.40%) and female (58.33%) was identified, but the low-ranked players reported more severe injuries (>28 days) (p < 0.05). Top-ranked players suffered more muscle injuries (p < 0.01) and low-ranked players suffered more tendon injuries (p < 0.01). Gender, ranking and playing position did not influence the days of absence (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that gender and ranking position had an impact on the injury prevalence in professional padel players.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Differences in Mean Propulsive Velocity between Men and Women in Different Exercises.

The purpose of this paper was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the differences in the mean propulsive velocities between men and women in the different exercises studied (squat, bench press, inclined bench press and military press). Quality Assessment and Validity Tool for Correlational Studies was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Six studies of good and excellent methodological quality were included. Our meta-analysis compared men and women at the three most significant loads of the force-velocity profile (30, 70 and 90% of 1RM). A total of six studies were included in the systematic review, with a total sample of 249 participants (136 men and 113 women). The results of the main meta-analysis indicated that the mean propulsive velocity is lower in women than men in 30% of 1RM (ES = 1.30 ± 0.30; CI: 0.99-1.60; p < 0.001) and 70% of 1RM (ES = 0.92 ± 0.29; CI: 0.63, 1.21; p < 0.001). In contrast, for the 90% of the 1RM (ES = 0.27 ± 0.27; CI: 0.00, 0.55), we did not find significant differences (p = 0.05). Our results support the notion that prescription of the training load through the same velocity could cause women to receive different stimuli than men.

How Does Instability Affect Bench Press Performance? Acute Effect Analysis with Different Loads in Trained and Untrained Populations.

(I) The execution of different sports involves a significant number of throws, jumps, or direction changes, so the body must be as stable as possible while performing a specific action. However, there is no classification of unstable devices and their influence on performance variables. Furthermore, the effect on athletes' experience using instability is unknown. (II) The aim of this study was to analyze the power and speed parameters in bench press with different loads and unstable executions: (1) stable (SB), (2) with asymmetric load (AB), (3) with unstable load (UB), (4) on fitball (FB) and (5) on a Bosu® (BB). A total of 30 male participants (15 trained and 15 untrained) were evaluated for mean propulsive speed (MPS), maximum speed (MS), and power (PW) with different types of external load: a low load (40% of 1RM), medium load (60% of 1RM), and high load (80% of 1RM) in each condition. Variables were measured with an inertial dynamometer. (III) The best data were evidenced with SB, followed by AB (3-12%), UB (4-11%), FB (7-19%), and BB (14-23%). There were no differences between groups and loads (p > 0.05) except in the case of MS with 60% 1RM, where trained participants obtained 4% better data (p < 0.05). (IV) Executions with implements and equipment such as fitball and Bosu® do not seem to be the most recommended when the objective is to improve power or execution speed. However, situations where the load is unstable (AB and UB) seem to be a good alternative to improve stabilization work without high performance. Furthermore, experience does not seem to be a determining factor.

The relationship between the relative age effect and performance among athletes in World Handball Championships.

This study examines the relative age effect (RAE) and its impact on the performance of elite male (n = 3,358) and female (n = 3,273) handball players in the U-19 (n = 2,188), U-21 (n = 2,031), and senior (n = 2,412) categories of the 2013/2014, 2015/2016 and 2017/2018 World Handball Championships organised by the International Handball Federation (IHF). The distribution of the players´ birth dates (by quartile: Q, and semester: S) by categories, handball playing positions, and membership of continental federations, were analysed for each of the three two-year periods in which the World Handball Championships took place. Differences between the observed and expected birth dates were tested using a chi-square goodness of fit test, and subsequent calculations were tested using odds ratios. The Spearman's correlation coefficient was applied to test the correlation between the relative age of the athletes and (their) performance parameters. The results revealed a prevalence of the RAE on both male and female in the U-19 and U-21 categories (p<0.001), and a stabilisation of the RAE throughout the period analysed (2013/14-2017/2018). The RAE was not found in the female senior category (2013, 2015 and 2017) or male senior category (2013) (p>0.05). All playing positions were impacted by the RAE (p<0.001), and especially strong effect sizes were noted for male pivots (Vc = 0.66/0.68/0.60) and female center backs (Vc = 0.71/0.65/0.71). In our analysis of the handball continental federations, the RAE was found in all regions, except Oceania (p>0.05). The RAE also affected athlete performance: the oldest athletes played more minutes and achieved better performances. The RAE was associated with the final placement of the teams in each championship category, except in the male youth category. The findings clearly demonstrated that the RAE has a significant impact on the selection of male and female athletes to international competitions and the performance of both men and women in international handball. The potential implications of these findings for policy and practice are discussed.