Ball possessions and game rhythm in basketball games involving players with and without intellectual impairments.

BACKGROUND: Ball possessions and game rhythm are promising variables to better understand teams' collective behaviour during a basketball game. However, the role of these variables is not well documented in teams with intellectual impairments (II). This study aimed to explore ball possession and game rhythm differences between II and non-II basketball games. METHODS: Data were obtained through video observations (53 II games) and the International Basketball Federation records (53 non-II games). RESULTS: Independent t-tests (P ≤ 0.05) revealed that the number of ball possessions was higher and game rhythm was faster in II games. Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (P ≤ 0.05) showed that ball possessions and game rhythm developed differently throughout the II games compared with the non-II games. CONCLUSIONS: The differences may be due to the decision-making, tactical and self-regulatory limitations of players with II. These limitations adequately explain why players with II respond differently to the environmental cues and monitor insufficiently their actions compared with players without II. Additionally, the higher number of ball possessions and the faster game rhythm in II games could be an indicator of more intuitive, and thus faster, game-related decision-making. In conclusion, the study provides further understanding of the role of cognition in basketball and contributes to better explain the differences between II and non-II games.

Exploring experiences of people with stroke and health professionals on post-stroke fatigue guidance: getting the right people to the right care at the right time.

PURPOSE: This focus group study aimed to explore experiences and perceptions on post-stroke fatigue guidance in Dutch rehabilitation and follow-up care among people/patients with stroke and health professionals. METHODS: Ten persons with stroke and twelve health professionals with different professions within stroke rehabilitation or follow-up care in the Netherlands were purposively sampled and included. Eight online focus group interviews were conducted. We analysed the data using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three themes were identified. Guidance in fatigue management did not always match the needs of people/patients with stroke. Professionals were positive about the provided fatigue guidance (e.g. advice on activity pacing), but found it could be better tailored to the situation of people/patients with stroke. Professionals believe the right time for post-stroke fatigue guidance is when people/patients with stroke are motivated to change physical activity behaviour to manage fatigue - mostly several months after stroke - while people/patients with stroke preferred information on post-stroke fatigue well before discharge. Follow-up care and suggestions for improvement described that follow-up support after rehabilitation by a stroke coach is not implemented nationwide, while people/patients with stroke and professionals expressed a need for it. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings will help guide improvement of fatigue guidance in stroke rehabilitation programmes and stroke follow-up care aiming to improve physical activity, functioning, participation, and health.

We recommend fatigue guidance, including peer support, to be accessible to all people after stroke and for health professionals to pay attention to acceptance of the stroke.To improve fatigue guidance, we suggest providing information on post-stroke fatigue to people after stroke and their relatives well before discharge from stroke rehabilitation.Tailored advice on activity pacing during and after stroke rehabilitation is important to fill the current unmet need of people after stroke to manage fatigue and to gradually improve participation, physical activity behaviour and health.We recommend to health professionals working in stroke rehabilitation to tailor the rehabilitation schedule to their patients' energy level and perception of fatigue levels.

The importance of pacing in basketball players with intellectual impairment: Input for evidence-based classification.

Pacing places a high demand on intellectual functioning and has been found useful for classification of athletes with intellectual impairments (II). This may also be true in open-loop sports like basketball. The current study aimed to investigate the pacing behaviour of basketball players with and without II. Using time-motion analysis, the activity of elite basketball players with II (n = 37) and amateur players without II (n = 34) was coded into four movement categories over eight periods of each game: standing, walking, running and jumping. Following two-way ANOVA, an effect of group showed differences between groups in duration and frequency of the movement categories within each period of the games. Additionally, an effect of time suggested that players in both groups paced their performances. However, no interaction was found, indicating that pacing may not be different between groups. In conclusion, the results suggest that due to the dynamic nature of basketball, the included players paced more intuitively by responding to environmental cues and using less deliberate planning. The players with II demonstrated slower games, which may be due to an impaired ability to make quick moment-to-moment deliberate decisions. These skills should be further studied in the context of evidence-based classification.

Trajectories of health-related quality of life among people with a physical disability and/or chronic disease during and after rehabilitation: a longitudinal cohort study.

PURPOSE: To identify Health-related Quality of Life (HR-QoL) trajectories in a large heterogeneous cohort of people with a physical disability and/or chronic disease during and after rehabilitation and to determine which factors before discharge are associated with longitudinal trajectory membership. METHODS: A total of 1100 people with a physical disability and/or chronic disease were included from the longitudinal cohort study Rehabilitation, Sports and Active lifestyle. All participants participated in a physical activity promotion programme in Dutch rehabilitation care. HR-QoL was assessed using the RAND-12 Health Status Inventory questionnaire at baseline (T0: 3-6 weeks before discharge) and at 14 (T1), 33 (T2) and 52 (T3) weeks after discharge from rehabilitation. A data-driven approach using Latent Class Growth Mixture modelling was used to determine HR-QoL trajectories. Multiple binomial multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine person-, disease- and lifestyle-related factors associated with trajectory membership. RESULTS: Three HR-QoL trajectories were identified: moderate (N = 635), high (N = 429) and recovery (N = 36). Trajectory membership was associated with person-related factors (age and body mass index), disease-related factors (perceived fatigue, perceived pain and acceptance of the disease) and one lifestyle-related factor (alcohol consumption) before discharge from rehabilitation. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the people who participated in a physical activity promotion programme obtained a relatively stable but moderate HR-QoL. The identified HR-QoL trajectories among our heterogeneous cohort are disease-overarching. Our findings suggest that people in rehabilitation may benefit from person-centred advice on management of fatigue and pain (e.g. activity pacing) and the acceptance of the disability.

Relative importance of pacing strategy and mean power output in 1500-m self-paced cycling.

INTRODUCTION: Both mean power output (MPO) and the distribution of the available energy over the race, that is, pacing strategy, are critical factors in performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of both pacing strategy and MPO to performance. METHODS: Six well-trained, regionally competitive cyclists performed four 1500-m ergometer time trials (∼2 min). For each subject, the fastest (Fast) and slowest (Slow) time trials were compared and the relative importance of differences in power output and pacing strategy were determined with an energy flow model. RESULTS: The difference in final time between Fast and Slow was 4.0 (2.5) s. Fast was performed with a higher MPO (437.8 (32.3) W vs 411.3 (39.0) W), a higher aerobic peak power (295.3 (36.8) vs 287.5 (34.7) W) and a higher anaerobic peak power (828.8 (145.4) W vs 649.5 (112.2) W) combined with a relatively higher, but not statistically different anaerobic rate constant (0.051 (0.016) vs 0.041 (0.009) W). The changes in MPO (63% anaerobic, 37% aerobic) largely explained the differences in final times. Athletes chose a different pacing strategy that was close to optimal for their physiological condition in both Fast and Slow. CONCLUSION: Differences in intraindividual performance were mainly caused by differences in MPO. Athletes seemed to be able to effectively adjust their pacing profile based on their "status of the day". Keywords modelling performance, energy expenditure, aerobic, anaerobic, sports.

Optimal pacing strategy: from theoretical modelling to reality in 1500-m speed skating.

PURPOSE: Athletes are trained to choose the pace which is perceived to be correct during a specific effort, such as the 1500-m speed skating competition. The purpose of the present study was to "override" self-paced (SP) performance by instructing athletes to execute a theoretically optimal pacing profile. METHODS: Seven national-level speed-skaters performed a SP 1500-m which was analysed by obtaining velocity (every 100 m) and body position (every 200 m) with video to calculate total mechanical power output. Together with gross efficiency and aerobic kinetics, obtained in separate trials, data were used to calculate aerobic and anaerobic power output profiles. An energy flow model was applied to SP, simulating a range of pacing strategies, and a theoretically optimal pacing profile was imposed in a second race (IM). RESULTS: Final time for IM was ∼2 s slower than SP. Total power distribution per lap differed, with a higher power over the first 300 m for IM (637.0 (49.4) vs 612.5 (50.0) W). Anaerobic parameters did not differ. The faster first lap resulted in a higher aerodynamic drag coefficient and perhaps a less effective push-off. CONCLUSION: Experienced athletes have a well-developed performance template, and changing pacing strategy towards a theoretically optimal fast start protocol had negative consequences on speed-skating technique and did not result in better performance.

Hand-cycling: an active form of wheeled mobility, recreation, and sports.

By studying exercise and performance in hand-cycling in both activities of daily living and in Paralympic sport settings, new insights can be gained for rehabilitation practice, adapted physical activity, and sports. This review looks into the pros and cons of hand-cycling in both rehabilitation and optimal sports performance settings as suggested from the current-but still limited-scientific literature and experimentation. Despite the limited evidence-base and the diversity of study approaches and methodologies, this study suggests an important role for hand-cycling during and after rehabilitation, and in wheeled mobility recreation and sports. An approach that combines biomechanical, physiological, and psychosocial elements may lead to a better understanding of the benefits of hand-cycling and of the fundamentals of exercise in rehabilitation, activities of daily living, and sports.

Pattern of developing the performance template.

BACKGROUND: The pattern of energy expenditure during sustained high-intensity exercise is influenced by several variables. Data from athletic populations suggest that a pre-exercise conceptual model, or template, is a central variable relative to controlling energy expenditure. AIMS: The aim of this study was to make systematic observations regarding how the performance template develops in fit individuals who have limited specific experience with sustained high-intensity exercise (eg, time trials). METHODS: The study was conducted in four parts and involved measuring performance (time and power output) during: (A) six 3 km cycle time trials, (B) three 2 km rowing time trials, (C) four 2 km rowing time trials with a training period between trials 2 and 3, and (D) three 10 km cycle time trials. All time trials were self-paced with feedback to the subjects regarding previous performances and momentary pace. RESULTS: In all four series of time trials there was a progressive pattern of improved performance averaging 6% over the first three trials and 10% over six trials. In all studies improvement was associated with increased power output during the early and middle portions of the time trial and a progressively greater terminal rating of perceived exertion. Despite the change in the pattern of energy expenditure, the subjects did not achieve the pattern usually displayed by athletes during comparable events. CONCLUSIONS: This study concludes that the pattern of learning the performance template is primarily related to increased confidence that the trial can be completed without unreasonable levels of exertion or injury, but that the process takes more than six trials to be complete.

Effect of competitive distance on energy expenditure during simulated competition.

Concepts of how athletes should expend their aerobic and anaerobic energetic reserves are generally based on results of tests where an "all out" strategy is imposed on/required from the athlete. We sought to determine how athletes spontaneously expend their energetic reserves when the only instruction was to finish the event in minimal time, as in competition. Well trained, and task habituated, road cyclists (N = 14) completed randomly ordered laboratory time trials of 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and 3000 m on a windload braked cycle ergometer. The pattern of aerobic and anaerobic energy use was calculated from total work accomplished and V.O (2) during the trials. The events were completed in 40.3 +/- 0.6 s, 87.4 +/- 4.1 s, 133.8 +/- 6.6 s and 296.0 +/- 7.2 s. The peak V.O (2) during the terminal 200 m of all events was similar (2.72 +/- 0.22, 3.01 +/- 0.34, 3.23 +/- 0.44 and 3.12 +/- 0.13 l x min (-1)). In all events, the initial power output and anaerobic energy use was high, and decreased to a more or less constant value over the remainder of the event. However, the subjects seemed to reserve some ability to expend energy anaerobically for a terminal acceleration which is contrary to predictions of an "all out" starting strategy. Although the total work accomplished increased with distance (23.14 +/- 4.24, 34.14 +/- 6.37, 43.54 +/- 6.12 and 78.22 +/- 8.28 kJ), the energy attributable to anaerobic sources was not significantly different between the rides (17.29 +/- 3.82, 18.68 +/- 8.51, 20.60 +/- 6.99 and 23.28 +/- 9.04 kJ). The results are consistent with the concept that athletes monitor their energetic resources and regulate their energetic output over time in a manner designed to optimize performance.