This study aimed to determine the injury patterns associated with training activities in elite South Korean aquatic sports athletes training for the Olympic Games. From 2012 to 2019, we prospectively ...collected data on elite aquatic sports athletes at the Korea National Training Center. The athletes were assessed by four sports medicine doctors, and data were stratified according to sex, aquatic style, injury body location, and injury severity. Chi-square tests were used to compare groups. Injury rates was expressed as rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Annually, the center hosts an average of 42 elite aquatic athletes spread over four aquatic styles. We recorded 797 injuries in total (annual average: 2.37 injuries/athlete), during training sessions, 57.1% of which were mild injuries. For all athletes, most injuries occurred in the upper limb (35.9%), followed by the lower limb (31.0%), the trunk (24.5%), and the head and neck (8.7%). Aquatic style significantly influenced injury body location and severity for both male and female athletes (injury body location: p < 0.001 and p < 0.010, respectively; injury severity: p = 0.027 and p < 0.001, respectively). In general, male and female athletes experienced a comparable risk of injury (rate ratio: 1.15; 95% confidence intervals: 0.53-2.46). Among the male and female South Korean elite aquatic athletes training for the Olympic Games, most injuries were mild and occurred in the upper limb, and aquatic style influenced injury body location and severity.
Investigate the patterns and circumstances of shoulder injury, in both male and female sub-elite water polo players, through evaluating the injury incidence, mechanism and subsequent training time ...lost.
:Retrospective cohort.
Sports institute.
80 sub-elite water polo players.
Total injury number and incidence, mechanism of injury, lost training time and time from injury onset to seeking treatment.
For the athlete self-report data set (2009–2013), 218 total injuries were reported with 54 (25%) being shoulder injuries. From 2014 to 2016, 133 physiotherapist-report injuries were recorded, the shoulder accounting for 21 (16%) of total injuries. The shoulder was the most frequently injured site and accounted for 25% of lost training days. Two thirds of shoulder injuries were due to overuse (67%). The average time between sustaining a shoulder injury and presenting to the team physiotherapist was 10 days.
: Irrespective of data collection method, shoulder injuries were the most common injury for both male and female sub-elite water polo players. Future injury prevention strategies could address overuse through optimising throwing volumes, and include athlete education about injury management to determine whether reducing time delay between injury occurrence and seeking treatment improves outcomes.
•Shoulder injuries were the most common self-report and physiotherapist-report injury by sub-elite water polo players.•Shoulder injuries accounted for 25% of all lost training days.•The average time delay between sustaining a shoulder injury and seeking physiotherapy treatment was 10 days.
This study aimed to examine the physical capabilities of elite canoe polo players and to identify interrelationships between anthropometric or physiological characteristics and performance on a kayak ...ergometer.
Eight male participants (age 24.6±4.8 years, weight 84.1±5.3 kg, height 180.0±5.9 cm) completed four all-out time trials (15 s, 180 s, 420 s, 900 s) to determine peak power output (PPO), mean power output (MPO), maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), maximal rate of lactate accumulation (VLamax), and maximal lactate steady-state (cMLSS). Critical power (CP) and work that can be performed above CP (W') were assessed using a linear power model. Further, the 30-second end-test power (EP) and work done above EP (WEP) were derived from the 180 s time trial. Finally, indices were calculated from the metabolic and power data. The level of significance was set at P≤0.05.
Weak to moderate correlations were found for body weight and height compared to PPO and MPOs. VO2max correlated strongly with MPO180 and MPO420. VLamax correlated moderately with PPO and MPO15. While the calculations of CP, EP, and cMLSS correlated moderately to strongly, their means differed significantly. W' and WEP also differed significantly with a mean difference of 10.2±2.5 kJ.
Canoe polo players are similar to sprint paddlers in their constitution, although VO2max and PPO are lower. The high correlation between physiological and power parameters also shows that simple tests that do not require blood or gas sampling can be established quickly in daily training practice.
The aim of the study is to verify the performance trajectory related to age, classification (KL: kayak level; M: male; F: female), and sex of elite kayak Para canoe athletes.
This is a retrospective ...cohort study.
Race results and athletes' data were retrieved from publicly available online databases for 17 competitions and 102 finals between 2015 and 2022. Race time reduced over the years except for KL3-M class. There was a reduction in the relative difference between KL2-M and KL3-M over the years ( r = -0.83, 95% confidence interval = -0.34 to -0.97, P ≤ 0.05). In addition, no significant differences were found in race times relative differences between KL2-F and KL3-F over the years. Although the correlation between age and performance was only found to be statistically significant in the KL3-F class, the ages of all classes (35.2, 32.6, 29.5, 34.6, 37.6, and 30.6 yrs for males and females KL1, KL2, and KL3, respectively) were higher than those in Olympic canoeing (27.8 yrs).
Race times have improved overall since 2015, but not for the KL3-M class. Nevertheless, because of the stochastic ages of the finalist athletes, it was not possible to determine the age at which peak performance is achieved in all classes. Kayak Para canoe classes should be monitored in the coming years to determine whether interventions are necessary to improve differentiation.
Purpose of the study was to quantify the importance of auditory feedback for movement precision in elevated rowing task difficulty with elite athletes under normal and masked hearing conditions. It ...was hypothesized that rowing with masked hearing would reduce the precision of movement, particularly at the non-usual/less-preferred stroke frequencies (SF). Self-reported questionnaires helped to understand the difficulty of the task. Twenty rowers completed 2 × 1000 m-distance-blocks, each separated into 4 × 250 m, with increasing SF 18, 20, 22 24 strokes/minute once with normal and once with masked hearing. Precision was determined as the deviation between the SF target and the SF actually performed (DSF). Athletes' subjective perception was requested before and after the experiment. A 2 (hearing condition) × 4 (SF 18, 20, 22, 24) repeated measures ANOVA showed systematically larger DSF during masked hearing for all SFs compared to the DSF in the normal hearing condition (
< .01). Further, the highest DSFs were found for SF 18 and 24 in both hearing conditions (no interaction effect). The athletes' perception of the relevance of natural movement sounds for their rowing performance changed when evaluated before and after the experiment. Rowing without hearing was evaluated as mentally more demanding than physically. The results confirmed our initial assumptions and showed the relevance of natural auditory information for movement precision in rowing practice, even at a high level of expertise.
A long-term historical analysis of the impacts of recreational boating on marine surface water quality during a regatta (Cowes Week) in an internationally crucial waterway, the Solent Strait ...(Hampshire, UK) is presented. Water quality indicators studied included nitrogen concentration, bacterial indicators, and oxygen saturation, at three sampling sites at/near Cowes during 2001–2019. Findings include that sewage discharge from recreational boats is the key contributor to localised faecal contamination of marine surface waters, putting bathers and shellfisheries at risk. Bathing water quality monitoring and pollution warning systems should be strengthened prior to and during this type of regatta and access to bathing water areas may need to be restricted. These findings have implications for the regulation, future monitoring and management strategies for discharges from recreational boats during extended regattas. Adequate and affordable local facilities for recovering sewage wastewater from recreational boats should be provided alongside appropriate mechanisms for communication to sailors.
•Historical analysis of impacts of recreational boating on marine water quality•Water quality indicators studied: N concentration, bacteria, O2 saturation•Recreational boat discharge key contributor to faecal contamination during regattas•Bathing water quality monitoring & pollution warning systems should be strengthened•During regattas access to bathing water areas may need to be restricted
Adult elite rowers are at risk of developing low back pain (LBP). However, LBP data on adolescent elite rowers is currently insufficient. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess LBP ...prevalence, LBP intensity and training characteristics in male adolescent elite rowers and a healthy control group. Twenty rowers (mean age 15.8 ± 1.2 years) and a non-athletic control group matched by age and gender (n = 13) were prospectively enrolled and underwent LBP assessment with a validated questionnaire and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lumbar spine muscles, which included a T2-mapping sequence. From the quantitative image data, T2 relaxation times were calculated. The prevalence of LBP in the last 24 hours and 3 months in the rowing group was 55.0% and 85.0%, respectively, compared to 23.1% and 30.8% in the control group (p < 0.001). Rowers had significantly longer T2 relaxation times of the paraspinal muscles compared to controls (p ≤ 0.041). LBP intensity was associated with longer T2 relaxation times (p < 0.001). Adolescent rowers had a higher prevalence of LBP compared to an age-matched control group. The observed increase in T2 relaxation might be explained by muscle soreness due to strenuous exercise, which is correlated with short-term pain intensity.
We aimed to determine whether there were any differences in how surfers used their lead and trail limbs when landing two variations of a simulated aerial manoeuvre, and whether technique affected the ...forces generated at landing. Fifteen competitive surfers (age 20.3 ± 5.6 years, height 178.2 ± 9.16 cm, mass 71.0 ± 10.5 kg) performed a Frontside Air (FA) and Frontside Air Reverse (FAR), while we collected the impact forces, ankle and knee muscle activity, and kinematic data. A principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce 41 dependent variables into 10 components. A two-way MANOVA revealed that although there were no limb x aerial variation interactions, surfers generated significantly higher relative loading rates at landing for the trail limb compared to the lead limb (+28.8 BW/s; F
(1,303)
= 20.660, p < 0.0001, η
2
= 0.064). This was likely due to the surfers "slapping" the trail limb down when landing, rather than controlling placement of the limb. Similarly, higher relative loading rates were generated when landing the FA compared to the FAR (+23.6 BW/s; F
(1,303)
= 31.655, p < 0.0001, η
2
= 0.095), due to less time over which the forces could be dissipated. No relationships between aerial variation or limb were found for any of the kinematic or muscle activity data. Practitioners should consider the higher relative loading rates generated by a surfer's trail limb and when surfers perform a FA when designing dry-land training to improve the aerial performance of surfing athletes.
The purpose was to assess the intra-trunk and arm coordination of Olympic athletes during rowing on an ergometer. Rowing was performed at three stroke rates (18, 26, and 32 strokes/min). The sagittal ...plane motions of trunk segments and upper arm were collected for 59 Olympic athletes (32 females and 27 males) from the Chinese National Rowing Team. The coupling angles between the three pairs of segments (lumbar-pelvis, thorax-lumbar, upper arm-thorax) were generated using a vector coding method. The coupling angles were classified: in-phase, anti-phase, superior-phase, and inferior-phase. Three-way, mixed-model ANOVA were used to test the time spent in each coordination pattern. The trunk segments and upper arms demonstrated an in-phase coordination pattern for most of the time. During the drive phase, the time spent in in-phase was increased at higher stroke rates. Athletes are encouraged to use this in-phase pattern, especially between the pelvis and lumbar spine during training with high demands of stroke repetitions or time. During the recovery phase, the trunk segments were rotating mostly in-phase whereas the upper arm was flexing dominantly to maintain stroke length at higher stroke rates. Female and male rowers exhibited similar intra-trunk coordination patterns except for the upper arm-thorax pair.
Shipping is understood to be a major vector for the introduction and spread of marine non-indigenous species (NIS). However, recreational boating is still unregulated and its influence as vector has ...not yet been assessed for the Mediterranean Sea, which is the second most popular recreational boating destination worldwide. This is the first large-scale study to examine this by a combined biological (analyzing hull and marina fouling) and social approach (boaters surveys on maintenance habits, travel patterns and awareness), focused on peracarid crustaceans. A surprisingly high number of NIS were found on vessels cruising Mediterranean waters, and species compositions suggest an exchange between marina and vessel assemblages. This means recreational boating presents a risk for NIS spread which should warrant regulation. Results also implied that regionally coordinated management should be supported by effective local-scale-based management in the Mediterranean, which could improve upon with targeted environmental education to solve lack of awareness.
•This study examines boating as a vector of non-indigenous species (NIS) introductions.•Specifically, peracarid crustaceans are studied in marinas and boats in the Mediterranean.•Results show numerous NIS in marinas and vessels and suggest exchanges between them.•Vessel maintenance and travel patterns influence the likelihood of NIS occurrence.•There is a general lack of awareness of marine bioinvasions among recreational boaters.
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