Search results for "athletes"

Protein supplementation in strength and conditioning adepts: knowledge, dietary behavior and practice in Palermo, Italy

2011

Abstract Background It is known that supplement use is a widespread and accepted practice by athletes and people who attend commercial gyms. Little is known about protein supplement amongst people undertaking strength training in commercial gyms in Italy when compared to the US. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the use of protein supplementation, alone or in association with other supplements, and dietary behavior amongst regular fitness center attendees in Palermo, Italy. Design Resistance training information have been collected from 800 regular fitness center attendees for the initial analysis. A specific questionnaire was generated for the experimentation. Data were co…

Trunk kinematics during cross country sit-skiing ergometry: Skiing strategies associated to neuromusculoskeletal impairment

2016

Since trunk function plays a major role in propulsion in sit-skiers and athletes belonging to distinct classes have different abilities to control trunk muscles, the aim of this study is to evaluate how athletes personalized their skiing strategy to compensate their impairment and improve skiing effectiveness. Sixteen Paralympic sit-skiers belonging to different classes volunteered as participant. Each athlete executed two double poling tests on a ski ergometer at the maximal speed he/she can reach and the best, identified as the fastest, was considered in the analysis. A set of two passive reflective markers was used for kinematic analysis: the first marker was placed on the athlete should…

Evaluation Instruments for Assessing Back Pain in Athletes: A Systematic Review Protocol

2020

Back pain is a public health problem that affects adolescents and adults worldwide. However, studies on back pain present inconsistent findings in part due to the use of different instruments, especially for athletes. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review protocol was to map the existing evidence on such tools. The systematic review will be conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Five electronic databases, Embase, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, and Scopus will be searched. This review includes studies that investigated prevalence, incidence, and other variables. Titles and abstracts will be selected. Two independent reviewers will read the articles carefully and discrepancies,…

Adverse Effects of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids: A Literature Review

2021

Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) are a large group of molecules including endogenously produced androgens, such as testosterone, as well as synthetically manufactured derivatives. AAS use is widespread due to their ability to improve muscle growth for aesthetic purposes and athletes’ performance, minimizing androgenic effects. AAS use is very popular and 1–3% of US inhabitants have been estimated to be AAS users. However, AASs have side effects, involving all organs, tissues and body functions, especially long-term toxicity involving the cardiovascular system and the reproductive system, thereby, their abuse is considered a public health issue. The aim of the proposed review is to highli…

Antiplatelet Therapy in Marathon Runners: More Harm than Benefits?

2013

We read with interest the article by Arthur J. Siegel, who recently concluded that prophylactic aspirin for primary prevention of cardiac events in marathon runners may be a viable approach for lowering the global risk of cardiovascular events in these subjects. Although there is a credible hysiological basis for supporting this provocative suggesion, and the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is requent in athletes, there are, however, some issues that hould be considered, and which would globally overwhelm he hypothetical advantages of antiplatelet therapy in this eculiar setting. First, there is no controlled, randomized study that has efinitely proven the existence of any poten…

Effects of Far Infrared Heat on Recovery in Power Athletes

2015

Effects of Far Infrared Heat on Recovery in Power Athletes Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the far infrared (FIR) heat on the recovery of the power athletes during the 5-day intensive training period. Methods: The experimental group acted also as its own control group and it consisted of ten national level male athletes (22.3 ± 4.5 years) from power events. Training consisted of strength-, power-, and technique sessions. Performance tests included isometric strength tests, a countermovement jump (CMJ) and a Wingate 30 s test. Serum concentration of testosterone, cortisol, sex hormone binding globulin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and creatinekin…

Running thermoregulation effects using bioceramics versus polyester fibres socks

2020

The feet, covered by socks and shoes during running, undergo an increase of temperature. The aim of this study was to reduce heat generation in the feet of athletes during running by wearing novel thermoregulatory socks impregnated with bioceramic materials. Thirty male athletes ran a half-marathon (21.0975 km) wearing polyester based with bioceramic fibres (zirconium silicate and titanium oxide) and control socks (polyester). The average temperatures were measured with a thermographic camera (FLIR e60bx) before and after the run. Nine regions of interests were evaluated in the plantar surface and eight in the dorsum. Before running, the plantar region with the highest temperature was the …

Elite athletes get pregnant, have healthy babies and return to sport early postpartum

2019

ObjectivesTo enhance knowledge on pregnancy and return to sport in the postpartum period in elite female athletes.Methods34 Norwegian elite athletes (33.1 years) and 34 active controls (31.5 years) were asked about training and competitive history, pregnancy-related issues, injuries, body dissatisfaction (BD), drive for thinness (DT), eating disorders (ED) and practical experiences, through a questionnaire and interview. Independent samples T-tests or χ² tests for between-group differences and paired-samples T-tests and repeated measures analysis of variance for within group differences were used.ResultsNo group differences in fertility problems, miscarriage, preterm birth or low birth weig…

2018

Aims In the current study we investigated the effects of resisted sprint training on sprinting performance and underlying mechanical parameters (force-velocity-power profile) based on two different training protocols: (i) loads that represented maximum power output (Lopt) and a 50% decrease in maximum unresisted sprinting velocity and (ii) lighter loads that represented a 10% decrease in maximum unresisted sprinting velocity, as drawn from previous research (L10). Methods Soccer [n = 15 male] and rugby [n = 21; 9 male and 12 female] club-level athletes were individually assessed for horizontal force-velocity and load-velocity profiles using a battery of resisted sprints, sled or robotic res…

2013

Purpose This study assessed, for the first time, prevalence estimates for physical and cognitive doping within a single collective of athletes using the randomized response technique (RRT). Furthermore, associations between the use of legal and freely available substances to improve physical and cognitive performance (enhancement) and illicit or banned substances to improve physical and cognitive performance (doping) were examined. Methods An anonymous questionnaire using the unrelated question RRT was used to survey 2,997 recreational triathletes in three sports events (Frankfurt, Regensburg, and Wiesbaden) in Germany. Prior to the survey, statistical power analyses were performed to deter…