A stronger neck can help young athletes reduce their risk of concussion

During Australia’s winter sports seasons, hundreds of thousands of children will take to the field in contact sports like rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules and soccer. With this comes the ever-present risk of concussions, which can have serious short and long-term effects – especially for younger athletes. One crucial yet often overlooked protective factor is neck strength. Can neck strength reduce concussion risk

Half-Time Strategies to Enhance Second-Half Performance in Team-Sports Players: A Review and Recommendations

The competitive demands of numerous intermittent team sports require that two consecutive periods of play are separated by a half-time break. Typically, half-time allows players to: return to the changing rooms, temporarily relax from the cognitive demands of the first half of match-play, rehydrate, re-fuel, attend to injury or equipment concerns, and to receive tactical instruction and coach feedback in preparation for the second half. These passive practices have been associated with physiological changes which impair physical and cognitive performance in the initial stages of the second half. An increased risk of injury has also been observed following half-time. On the day of competition, modification of half-time practices may therefore provide Sports Scientists and Strength and Conditioning Coaches with an opportunity to optimise second half performance. An overview of strategies that may benefit team sports athletes is presented; specifically, the efficacy of: heat maintenance strategies (including passive and active methods), hormonal priming (through video feedback), post-activation potentiation, and modified hydro-nutritional practices are discussed. A theoretical model of applying these strategies in a manner that compliments current practice is also presented

Faulting and deformation in chalk

peer reviewe

Quality parameters of hunted game meat : sensory analysis and pH monitoring

The aim of the present research is to propose a new, quick and objective method for the certification of hunted and/or culled wild game meat quality and to monitor its origin and the hunting practices adopted by hunters. The expected deliverable is a new labelling scheme for Italian hunted wild game meat that will guarantee high quality and safety standards for consumers and will decrease transaction costs of the supply chains. During the 2015, 2016 and 2017 hunting seasons, 1,056 hunted wild ungulates were sampled. Specifically, alpine chamois (n=537), roe deer (n=113), red deer (n=342) and wild boar (n=64), which were all hunted in the VCO2-Ossola Nord hunting district (Verbania Province, Piedmont, Italy). Samples of the longissimus dorsi were collected to evaluate the nutritional parameters and the acid profiles of the products. As a measure of meat quality, pH values have been recorded after slaughtering by inserting a probe in the semimembranosus muscle. The results were categorized as DFD (pH 656,2), intermediate DFD (5,8 64pH<6,2) and high-quality meat (pH <5,8). As explanatory variables for the quality of wild game meat, differences based on age, gender and hunting practices were considered. Concerning the latter variables, measures were collected from animals received at hunting districts control centers by trained technicians who also collected information on the hunting practices, i.e., bleeding and evisceration of the carcasses and number of shots. Nutritional values showed low fat (<3 g per 100 g), low saturated fat (<1,5 g per 100 g) and high protein contents. Furthermore, wild game meat has high values of \u3c93 and CLA, ensuring a positive \u3c96/\u3c93 ratio. Differences were found in the concentrations of fat between age and gender, considering that during the mating season, adult males' weight loss can exceed 40%. Hunting practices seem to affect meat qualit

Skill execution and sleep deprivation: effects of acute caffeine or creatine supplementation - a randomized placebo-controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We investigated the effects of sleep deprivation with or without acute supplementation of caffeine or creatine on the execution of a repeated rugby passing skill.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Ten elite rugby players completed 10 trials on a simple rugby passing skill test (20 repeats per trial), following a period of familiarisation. The players had between 7-9 h sleep on 5 of these trials and between 3-5 h sleep (deprivation) on the other 5. At a time of 1.5 h before each trial, they undertook administration of either: placebo tablets, 50 or 100 mg/kg creatine, 1 or 5 mg/kg caffeine. Saliva was collected before each trial and assayed for salivary free cortisol and testosterone.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sleep deprivation with placebo application resulted in a significant fall in skill performance accuracy on both the dominant and non-dominant passing sides (p < 0.001). No fall in skill performance was seen with caffeine doses of 1 or 5 mg/kg, and the two doses were not significantly different in effect. Similarly, no deficit was seen with creatine administration at 50 or 100 mg/kg and the performance effects were not significantly different. Salivary testosterone was not affected by sleep deprivation, but trended higher with the 100 mg/kg creatine dose, compared to the placebo treatment (p = 0.067). Salivary cortisol was elevated (p = 0.001) with the 5 mg/kg dose of caffeine (vs. placebo).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Acute sleep deprivation affects performance of a simple repeat skill in elite athletes and this was ameliorated by a single dose of either caffeine or creatine. Acute creatine use may help to alleviate decrements in skill performance in situations of sleep deprivation, such as transmeridian travel, and caffeine at low doses appears as efficacious as higher doses, at alleviating sleep deprivation deficits in athletes with a history of low caffeine use. Both options are without the side effects of higher dose caffeine use.</p

Drivers of low-input farmers’ perceptions of sustainable ruminant farming practices in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Resolution of the existing disconnect between experts and farmers’ insights on sustainable farming requires understanding of the key factors driving farmers’ perceptions on the concept. Interviews were conducted with 160 low-input farmers to evaluate the drivers of their perceptions of sustainable ruminant farming practices in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It was found that farmers had negative perceptions on rangeland, breeding, livestock security and marketing management practices and positive perceptions on socio-cultural, family health and education practices. The major factors that influenced farmers’ perceptions of sustainable ruminant farming practices include location, age, gender and employment status. Males farming full-time in peri-urban areas were more likely to perceive decreases (p ≤ 0.05) while the young farmers had greater probability to perceive increases (p ≤ 0.05) in ecologically related ruminant farming practices. Married, more educated males farming full-time in rural areas were more likely to perceive decreases (p ≤ 0.05) in economically related ruminant farming practices compared to their counterparts. Young males farming full-time had greater probability to perceive decreases (p ≤ 0.05), whereas rural farmers were more likely to perceive increases (p ≤ 0.05) in socially related ruminant farming practices. These key drivers of farmer’s perceptions could be used to develop context-specific indicators for sustainability assessment and synchronise experts and farmers insights on sustainable ruminant farming.</p

2024 ASCA International Conference on Applied Strength and Conditioning

BLUF: Wearing upper body blood flow restriction cuffs increases bench press barbell velocity of moderate to high loads. INTRODUCTION: Resistance exercise (RE) is important for athletes to enhance muscular strength and power. Traditional RE necessitates loads exceeding 60% of one repetition maximum (1RM) is required for stimulating muscular hypertrophy and strength, which also correlate with improved physical performance metrics. To maximise the outcome of a RE training session, and improve longitudinal physical performance metrics, the addition of barbell velocity feedback, and training at faster barbell velocities are preferred. Consequently, athletes and strength coaches seek innovative RE methodologies to enhance barbell velocity for strength and performance improvements. One potential method involves the athlete wearing blood flow restriction (BFR) cuffs during the RE session. While research has focused primarily on low-load BFR-RE, studies indicate that moderate-to-high load BFR enhances barbell velocity in squats and bench press (BP) compared to non-BFR training. Therefore, the aim of this case-study was to examine the acute effects of upper body BFR-BP exercise, utilising moderate to high loads (50-90% 1RM). It was hypothesised that wearing upper body BFR cuffs would increase BP barbell velocity. METHODS: A well-trained male athlete (age, 46yrs; body mass, 105kg; height, 184cm; BP 1RM, 160kg) participated in a threeweek study. After 1RM testing and familiarisation in week 1, two experimental sessions were conducted in weeks 2 and 3, during which the athlete performed five sets of two repetitions, increasing loads from 50% to 90% 1RM with 10% incremental steps, and 3 minutes rest between sets. In week 2, the BP was performed without BFR cuffs (NOBFR), and in week 3 with BFR cuffs (BFR). The BFR cuff pressure was inflated to 80% of limb occlusion pressure of the upper limb and an intermittent inflation protocol was used. A linear transducer monitored mean barbell velocity (MV) for every repetition. Given the single-subject design, comparative data from a peer-reviewed study was utilised tocontextualise and enhance interpretation of the results. The reference study offered population-level data on similar BFR and NO-BFR conditions across the same incremental loads. Barbell velocity for the best repetition (MV) was analysed. Statistical analysis calculated effect sizes (ES), 95% confidence intervals (CI), and smallest worthwhile change (SWC), to assess the practical significance of differences between BFR and non BFR conditions. RESULTS: Wearing BFR cuffs increased barbell velocity by 5.8% to 26.8% across all loads (Table 1). Small (60% 1RM, ES: 0.4; 70% 1RM, ES: 0.22) to moderate (50% 1RM, ES: 0.73, 80% 1RM, ES: 0.74; 90% 1RM, ES: 0.76) effects were observed for all the BFR interventions. Furthermore, the observed velocity differences across all loads exceeded the calculated SWC. DISCUSSION: Wearing upper body BFR cuffs during moderate-to-high load BP increases barbell velocity in the participant. The ability to increase barbell velocity is advantageous as faster barbell velocities has been reported to improve strength and performance outcome over training with slower barbell velocities. This has positive implications for both welltrained and aging athletes, as training with an enhanced barbell velocity could improve strength outcomes, especially where strength gains plateau or decline with an increase in training and chronological age. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: BFR training offers a practical methodology to enhance barbell velocity during moderate-to-high load RE. Coaches and athletes could use this approach longitudinally to maximise strength and power development, especially when traditional RE adaptations slow due to training experience or age-related decline. Conflict of Interest: The BFR cuffs used in this study is a product that is sold by TheBFR.co of which the author is the owner. This potential conflict of interest has been disclosed and efforts have been made to ensure the research remains objective and unbiased