SPORTS SCIENCE AND HEALTH

A Cross-Sectional Study Exploring Sport Participation, Perceived Stress, and Its Association With Life Satisfaction Among University Students

2024-07-17T10:08:33+02:00

Physical activity in type of sport participation is well-known for its enormous benefit for mental health, affecting in better mood and improved quality of life. However, knowledge of how sport participation is associated with psychological status and life satisfaction during adolescence is insufficient. This study aims to explore sport participation in a university-based sample of youths, and to analyze how it correlated with mental health and life satisfaction. A total of 495 university students were recruited. The instruments included demographic characteristics questionnaire and previously validated measures such as Sport Participation (SLIM-18), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), as well as The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) questionnaires. The research results observed that students’ sports participation and perception of stress were fall into the moderate category with percentage of 77.2% and 70.3, respectively. While life satisfaction was fall into neutral category (70.7%). The differences in sports participation and stress were significantly different (p<0.05) between genders, but not with life satisfaction (p>0.05). Sports participation was negatively correlated with perceived stress (p<0.05), but positively related to life satisfaction (p<0.01), while perceived stress was negatively associated with life satisfaction (p<0.01). Sports participation plays a crucial role in reducing mental health problems and improving psychological well-being of students during their university time. It also positively promotes higher life satisfaction and better physical as well as mental health.

Analyzing Volleyball Serve Strategies: Comparing Jump and Float Serves in the Croatian Men’s Volleyball Superleague

2024-07-17T10:27:34+02:00

This study examines service quality disparities between jump serves and float serves within the Croatian Men’s Volleyball Super League, aiming to reveal variations based on playing positions and serve types. Analyzing 99 matches from the 2022/23 season of the top five ranked clubs, the study categorizes serves into float and jump serves. Statistical analysis unveils significant differences in service quality among playing positions, with setters and middle blockers displaying fewer serve errors compared to outside hitters (p=0.01) and opposites (p=0.00). Middle blockers also tend to position the serve reception over 3 meters away from the net more frequently than opposite players (p=0.04). Furthermore, players executing jump serves encounter a higher frequency of service errors (p=0.00) but achieve more points through serving (p=0.01), while compelling opponents to return the ball more immediately (p=0.01). Thus, the jump serve in the Croatian Men’s Volleyball Super League demonstrates superiority in scoring points through serving but also results in a significantly higher loss of points compared to the float serve.

Combination of Massage Therapy and Therapy Exercise to Accelerate Post-Sports Injury Recovery

2024-07-17T10:36:19+02:00

This study aims to evaluate the effect of a combination of sports injury massage therapy and exercise therapy on the recovery of wrist and elbow injuries in athletes. This research uses an experimental design with the Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) method. Participants in this research were students who were members of various sports Student Activity Units. Data collection instruments include a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to measure pain levels, as well as a Goniometer to measure Range of Motion (ROM) at the wrist and elbow. The data analysis technique was carried out using the independent t-test. The results of data analysis show that combining sports injury massage therapy and exercise therapy has a more positive impact in reducing pain in wrist and elbow injuries compared to just carrying out sports injury massage therapy. The conclusion of this study is that massage therapy for sports injuries is better than exercise therapy where the reduction in massage therapy can reduce pain significantly. However, actually combining the two therapies has a more positive effect on injury recovery than just doing one form of therapy.

Effect of Physical Activity on Changes in Mitochondrial Pool of Muscle Fibers

2024-07-17T12:00:18+02:00

The purpose of this research was to study the restructuring of adaptive features of skeletal muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) under conditions of prolonged physical activity on an ultramicroscopic level. Studies were carried out on laboratory animals (rats) of two groups - the control (intact) and the experimental group (exposed to a 30-minute swim test for 5 weeks). The muscle material was studied using electron microscopy. We found that during the process of adaptive restructuring of skeletal muscles, morphological transformations occur at different levels of structural organisation. Changes in muscle tissue during prolonged physical load include increasing deposits of myoglobin with additional focal changes in glycogen content and an increase in mitochondria. A significant increase in the volumetric density of mitochondria was noted in the symplasts of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of rats in the experimental group. Additionally, the average cut size of mitochondria increased compared to intact animals. This was due to the appearance of large organelles against the background of a decrease (almost three times) in the number of small mitochondria. The consequence of such transformation can be metabolic reorganisation in myocytes, and changes in the plastic properties of energy generators and contractile structures. The established processes can become a basis for understanding the adaptive restructuring of skeletal muscles of athletes under the influence of long-term physical activity.

Improving Students’ Ability to Decision Making and Communicate Effectively Through the use of Hybrid Nonlinear Pedagogical Models

2024-07-17T12:10:14+02:00

The objective of this study is to examine and evaluate the influence of hybrid nonlinear educational models on decision-making and communication in the field of physical education. Techniques. The intervention group received instruction in physical education utilizing hybrid pedagogical techniques for a period of 12 weeks. In contrast, the control groups followed the physical education curricula of their schools. Pre-existing scales designed for student usage were utilized for decision-making and communication purposes, both before and during the program. To compare the two groups, we utilized paired sample t-tests, two-way and one-way analyses of variance, and a Pearson correlation analysis. Outcome. The research findings indicate that the intervention group exhibited a significant improvement in decision-making and communication when compared to the control group. The aforementioned conclusions are substantiated by the results of paired sample t-tests and two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The variance (ANOVA) and one-way ANOVA tests yielded statistically significant results. The F statistic was less than 0.05 (F = 0.000 < 0.05), and the p-value was less than 0.05 (p = 0.000 < 0.05) respectively. Furthermore, the intervention based on nonlinear pedagogy and invasion game learning resulted in an enhancement of decision-making and communication skills. Final remarks. Incorporating hybrid nonlinear pedagogical models into physical education instruction with invasion games might enhance students’ communication skills and decision-making abilities. The findings of this study offer encouragement for physical education instructors to adopt teaching methodologies. In addition, research is being carried out to investigate the impacts of nonlinear pedagogy.

Influence of a Complex Rehabilitation Process on Quality of Life in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

2024-07-17T12:23:47+02:00

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a lower quality of life (QoL) than the general population. Rehabilitation is an essential part of the comprehensive treatment of MS patients. The aim was to determine the influence of complex physical therapy on the QoL of MS patients and the association of functional status with certain domains of health-related QoL. We followed 58 MS patients. The complex kinesitherapy used the Bobath concept and occupational therapy with the use of robot-assisted rehabilitation for the upper extremities. Before the start of rehabilitation and at the end, functional status was assessed by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). QoL was assessed through the standardized SF36 test and summarized into two scores: physical health component score and mental health component score. The average age of patients was 49.38 years. There was a significant improvement in all patients after the therapy, both in functional status and in QoL. There were no significant correlations between the EDSS and BBS with QoL parameters (individual SF36 categories and two summary scores). Duration of the disease correlated with the EDSS and BBS, but not with QoL. The age of patients did not correlate with functional status or with QoL. Physical therapy improves both functional status and QoL, but improvements do not correlate. There is a need to incorporate QoL assessment into assessments of disease severity, progression, and treatment success to obtain the most relevant results in creating the right treatment strategy.

Perception of the Interpretation of Early Recognition and Support of Sports Gifted Students

2024-07-17T12:42:59+02:00

The research was conducted on a sample of 102 respondents (teachers/professors) employed in elementary schools in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main goal of the research is to determine the attitudes and possible differences in the attitudes of teachers and professors regarding the early recognition and development of athletically gifted students who transition from classroom to subject classes, in the activities that the student engages in with regard to the gender, work status, age and level of education of the respondents. As a measuring instrument in the research, a questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale was used, in which each statement has 5 answers (I do not agree at all, I do not agree, I have no opinion/I am neutral, I agree, I completely agree). The survey questionnaire contained seven indicators for the assessment of early recognition and support for the development of sports gifted students, as well as questions related to the respondent’s gender, workplace/position, age and level of education. The results of the t-test and the analysis of variance of the different groups with LSD Post Hoc comparison tests were used to determine any statistically significant differences between the groups of respondents with regard to gender, workplace/position, age and level of education. The obtained results indicate that there are no statistically significant differences in the attitudes of teachers/professors regarding the early recognition and development of athletically gifted students in the activities that the student engages in with regard to gender and age, and the differences in the attitudes of the respondents were determined with regard to work status and level of education of the respondents.

Primary School Children: Contribution of Nutritional Status in Explanation of Their Explosive and Repetitive Strength

2024-07-17T14:48:49+02:00

Recent studies have attested the fact that now days children are living a sedentary life, which causes an excessive increase in body weight, thus negatively affecting their health and motor skills. Furthermore, studies up to this point have proven that there are differences in the motor skills of pupils with different nutritional status.
The aim of this research was to determine impact of nutritional status on motor skills of primary school children also to determine whether there are differences in motor abilities with respect to gender. The research was conducted on a sample of 239 pupils (128 girls and 111 boys) of the fourth grade. The variable sample consisted of 2 anthropometric variables (body weight and body height) and 6 variables for estimating explosive and repetitive strength. The obtained results of this research have shown that for boys there are negative correlation between their BMI and tests: long jump, high jump, squats and sit-ups. For the sample of girls, the BMI positively correlates with test throwing a medicine ball and negatively with test sit-ups. Furthermore, boys achieve better results in motor tests than girls.

Structure of Football on the Basis of Situational Efficiency Indicators of World Championships 2010, 2014, 2018

2024-07-17T14:58:00+02:00

The aim of this research was to determine the structure of football through indicators of situational efficiency in world championship matches. The research sample consisted of 370 soccer players who played all 90 minutes of the Round of 16 matches of the three world soccer championships WC2010 (N = 124), WC2014 (N = 126) and WC2018 (N = 120). 30 variables of situational efficiency were used, which were taken from the official website of the World Football Federation (www.fifa.com). To determine the structure of football, we used factor analysis, the method of principal components with oblique direct oblimin transformation was used, and the Kaiser-Gutman criterion was used to determine the significance of the extracted factors. Analyzing the results, the explanation of the common variance was the highest at WC 2010 (83.52 %), followed by WC 2014 (81.97 %), and the lowest explained variance was at WC 2018 (76.30 %). In the structure of football at WC 2010 and WC 2014, 6 latent factors were singled out, and at WC 2018, 4 latent factors were singled out, which are differently saturated with situational indicators. We conclude that changes have occurred in the structure of football over a period of 8 years, which is shown by the number and structure of factors that have been fished out. The structure of football has changed in such a way that the number of factors has been reduced from 6 to 4, and the structure of isolated factors clearly defines modern football. Based on the results, the guidelines and standards on which football training should be based can be clearly determined, while using certain training tools, training stimuli and appropriate training loads in order to achieve a high level of physical preparation, a high level of technique in movement, a high rhythm of the game and tactical maturity of football players.

The Influence of Indonesian Sport Massage Training on the Knowledge and Skills of Special Sports Therapists

2024-07-17T15:08:28+02:00

Athletes are state assets, so they need to be handled appropriately to reduce fatigue. Objective: This study aims to provide knowledge and skills in Indonesian sports massage for sports therapists. therapists specifically for sportsmen where the sample was taken using purposive sampling, namely: 1) already have beginner massage skills and have not yet mastered sports massage therapy; 2) have a sports physiologist certificate; 3) have special experience in sports. The sample in this study consisted of 30 specialist sports therapists. Method: used in this research was an experiment using one group pretest posttest with data collection techniques using a Likert scale questionnaire. The instrument in the research uses a questionnaire that has been validated by experts. Research results: after being given 12 training meetings, knowledge and skills results increased by 4.861 and t table (df 28; 5%) 2.048 with a significance p value of 0.000, so it can be interpreted as significant. This means that the conclusion is that the Indonesian sports massage training can increase the knowledge and skills of specialist sports therapists who will then be able to carry out special treatment for athletes in Indonesia.

The Influence of SCP-B-T (Standing Cable Pullover-Bench Press-Torso) Training on Spear-Throwing Ability on Prospective Spear-Throwing Athletes

2024-07-17T15:22:30+02:00

The rapid development of javelin throwing sport, it is necessary to improve the ability of athletes, this problem is a competitive demand. This study is to determine the effect of a specific training programme in this case is SCP-B-T training on improving the javelin throwing ability of prospective athletes. The sample in this study were prospective athletes at the South Sulawesi Sports Excellence High School specialising in javelin throwing, totalling 24 people. The research design used is true experiment, with purposive sampling technique. The experiment was given treatment for four weeks, consisting of two groups, namely the group given the SCP-B-T training programme and the control group. The SCP-B-T exercise programme treatment group used the Standing Cable Pullover-Bench Press-Torso tool, frequency 3 times per week, intensity 40-60%, reps 10-20, rest 60 seconds. To measure the level of improvement of the treatment given, we conducted a pre-test and post-test on both experimental groups. The study showed that the group given treatment in the form of the SCP-B-T training programme had a significant effect compared to the conventional training programme to improve the javelin throwing ability of prospective athletes. SCP-B-T training is very influential in improving the ability of prospective javelin throwing athletes.

The Long-Term Impact on Ankle-Brachial Index from Low Intensity Resistance Exercise with Blood Flow Restriction Technique: A Systematic Review

2024-07-17T15:32:29+02:00

This comprehensive review delves into the impact of low-intensity resistance training coupled with blood flow restriction (BFR) on arterial stiffness, evaluated through the ankle-brachial index (ABI). This assessment seeks to discern any discernible alterations in arterial stiffness attributed to this unique training approach. Employing systematic search via PubMed and Google Scholar databases, this review examined research articles focusing on the chronic effects of resistance training with BFR on the ABI. Inclusion criteria encompassed studies assessing this effect across various age groups while concentrating on healthy individuals and publications in the English language. Among the extensive array of studies, a selective inclusion of 5 research articles formed the foundational basis of this analysis. Synthesizing analyses from these studies illuminated the safety of BFR training, particularly at intensities around 20-30% or using elastic bands. Intriguingly, these modalities exhibited no significant impact on alterations in the ABI, notably observed within elderly subjects. However, a notable scarcity in studies focusing on young subjects warrants a more comprehensive investigation into this specific demographic. The findings of this review underscore the safety and efficacy of BFR resistance training methodologies, especially protocols utilizing 20-30% 1RM or incorporating elastic bands of 75-repetition-scheme, showcasing no significant impact on the ankle-brachial index, particularly in the elderly population over intervention periods not exceeding 12 weeks. Encouraging practitioners, these established methodologies offer safe practices for the elderly. However, the evident research gap in young subjects necessitates more expansive investigations.

Training Mechanisms and Recovery in Sprinters

2024-07-17T15:39:33+02:00

Top sprinters have higher body mass index, relaxed upper arm girths, thigh and calf girths, fat free mass, and fat free mass index than the lowest tertile. Eccentric training has significant changes in body composition, while explosive strength training improves running performance. Training mechanisms include progressive overload, specificity, periodization, individualization, technical training, strength and power training, plyometric training, recovery strategies, and tapering. The sprint start is a key factor in sprint results, with biomechanical performance factors. Recovery strategies include foam rolling, active recovery, passive recovery, and contrast water therapy. Proper nutrition and supplementation of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants are essential for sprinters to maintain optimal glycogen stores, muscle repair, recovery, and growth. Collaboration between athletes, coaches, and sports nutrition professionals is needed to develop personalized nutrition plans.