Osgood-Schlatter disease is the most common osteochondritis of the lower limb in sport-practicing children and adolescents. Its manifestation usually coincides with the appearance of the secondary ossification center of the tibia and is linked to the practice of sports with an explosive component. In the present study, a review of the factors related to its appearance, diagnosis and treatment was carried out. Its appearance seems to be multifactorial and related to multiple morphological, functional, mechanical and environmental factors. Given all the above, risk factor reduction and prevention seem the most logical strategies to effectively prevent the appearance of the condition. In addition, it is essential to create prevention programs that can be objectively assessed and would allow to stop the progress of the pathology, particularly in those sports where high forces are generated on the insertion zone of the patellar tendon at sensitive ages. More studies are needed to clarify which type of treatment is the most appropriate—specific exercises or the usual care treatment.

López-Laval, I, Sitko, S, Muñiz-Pardos, B, Cirer-Sastre, R, and Calleja-González, J. Relationship between bench press strength and punch performance in male professional boxers. J Strength Cond Res 34(2): 308–312, 2020—This study investigated the relationship between punching performance and the velocity at which different loads were lifted during the bench press (BP) exercise in 12 professional boxers (age = 22.6 ± 4 years; height = 177.7 ± 5 cm; body mass 70.6 ± 6.43 kg; years of boxing experience = 6.5 ± 3.5 years; weight class = from light to super welterweight). To determine the maximal punching velocity (PVmax) during both rear arm (RA) and lead arm (LA) punching, an accelerometer (Crossbow; Willow Technologies, Sussex, United Kingdom) was placed inside the boxing glove while executing 3 jabs at a maximal velocity with each arm. Upper-body strength was assessed through the direct 1-repetition maximum (1RM) BP test, and the maximum velocity at different percentages of 1RM was obtained with a linear encoder. The main finding was that RA PVmax was correlated with the BP velocity at all submaximal intensities (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, LA PVmax did not correlate with BP velocity at any intensity. When the correlated BP submaximal intensities were introduced in linear regression models, the velocity at 80% 1RM was the only predictor of RA PVmax (r ² = 0.75; p < 0.01) in professional boxers. Additional body mass adjustment to the regression model significantly affected the predictive value (r ² = 0.65; p < 0.005). Results encourage coaches and trainers to use BP exercise with high loads (i.e., 80% of 1RM) because this could be a reliable predictor of performance during the specific boxing action. Future research is needed to determine exercises and intensities that could explain LA PVmax because significant associations were not found.

Nowadays, the evaluation of physiological characteristics and training load quantification in road cycling is frequently performed through power meter data analyses, but the scientific evidence behind this tool is scarce and often contradictory. The aim of this paper is to review the literature related to power profiling, functional threshold testing, and performance assessment based on power meter data. A literature search was conducted following preferred reporting items for review statement (PRISMA) on the topic of {“cyclist” OR “cycling” AND “functional threshold” OR “power meter”}. The reviewed evidence provided important insights regarding power meter-based training: (a) functional threshold testing is closely related to laboratory markers of steady state; (b) the 20-min protocol represents the most researched option for functional threshold testing, although shorter durations may be used if verified on an individual basis; (c) power profiling obtained through the recovery of recorded power outputs allows the categorization and assessment of the cyclist’s fitness level; and (d) power meters represent an alternative to laboratory tests for the assessment of the relationship between power output and cadence. This review elucidates the increasing amount of studies related to power profiling, functional threshold testing, and performance assessment based on power meter data, highlighting the opportunity for the expanding knowledge that power meters have brought in the road cycling field.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of plyometric training direction on jumping, sprinting, and change-of-direction ability in basketball players. Methods: Forty male basketball players (21.8 [3.8] y), from 4 teams that competed in regional and national championships, were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: (1) vertical jump group, (2) horizontal jump group, (3) vertical and horizontal jump group, and (4) control group. The subjects followed a plyometric training program twice a week for 6 weeks, differing in the execution direction of the jumps. All groups performed the same total training volume of acyclic and cyclic jumps controlled through the number of contacts per session. Pretraining and posttraining measurements included (1) rocket jump, (2) Abalakov jump, (3) horizontal jump, (4) 20-m linear sprint, and (5) V-Cut change-of-direction test. Results: The vertical and horizontal jump group showed significant increases in all performance variables examined, except for linear sprint performance, in which no group improved. The vertical jump group showed significant improvements in rocket jump and Abalakov jump (P < .01), but worsened significantly in terms of sprint performance (P < .05). The horizontal jump group showed significant increases in rocket jump and horizontal jump (P < .001–.01). Furthermore, all experimental groups showed improved V-Cut change-of-direction test performance. Conclusions: These results indicate that combining vertical and horizontal jumps induces improvements in more capabilities than does training only vertical or horizontal jumps with the same training volume. Training only vertical or horizontal jumps will improve performance mainly in vertically or horizontally oriented tasks, respectively.

We studied the prevalence and possible association between exercise addiction and health in indoor cycling practitioners. In 1014 (492 women) adult indoor cyclists and 926 (597 women) controls with low levels of physical activity according to the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, we examined the risk of exercise addiction according to the Exercise Addiction Inventory and several health outcomes through a web-based experiment. The prevalence of a high risk of exercise addiction in cyclists was 13.3%, and it was higher in men than in women (16.5% vs. 10.0%, p = 0.002). Women cyclists with a high risk of exercise addiction had higher levels of physical activity (p < 0.001; effect size = −0.62, 95% CI: (−0.91, −0.32)) and anxiety symptom severity (p = 0.001; Effect Size (ES) = −0.59 (−0.89, −0.30)) than those with a low risk. For both sexes, cyclists with a low risk of exercise addiction had better social function, emotional role, and anxiety symptom severity compared with the controls (all p < 0.002; ES ranged from 0.25 to 0.47). Higher anxiety symptom severity and cardiorespiratory fitness were the main determinants of exercise addiction in cyclists (both p < 0.001). Our data suggest the importance of considering exercise addiction in indoor cyclists.

In the field of sports science, the recovery umbrella is a trending topic, and even more so in the world of elite sports. This is evidenced by the significant increase in scientific publications during the last 10 years as teams look to find a competitive edge. Recovery is recognized to be an integral component to assist athlete preparation in the restoration of physical and psychological function, and subsequently, performance in elite team sports athletes. However, the importance of recovery in team staff members (sports coaches and performance staff) in elite sports appears to be a forgotten element. Given the unrelenting intense nature of daily tasks and responsibilities of team staff members, the elite sports environment can predispose coaches to increased susceptibility to psycho-socio physiological fatigue burden, and negatively affect health, wellbeing, and performance. Therefore, the aim of this opinion was to (1) develop an educational recovery resource for team staff members, (2) identify organizational task-specific fatigue indicators and barriers to recovery and self-care in team staff members, and (3) present recovery implementation strategies to assist team staff members in meeting their organizational functions. It is essential that we do not forget the coaching and performance staff in the recovery process.