The association of bike fitting with injury,comfort, and pain during cycling: An international retrospective survey

Although bike fitting is recommended to help reduce injury risk, little empirical evidence exists to indicate an association between bike fitting and injury incidence. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of bike fitting on self-reported injury, comfort, and pain while cycling from a worldwide survey of cyclists. A total of 849 cyclists completed an online questionnaire between February and October 2016. Questionnaire collected data on respondent demographics, cycling profile, bike fitting, comfort and pain while cycling, and injury history. The main predictor variable was bike fitting (yes, by the respondent, i.e. user bike fitting; yes, by a professional service; or no). Covariates included demographic and cycling profile characteristics. Logistic regression models estimated the odds of injury within the last 12 months, reporting a comfortable body posture while cycling, and not reporting pain while cycling. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported. User bike fitting was associated with increased odds of reporting a comfortable posture (OR?=?2.28, 95%CI: 1.06, 4.68). User (OR?=?2.35; 95%CI: 1.48, 3.84) and professional bike fitting (OR?=?2.35; 95%CI: 1.42, 3.98) were both associated with increased odds of not reporting pain while cycling. No associations were found between bike fitting and injury within the last 12 months. In conclusion, we found an association between bike fitting and reported comfort and pain while cycling. We recommend integrating bike fitting into cycling maintenance. However, further studies with longer follow-up are necessary to determine the presence of an association between bike fitting and injury.     

Changes in organisation of instep kicking as a function of wearing compression and textured materials

This study investigated effects of wearing compression garments and textured insoles on modes of movement organisation emerging during performance of lower limb interceptive actions in association football. Participants were six skilled (age?=?15.67?±?0.74 years) and six less-skilled (age?=?15.17?±?1.1 years) football players. All participants performed 20 instep kicks with maximum velocity in four randomly organised insoles and socks conditions, (a) Smooth Socks with Smooth Insoles (SSSI); (b) Smooth Socks with Textured Insoles (SSTI); (c) Compression Socks with Smooth Insoles (CSSI); and (d), Compression Socks with Textured Insoles (CSTI). Results showed that, when wearing textured and compression materials (CSSI condition), less-skilled participants displayed significantly greater hip extension and flexion towards the ball contact phase, indicating larger ranges of motion in the kicking limb than in other conditions. Less-skilled participants also demonstrated greater variability in knee–ankle intralimb (angle–angle plots) coordination modes in the CSTI condition. Findings suggested that use of textured and compression materials increased attunement to somatosensory information from lower limb movement, to regulate performance of dynamic interceptive actions like kicking, especially in less-skilled individuals.     

Associations between prolonged sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time with cardiometabolic risk in 10–14-year-old children: The HAPPY study

This study examines the association between prolonged sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time with cardiometabolic risk in 10–14-year-old children. This cross-sectional design study analysed accelerometry-determined sedentary behaviour and physical activity collected over 7 days from 111 (66 girls) UK schoolchildren. Objective outcome measures included waist circumference, fasting lipids, fasting glucose, blood pressure, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Logistic regression was used for the main data analysis. After adjustment for confounders, the odds of having hypertriglyceridaemia (P = 0.03) and an increased clustered cardiometabolic risk score (P = 0.05) were significantly higher in children who engaged in more prolonged sedentary bouts per day. The number of breaks in sedentary time per day was not associated with any cardiometabolic risk factor, but longer mean duration of daily breaks in sedentary time were associated with a lower odds of having abdominal adiposity (P = 0.04) and elevated diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.01). These associations may be mediated by engagement in light activity. This study provides evidence that avoiding periods of prolonged uninterrupted sedentary time may be important for reducing cardiometabolic disease risk in children.     

Physiological responses to 1000-m ergometer time-trial performance in outrigger canoeing

Graded exercise tests are commonly used to assess peak physiological capacities of athletes. However, unlike time trials, these tests do not provide performance information. The aim of this study was to examine the peak physiological responses of female outrigger canoeists to a 1000-m ergometer time trial and compare the time-trial performance to two graded exercise tests performed at increments of 7.5 W each minute and 15 W each two minutes respectively. 17 trained female outrigger canoeists completed the time trial on an outrigger canoe ergometer with heart rate (HR), stroke rate, power output, and oxygen consumption (VO2) determined every 15 s. The mean (+/- s) time-trial time was 359 +/- 33 s, with a mean power output of 65 +/- 16 W and mean stroke rate of 56 +/- 4 strokes min(-1). Mean values for peak VO2, peak heart rate, and mean heart rate were 3.17 +/- 0.67 litres min(-1), 177 +/- 11 beats min(-1), and 164 +/- 12 beats min(-1) respectively. Compared with the graded exercise tests, the time-trial elicited similar values for peak heart rate, peak power output, peak blood lactate concentration, and peak VO2. As a time trial is sport-specific and can simultaneously quantify sprint performance and peak physiological responses in outrigger canoeing, it is suggested that a time trial be used by coaches for crew selection as it doubles as a reliable performance measure and a protocol for monitoring peak aerobic capacity of female outrigger canoeists.     

The career planning, athletic identity, and student role identity of intercollegiate student athletes

The purpose of this study was to examine the career planning of university student athletes and relationships between their career planning and athletic and student role identities. Two retrospective in-depth interviews were held with four male and four female university student athletes. Participants entered university with vague or nonexistent career objectives and invested heavily in their athletic roles. In the latter years of their college career, the participants discarded their sport career ambitions and allowed the student role to become more prominent in their identity hierarchies. The current findings support Brown and Hartley's (1998) suggestion that student athletes may invest in both the athlete and student role identities simultaneously and that investing in the latter may permit the exploration of nonsport career options.     

The Effectiveness of Adding a Parent Involvement Component to an Existing Center-Based Program for Children with Disabilities and Their Families

The belief that parent involvement in early intervention programs increases developmental benefits for children with disabilities and their families is widely accepted. However, very few studies have directly investigated the effects of parent involvement on child and/or family outcomes in a comparative design. For the present study, children in an early intervention program were randomly assigned to either of two groups. One group continued to receive the center- based program, and the other received the center-based program plus a specific parent involvement program. The type of parent involvement most frequently reported in the literature (White,Taylor, & Moss, 1992) was implemented. Weekly parent meetings for 15 weeks focused on teaching parents how to implement intervention at home, provided information on other topics, and facilitated social support. Assessment of child and family functioning took place prior to and immediately after the parent involvement program, as well as longitudinally over a four-year period. No immediate or long-term benefits for the children or their families were found. Findings are compared with findings of other studies. The implications of the findings in evaluating the rationales for this type of parent involvement program are discussed.