Browsing by Author "Benson, Lauren C."

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    Change of Direction Movement Evaluation in Soccer-Specific Environment with Inertial Measurement Units: Guiding Practice and Test Tasks in Youth Soccer
    (2023-06-02) Alanen, Aki-Matti; Pasanen, Kati; Benson, Lauren C.; Jordan, Matthew J.; Ferber, Reed
    Soccer players perform a multitude of change of direction (COD) movements while playing. This multiplanar movement has been related to both performance and injury-risk in previous studies. However, traditional testing of COD ability has been done with preplanned protocols that lack the aspect of perception and reaction and commonly use only running time as the main variable. Therefore, the main objectives of this thesis were to explore novel methods of COD testing with the use of inertial measurement units (IMUs) in both preplanned soccer-specific tests and during game-play. The results of Chapter Three suggest that neither peak resultant acceleration (PRA) nor peak angular velocity (PAV) is a reliable metric in final foot contact (FFC) analysis of 180° pivot turns. The intra-class correlations (ICC) for pivot turns on both sides were unacceptable. However, when separating females and males it was found that the reliability in female participants was significantly better. In Chapter Four, the in-season variability of PRA was found to be different between previously injured players and injury free players, specifically during the FFC of 180° pivot turns. Chapter Five expanded upon the game-specific demands on COD movements based on playing positions. Significant differences in volume and types of CODs by playing position were found, which raises the question if youth soccer player testing for multiplanar movement abilities, should consider specific playing position related demands better in the future. Chapter Six complemented the studies by providing results of measurements obtained with IMUs in relation to situational patterns during game-play. The findings indicated that running speed, COD angle, pressure from opposing player, and contact with another player prior or during the cut would increase the acceleration during the COD, thus increasing the demands of the neuromuscular system. In conclusion, following one or two specific metrics at single timepoints to analyze COD ability is not recommended. Future research should search for methods involving perception-reaction while performing COD and these could be complemented with wearable technology measures. The combinations of multiple variables could be used to follow-up fluctuations of player performance through a longer follow-up period.
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    Wearable technology approach to determining exercise fidelity in athletes during a neuromuscular training warm-up program
    (2019-09) Chin, Mathieu; Pasanen, Kati; Emery, Carolyn A.; Benson, Lauren C.
    Introduction: Basketball is one of the most popular sports in North America, but there is a high incidence of lower extremity injuries among youth basketball players. Participation in neuromuscular training (NMT) warm-up programs can reduce injury risk by 29% with lower injury rates reported for teams with high adherence to the NMT program. The use of wearable technology will allow us to more easily and efficiently quantify the movements of athletes during these warm-up programs to potential determine the effects of exercise fidelity. Thus, this study looks to quantify the movements of youth basketball players in an NMT warm-up program. Methods 27 male and female basketball players (ages 14-18) completed the NMT warm-up exercises prior to a practice. A Shimmer3 inertial measurement unit (Shimmer3 GSR+®, Shimmer Inc., Dublin, IE) was worn on the lower back, with concurrent video recording. Results Analysis of the “Side Plank” showed an 8.01% difference between Side 1 (88.15%) and Side 2 (96.16%) of Player 1, whereas Player 2 had a 32.42% difference between Side 1 (86.43%) and Side 2 (54.01%). The “One Legged Jump Over the Line” showed that Player 1 had a 17.12m/s2 difference between the forward and backward accelerations of Leg 1, with the difference being 0.80m/s2 in Leg 2. Player 2 had a difference of 0.08m/s2 and 2.62m/s2 for legs 1 and 2, respectively. Conclusions Preliminary results indicated that the acceleration of the Shimmer3 devices are sensitive enough to differentiate movements amongst players when performing exercises in the NMT warm-up program. Side-to-side differences were apparent amongst athletes during the “Side Plank” and the “Single Leg Jump Over the Line” exercise. Further analysis is currently in progress for other exercises in the warm-up program, as well as video analysis of the same sessions to determine exercise fidelity and its effects on injury prevention.