Ankle Proprioception in Male and Female Surfers and the Implications of Motor Experience and Lower-Body Strength.

ABSTRACT: Dowse, RA, Secomb, JL, Bruton, M, Parsonage, J, Ferrier, B, Waddington, G, and Nimphius, S. Ankle proprioception in male and female surfers and the implications of motor experience and lower-body strength. J Strength Cond Res 36(12): 3497-3504, 2022-The primary objectives were to evaluate if the active movement extent discrimination apparatus (AMEDA) condition (i.e., front foot and back foot plantarflexion, dorsiflexion, inversion, and eversion) and the level of competition explained ankle movement discrimination scores and, thereafter, examined the contribution of surf experience, physical capacity, and ability to proprioception. It was also considered important to re-evaluate the surf experience, anthropometric characteristics, physical capacities, and abilities of male and female surfers. Twenty-six male ( n = 12, surf experience = 18 ± 8 years) and female surfers ( n = 14, surf experience = 9 ± 6 years) completed a pre-exercise medical questionnaire, anthropometric assessment, 8 AMEDA assessments, countermovement jump, squat jump, and isometric midthigh pull assessment. The AMEDA condition and level of competition did not have a statistically significant main effect on ankle movement discrimination scores; however, the effect of the gender/sex was significant ( p = 0.044). Surf experience ( p = 0.029) and lower-body isometric strength ( p = 0.029) had a statistically significant but small main effect on ankle movement discrimination scores. The results also confirmed that there were significant differences in surf experience, anthropometric characteristics, physical capacity, and jumping ability between male and female surfers. As surf experience and physical capacity were only able to explain a small magnitude of ankle movement discrimination scores, it is suggested that ankle proprioception in surfers may be related to both the volume and quality of the motor experience attained, which may be augmented by environmental and sociocultural factors.

Ankle proprioception, range of motion and drop landing ability differentiates competitive and non-competitive surfers.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether ankle proprioception differs by competitive level and is related to years of surf-specific experience. A secondary objective of this study is to further compare the physical capacities and abilities that may differentiate between the competitive levels of surfing. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. METHODS: Twelve junior-elite (currently competing at a state level or higher and 12-18 years of age), twelve senior-elite (currently competing at a national level and/or the World Qualifying Series and over 16 years of age), and twelve recreational surfers (minimum of two years surfing experience; actively surfing at least once a week and over 18 years of age) were recruited for this study. All participants completed a pre-exercise medical questionnaire, anthropometric assessment, ankle dorsiflexion range of motion assessment, medial-lateral ankle proprioception assessment, countermovement jump, squat jump, isometric mid-thigh pull and drop-and-stick. RESULTS: Senior-elite surfers had large and significantly better ankle proprioception and range of motion than junior-elite and recreational surfers. However, the relationship between years of surf-specific experience and ankle proprioception was small and non-significant. Better drop-and-stick performance, indicated by lower relative peak force, was present in the senior-elite compared to the junior-elite and recreational groups. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that medial-lateral ankle proprioception is a distinguishing characteristic of senior-elite surfers and therefore, may be a critical ability for competitive success. Greater ankle range of motion and the ability to attenuate energy to reduce landing force may be developed through long-term training commensurate with competitive surfing.

Effects of a Resistance Training Intervention on Strength, Power, and Performance in Adolescent Dancers.

Dowse, RA, McGuigan, MR, and Harrison, C. Effects of a resistance training intervention on strength, power, and performance in adolescent dancers. J Strength Cond Res 34(12): 3446-3453, 2020-The aim of this study was to determine whether a 9-week resistance training program could have a significant effect on maximum lower-body strength and power, dynamic balance, and dance performance in adolescent dancers. Twelve competitive adolescent female dancers trained in jazz, ballet, and contemporary were recruited from local dance schools and assigned to a resistance training group (dance experience 9.2 ± 2.4 years; age 14.2 ± 1.9 years; height 155.6 ± 9.1 cm; and mass 48.9 ± 13.8 kg). Anthropometry (height, seated height, mass, and skinfolds), subjective dancing performance, dynamic balance (eyes open [EO] and eyes closed), maximum lower-body strength (isometric midthigh pull), and power (vertical countermovement jump, squat jump, and single-leg countermovement jump) were assessed before and after the 9-week intervention period. Post-testing identified a significant improvement EO overall stability (p = 0.003; effect size [ES] = 0.88), EO anterior-posterior stability (p = 0.003; ES = 0.92), peak force (p < 0.001; ES = 0.61), peak power (p = 0.021; ES = 0.22), and subjective dancing performance (p = 0.008; ES = 0.76). These results were accompanied by a trivial but significant change in mass (p = 0.023; ES = 0.09) that was attributed to growth and no significant change in body fat or the sum of skinfolds. This study demonstrated that resistance training can have a significant effect on dynamic balance, maximum lower-body strength, and power without adversely affecting artistic or aesthetic components. The results suggest that incorporating resistance training may enhance strength and power adaptations and manage growth-related changes in adolescent dancers.

Upper-Body Strength Measures and Pop-Up Performance of Stronger and Weaker Surfers.

Parsonage, J, Secomb, JL, Sheppard, JM, Ferrier, BK, Dowse, RA, and Nimphius, S. Upper-body strength measures and pop-up performance of stronger and weaker surfers. J Strength Cond Res 34(10): 2982-2989, 2020-The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of the isometric push-up (IPU), dynamic push-up (DPU), and force plate pop-up (FP POP) as measures of upper-body isometric and dynamic strength qualities in surfing athletes. Furthermore, the study aimed to compare pop-up performance between stronger and weaker surfers. Eighteen female (n = 9) and male (n = 9) surfers (age = 28.1 ± 6.4 years, mass = 69.6 ± 10.4 kg, and height = 172.5 ± 6.7 cm) completed a battery of upper-body strength assessments, of which exhibited high between-day reliability: IPU, (coefficient of variation [CV%] = 4.7, intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.96), DPU (CV% = 5.0, ICC = 0.90), and FP POP (CV% = 4.4, ICC = 0.90). Participants were subsequently split into stronger (n = 9) and weaker (n = 9) surfers based on normalized peak force (PF) attained in the IPU. Pop-up performance was measured both in the water and during the FP POP and was referred to as time to pop-up (TTP). Significant between-group differences were observed for normalized PF during IPU (d = 1.59, p < 0.01) and DPU (d = 0.94 p = 0.04). Although not significant, there was a large magnitude difference in FP POP (d = 0.80, p = 0.08) and FP TTP (d = 0.85, p = 0.07). Significant correlations were identified between normalized IPU PF and normalized DPU FP (r = 0.69, p = 0.03) and FP TTP (r = 0.73, p = 0.02) in the stronger group. The weaker group exhibited a significant inverse correlation between normalized IPU PF and in-water TTP (r = -0.77, p < 0.01). The results suggest improvements in pop-up performance may be elicited by improving dynamic strength for stronger surfers, whereas pop-up performance in weaker surfers may be elicited by improving maximum strength. The upper-body strength assessments provided a novel insight into strength qualities that are associated with in-water performance of surfers (TTP).