American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine

Background: Use of STG (Semitendinosus and gracilis) graft is one of the standard techniques for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The purpose of this study was the comparison of joint position sense (JPS) in involved and uninvolved knees of ACL reconstructed athletes and control group. Methods: Fifteen elite athletes (7 handballs, 8 soccer players) with a unilateral ACL rupture who had received a hamstring tendon auto grafts ACL reconstruction, matched by motor dominance and sport to fifteen healthy elite athletes, were subjects of our study. The injured group experienced an average of 19.9 months from surgery to participation in the research.The Biodex System III Isokinetic dynamometer and Active Angle Reproduction test with angle of 30° knee flexion were used for evaluation of knee JPS. Results: No significant difference was found between involved and uninvolved knees of ACL reconstructed group and between involved knee of ACL reconstructed and control group (p<0/05). Conclusion: The present study revealed that athletes with ACL reconstructed knee may have not experience JPS malfunction. This fact suggests that proprioceptive acuity has multimodal characteristics and is not always primarily dependent on the sensory information of ligament mechanoreceptors. There is the possibility of offsetting this deficit by regeneration of sensory neurons in the reconstructed ligament or by rehabilitation program.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2013, 1(3), 52-55. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-1-3-5
Pub. Date: October 27, 2013

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Effects of Repeat Training of the Controlled Force Exertion Test on Dominant and Non-dominant Hands

by H. Kubota, S. Demura and M. Uchiyama

Original Research

This study aimed to examine the effects of repeated force exertion training on a performance in the controlled force exertion (CFE) test, and the differences in effect the training has on the CFE test performances between the dominant and non-dominant hands. The subjects were the training and non-training groups. They performed the CFE test where their handgrip strengths were matched to demand values which constantly changed. The training group performed the CFE test as the repeat training over a 3 week periods. The estimates of CFE in the training group were significantly improved. The improvement of the estimates of both hands on and after 2 weeks was small, and a significant difference was not found between both hands after 3 weeks. In conclusion, the estimates of CFE in the dominant and non-dominant hands were improved by the repeat training. A difference between both hands after 3 weeks was not found.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2013, 1(3), 47-51. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-1-3-4
Pub. Date: October 02, 2013

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Overview of Lactate Metabolism and the Implications for Athletes

by Aldeam Facey, Rachael Irving and Lowell Dilworth

Review Article

Lactate metabolism is an integral pathway in physical exercise. Numerous contrasting views exist regarding the physiological effects of lactate and its roles post production. This paper attempts to clarify and highlight the significance of lactate in exercise. Lactate production is associated with muscular fatigue; and is a major limitation in athletic performance. This fatigue is partially due to the production of H⁺ ions which depresses muscle functions. Lactate is transported in the skeletal muscles through plasma monocarboxylate transport (MCT) system and is utilized by muscles such as the heart and red muscles. It is also very important that the lactate produced to satisfy high energy demands is cleared from the muscles and metabolized by the liver or be utilized as an energy substrate. There is a marked positive correlation existing between adiposity and lactate production. Numerous physiological properties inclusive of adiposity, VO2 max, lactate threshold and insulin sensitivity affect and regulate lactate production.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2013, 1(3), 42-46. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-1-3-3
Pub. Date: September 28, 2013

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The Determination of the Relationship between Levels of Narcissim and Motivational Trends in the Individual Sports Branches

by Ünsal Tazegül and Aytekin Soykan

Original Research

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between levels of narcissim and motivational trends in the individual sports branches. The sample of the study includes a total of 350 young athletes in the branches of boxing, freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, taekwondo and weightlifting, participated in Turkey Youth Champions in 2011. Sport-specific motive scales (SSMS) and Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) was utilized in order collect the datas in this study. SPSS 15 package software was used for the data analysis. The test of Kolmogorov-Smirnov to determine whether the data had a normal distribution, the test of Levene was applied to determine the homogeneity of variances and it was determined that the datas had an homogeneous and normal distribution. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis were used in the analysis of the data. In the result of data analysis, there was a statistically significant relationship between the motive to achieve success with exploitation dimension and the power motive with superior dimension. (p<0,05).

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2013, 1(3), 37-41. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-1-3-2
Pub. Date: August 19, 2013

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Effects of Elastic Wrist Taping on Maximum Grip Strength

by Kenji Takahashi, Shin-ichi Demura, Takanori Noguchi, Gou Demura and Xu Ning

Original Research

In this study, we examined the effects of elastic wrist taping with different pressure levels on the maximum grip strength. The subjects were 20 healthy male university students. The tape was wrapped three times around the wrist at the radial and ulnar styloid process. Taping pressure was measured using a pressure measuring system for stockings and bandages. A pressure sensor was placed over the palmaris longus muscle tendon, 1.5 cm proximal to the palmar crease of the subject’s wrist on the dominant upper limb. The following experimental conditions were assessed: control condition (CC), without attachments; sensor condition (SC), with an attached sensor and a cover tape with minimum pressure application (1–5 hPa); and four pressure conditions (PCs), with pressure applications of 30, 60, 90, and 120 hPa using elastic tapes. Grip strength was significantly greater for CC than for PCs. However, the overall decrease in grip strength was still relatively small. No differences were observed in the grip strengths among the four PC groups. Our results showed that grip strength exertion decreased on the application of higher pressures of elastic tape wrapping and that the degree of decrease was similar for all PCs above 30 hPa.

American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2013, 1(3), 33-36. DOI: 10.12691/ajssm-1-3-1
Pub. Date: August 17, 2013

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