Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
5-2016
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Department
Health and Sport Sciences
Degree Program
Exercise Physiology, MS
Committee Chair
Symons, T. Brock
Committee Member
Carter, Kathleen
Committee Member
Adelson, Jill L.
Committee Member
Gibb, Jessica
Author's Keywords
athletics; performance; aerobic fitness; anaerobic fitness; field hockey; sport specificity
Abstract
Many sports (e.g. field hockey, lacrosse, ice hockey) require the use of a mouthguard (MG) and the constraint of carrying a stick during play. Previous research has shown that these two conditions individually can cause decrements to athletic performance; however no research has been conducted into effect of the combination of these two conditions on both aerobic and anaerobic performance parameters. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of both chronic (during all conditioning) and acute MG and stick (MG-STK) use on aerobic fitness and anaerobic capacity over the course of a 12-week training and competition period. Additionally, this study aimed to determine whether chronic mouthguard use changes perceptions related to comfort and use of mouthguards. METHODS: 38 apparently healthy female field hockey (FH) players (15+2 yrs) from a local high school team completed the study. Participants were placed in to one of two groups: experimental (EXP; completing all conditioning with MG-STK) or control (CTL; completing all conditioning without MG-STK) by stratified random sampling matched for team level (i.e. Freshman, Junior Varsity and Varsity) and initial aerobic testing performance. Aerobic fitness was measured using a standard multi-stage fitness test (the beep test), and anaerobic capacity was measured using six repeated 40m sprints. FH-specific training as prescribed by coaching staff was performed throughout the study, with testing performed at baseline (0 weeks), mid-season (6 weeks) and post-season (12 weeks). Participants performed two sets of testing at each time point, first without mouthguard and stick (WOMG-STK) and then with mouthguard and stick (MG-STK). Tests were performed >48hrs apart and results were analyzed using a 3-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: No difference was found in any anthropometric measurements, either between or within groups throughout the season. No main effect was found in aerobic capacity between groups; however, MG-STK testing produced a reduction in aerobic fitness at every time point (WOMG-STK: 37.41+6.65 mL·kg-1·min-1 vs. MG-STK: 33.16+4.32 mL·kg-1·min-1; p2maxincreased from baseline to mid-testing and decreased from mid- to post-testing, resulting in no significant change from pre- to post-season testing (PRE: 33.37+4.29 mL·kg-1·min-1; MID: 37.52+6.81 mL·kg-1·min-1; POST: 34.94+6.65 mL·kg-1·min-1). No difference was found between groups or test conditions in 10m sprint, but there was a significant difference between pre- and post-testing (PRE: 2.38+0.16s; POST: 2.27+0.25s; p CONCLUSION: Chronic use of a stick and mouthguard does not negatively affect aerobic or anaerobic capacity; however acute use does create performance decrements, regardless of training group.
Recommended Citation
Roberts, Alexandra Hannah, "Effects of sport-specific training conditions on performance in high school field hockey players." (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2442.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2442
