Useful Academic Resources

Interesting research papers:

The immediate effect of bilateral self myofascial release on the plantar surface of the feet on hamstring and lumbar spine flexibility:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1360859214002095

Sudden cardiac death in the older athlete. I found this research paper interesting and it was useful background reading for my assignment on pre-participation screening of an 69-year old triathlete.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109714071770?via%3Dihub

I worked with one of my peers on a presentation regarding the role and effectiveness of goal setting in sports therapy and rehabilitation.  Sports Psychology has an important role in sports therapy and this research paper by Evans & Hardy is a useful piece of research that demonstrates the effectiveness of goal setting on athletes’ rehabilitation adherence.

Evans & Hardy a -Injury Rehabilitation – A Goal-Setting Intervention Study – EvansHardy2002aRQES

This review article by Beltz et al regarding ‘Graded Exercise Testing Protocols for the Determination of VO2Max: Historical Perspectives, Progress and Future Considerations’ was useful reading for my physiology lab report assignment.  It provided a history graded exercise testing, its applications and an understanding of the physiological effects on the body during exercise.  It was also useful background reading for my pre-particatipation screening assignment:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/3968393

Alejandro Lucia and colleagues’ research article ‘Analysis of the aerobic-anaerobic transition in elite cyclists during incremental exercise with the use of electromyography’ was a helpful example of how to structure my lab report and it provided background reading on the physiological effects on the body during incremental exercise:

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.or/ae7c/dc2839636cd6bcf7be53f96bf1f2d169a43e.pdf

This study by Nunes et al looked at the effects of massage in the post-race recovery of triathletes after an Ironman event.  The study involved a control group of 37 athletes who received no massage and rested for 7 minutes and an experimental group of 36 athletes who received massage for 7 minutes.  The study demonstrated that massage therapy was more effective on the athlete’s post race recovery for reducing pain and perceived fatigue than no intervention at all.

https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S1836955316000187?token=D5E79E0EE09C7A34AFAEB1AC371194487CEFC5F48861B076B372B28C6349670FD4902BBFB9CDDC6C3DC0E8548755D277

I also read a review by Randall Cooper of Nunes et al’s study which provided a good perspective of the above research study.  Cooper agrees that the study adds to the growing body of research on the positive effects of massage therapy on optimising athletic performance despite the study’s limitations:

https://www.premax.co/au/blog/is-massage-an-effective-sports-recovery-strategy

Bervoets et al carried out a systemised review of randomised clinical trials to establish whether massage therapy was effective for people with musculoskeletal disorders compared to other treatment e.g. acupuncture, joint mobilisation, maniupulation or relaxation therapy, or no treatment at all.  The results demonstrated that massage, as a stand alone treatment, reduces pain and improves function compared to no treatment in some musculoskeletal conditions, however when massage therapy was compared to another treatment, there was no evidence of a clear benefit.

https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S1836955315000582?token=476C1BA6686C12C5AE9D2A447D9719B6E1BDAA1B20BBB48270083C844C18A01954F324BC78D0C40C2FF527601793BF4E

I enjoyed reading the article by S A Copeland, ‘Rupture of the Achilles tendon: a new clinical test’ because of its simplicity and effectiveness in detecting a spontaneous rupture of the Achilles tendon and monitoring  progress after treatment using a syphygmomanometer cuff:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2499219/pdf/annrcse01563-0064.pdf

There is an ongoing debate about the effectiveness of Kinesiology tape in reducing swelling.  I used superficial effluerage and an odema fan taping to help reduce the swelling in the knee and lower leg in a client with Housemaid’s Knee.  The paper by Guilherme S Nunes et al was one of the papers that I read to improve my knowledge of the topic.  The study found that the use of K-tape was ineffective in reducing the swelling after an acute ankle sprain in athletes:

https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S1836955314001489?token=BF17D925E6DDB274D7B000CB2A676DDFB6441EBB87D0F8E33DE85323B440F5034A6ED10EBEBB0E17D01A91AFC6B1E1AA