Matej Tušak

Can biofeedback training of psychophysiological responses enhance athletes’ sport performance? A practitioner’s perspective

Abstract Background: In recent years, biofeedback has become increasingly popular for its proven success in peak performance training – the psychophysiological preparation of athletes for high-stakes sport competitions, such as the Olympic games. The aim of this research was to test whether an 8-week period of exposure to biofeedback training could improve the psychophysiological control over competitive anxiety and enhance athletic performance in participating subjects. Methods: Participants of this study were highly competent athletes, each training in different sport disciplines. The experimental group consisted of 18 athletes (4 women, 14 men), whereas the Control group had 21 athletes (4 women, 17 men). All athletes were between 16 and 34 years old. The biofeedback device, Nexus 10, was used to detect and measure the psychophysiological responses of athletes. Athletes from both groups (control and experimental) were subjected to stress tests at the beginning of the study and once again at its conclusion. In between, the experimental group received training in biofeedback techniques. We then calculated the overall percentage of athletes in the experimental group compared with those in the control group who were able to control respiration, skin conductance, heart rate, blood flow amplitude, heart rate variability, and heart respiration coherence. One year following completion of the initial study, we questioned athletes from the experimental group, to determine whether they continued to use these skills and if they could detect any subsequent enhancement in their athletic performance. Results: We demonstrated that a greater number of participants in the experimental group were able to successfully control their psychophysiological parameters, in comparison to their peers in the control group. Significant results (p < 0.05) were noted in regulation of GSR following short stress test conditions (p = 0.037), in regulation of HR after exposure to STROOP stressor (p = 0.037), in regulation of GSR following the Math and GSR stressors (p = 0.033, p = 0.409) and in achieving HR – breathing coherence following the math stressor (p = 0.042). Conclusion: One year following completion of the training program, all participants from the experimental group indicated that they were still using the biofeedback – psycho-regulation skills. Furthermore, these participants uniformly reported believing that these skills had enhanced their athletic performance and general well-being.

Psychological Factors of Rehabilitation of Athletes After Knee Injury

Abstract Objective. The majority of the literature regarding sports injuries is concentrated on specific characteristics related to sports injuries and injuries at sport activities at all. We strove to establish whether the success of the rehabilitation process can be predicted based on numerous psychosocial variables. Methods. Our sample comprised of 68 competing athletes who underwent an operative knee surgery. The rehabilitation process for athletes lasted one or 6 months; all athletes obtained serious injuries by the standards of National Athletic Injury Reporting System (1). The following variables were measured: coping with pain (SIP 15), rehabilitation behaviours (SIRBS), motivation for rehabilitation, anxiety (STAI X1) and social support. A questionnaire that measures the functioning of the knee (2000 IKDC) was taken as an indicator of the rehabilitation success. Participants were tested both prior to and following the process of rehabilitation. Results. Our results showed that the success of psychological rehabilitation could be predicted from changes in certain psychosocial variables (a decrease in anxiety and an increase in susceptibility, self-efficacy and catastrophizing). After the rehabilitation, only 10 % of athletes were able to reach the criteria of a successful physical and psychological rehabilitation. Conclusions. We can conclude that since selected psychological variables were found to have a high loading on psychological rehabilitation there it makes sense to control these variables. Izvleček Izhodišča. Večina raziskav s področja športnih poškodb se nanaša na specifične značilnosti, ki sprožijo, napovedujejo ali preprečujejo športne poškodbe. Raziskava preučuje možnost napovedovanja uspešnosti rehabilitacije na osnovi psiholoških značilnosti poškodovanih športnikov, in sicer spoprijemanja z bolečino, vedenja v procesu rehabilitacije (SIRBS), motivacije za rehabilitacijo, tesnobe kot stanja in socialne opore. Metode. V raziskavo je bilo vključenih 68 športnikov po operaciji kolena zaradi resne poškodbe, definirane na osnovi izbranega sistema (1). Rehabilitacijski proces je trajal en mesec ali šest mesecev. Udeleženci so bili psihološko obravnavani pred procesom rehabilitacije in po njem. Rezultati. Rezultati so pokazali, da je uspešnost rehabilitacije večja, če se zmanjša anksioznost in poveča dojemljivost ter zaznata samoučinkovitost in katastrofiziranje. Le za 10 % športnikov lahko rečemo, da je bila pri njih rehabilitacija uspešna. Zaključki. Na osnovi raziskave lahko rečemo, da se konstruktivna vedenja, povezana z rehabilitacijo, povezujejo s psihološko rehabilitacijo poškodovanih športnikov.