René A. Turcotte

The performance of the ice hockey slap and wrist shots: the effects of stick construction and player skill

The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction of players’ skill level, body strength, and sticks of various construction and stiffness on the performance of the slap and wrist shots in ice hockey. Twenty male and twenty female subjects were tested. Ten of each gender group were considered skilled and ten unskilled. In addition to general strength tests, each subject performed the slap and wrist shots with three stick shafts of different construction and stiffness. Shot mechanics were evaluated by simultaneously recording ground reaction forces from a force plate, stick movement and bending from high speed filming and peak puck velocity from a radar gun. Data were analysed with a 4-way repeated measures ANOVA for several dependent variables including peak puck velocity, peak Z (vertical) force, peak bending and stick to ground angles, peak angular deflection of the shaft, and hand placement on the stick. The results indicated that: 1) the slap shot was much faster than the wrist shot corresponding to greater vertical loading force, stick bending, and greater width of the hand placement; 2) the puck velocity was influenced by skill level and body strength but not stick type; and, 3) that skilled players were able to generate more vertical force and bend of the stick, in part, by adjusting their hand positions on the stick. Further studies are needed to address the specific influence of body strength and skill on the techniques of these shots and in relation to stick material and construction properties.

Three-dimensional kinematics of the lower limbs during forward ice hockey skating.

The objectives of the study were to describe lower limb kinematics in three dimensions during the forward skating stride in hockey players and to contrast skating techniques between low- and high-calibre skaters. Participant motions were recorded with four synchronized digital video cameras while wearing reflective marker triads on the thighs, shanks, and skates. Participants skated on a specialized treadmill with a polyethylene slat bed at a self-selected speed for 1 min. Each participant completed three 1-min skating trials separated by 5 min of rest. Joint and limb segment angles were calculated within the local (anatomical) and global reference planes. Similar gross movement patterns and stride rates were observed; however, high-calibre participants showed a greater range and rate of joint motion in both the sagittal and frontal planes, contributing to greater stride length for high-calibre players. Furthermore, consequent postural differences led to greater lateral excursion during the power stroke in high-calibre skaters. In conclusion, specific kinematic differences in both joint and limb segment angle movement patterns were observed between low- and high-calibre skaters.

Exercise-Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy Fact or Fallacy?

SummaryAfter a century of research reports, the notion of exercise-induced cardiac hypertrophy is still an expected adaptation to regular exercise training. Experimental evidence reported both in animals and in humans over the past 3 decades suggests, however, that this conclusion may not be totally warranted. Data from 20 years of echocardiographic investigations of athletes and nonathletes indicate that differences in cardiac dimensions are not very large. Cross-sectional comparisons of over 1000 athletes and roughly 800 control individuals indicate an average difference of 1.6mm in left ventricular (LV) wall thickness and of 5.3mm in end-diastolic diameter. Differences reported after training programmes lasting 4 to 52 weeks are even smaller, with average increases of 0.3mm in LV wall thickness and only 2.1 mm in end-diastolic diameter.This article reviews data from animal and human studies concerning cardiac morphology and exercise training to show that the traditional interpretation of the literature has failed to take into account several methodological considerations or factors that may act as confounders in the interpretation of data. Results from animal studies indicate that the observation of cardiac hypertrophy is equivocal at best. In many reports the reported changes in heart size are not significant, and in instances where significant changes are reported these may be seen to be confounded by a number of factors. For example, in rats the reported training-induced hypertrophy may be related to gender differences in the responsiveness of cardiac dimensions or body andlor organ growth rather than to true heart hypertrophy. Furthermore, the interpretation of results from training studies in rats has often been based on the assumption that the metabolic, haemodynamic and thermoregulatory requirements of swimming and running exercise in rats are similar, which may in fact not be the case. In addition, the use of the heart weightlbodyweight ratio as an index of cardiac hypertrophy. although widespread in animal studies, is open to criticism owing to failure to control for concurrent changes in bodyweight. Several methodological considerations and factors confounding the outcome of exercise training in humans have also been omitted when interpreting echocardiographic cross-sectional and longitudinal findings. For example, in adult echocardiography the practical resolution of the echocardiographic technique amounts to roughly 2.2mm. It follows, therefore, that unless differences of changes in cardiac dimensions exceed the limit of resolution they are meaningless although statistically significant. Results from a meta-analysis of echocardiographic investigations published over the last 20 years indicate that the average change reported for left ventricular (LV) wall thickness remains well under the limit of resolution. The mean increase in LV internal diameter reported equals or slightly exceeds the technical resolution. Its significance, however, may be questioned since neither training brachycardia nor training-induced plasma volume expansion have been taken into account. It is likely, therefore, that ‘increased diastolic filling’ rather than true eccentric hypertrophy explains the differences reported. Another factor that has not been acknowledged in the investigation of the ‘athlete’s heart’ is the fact that ‘athletes’ generally exhibit anthropometric characteristics which typically differentiate them from sedentary individuals. Despite the well known relationship between cardiac dimensions and body size, this was often not considered in the interpretation of cross-sectional data. Re-analysis of cardiac dimensions reported in athletes and their sedentary counterparts indicate that differences in LV wall thickness between groups are in fact eliminated when a correction for body surface are is introduced. Illegal drug supplementations may also contribute to the cross-sectional differences reported.Finally, re-evaluation of the evidence in light of potential confounders indicates that athletes present cardiac dimensions that are proportional to their body size but do not exceed the normal limits. Endurance training induces a modest increase in LV internal diameter which may be explained by increased diastolic filling resulting from resting bradycardia and hypervolaemia.

Hip adductor muscle function in forward skating.

Adductor strain injuries are prevalent in ice hockey. It has long been speculated that adductor muscular strains may be caused by repeated eccentric contractions which decelerate the leg during a stride. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of skating speed with muscle activity and lower limb kinematics, with a particular focus on the role of the hip adductors. Seven collegiate ice hockey players consented to participate. Surface electromyography (EMG) and kinematics of the lower extremities were measured at three skating velocities 3.33 m/s (slow), 5.00 m/s (medium) and 6.66 m/s (fast). The adductor magnus muscle exhibited disproportionately larger increases in peak muscle activation and significantly prolonged activation with increased speed. Stride rate and stride length also increased significantly with skating velocity, in contrast, hip, knee and ankle total ranges of motion did not. To accommodate for the increased stride rate with higher skating speeds, the rate of hip abduction increased significantly in concert with activations of adductor magnus indicating a substantial eccentric contraction. In conclusion, these findings highlight the functional importance of the adductor muscle group and hip abduction–adduction in skating performance as well as indirectly support the notion that groin strain injury potential increases with skating speed.

Acute effects of intense interval training on running mechanics

The aims of this study were to determine if there are significant kinematic changes in running pattern after intense interval workouts, whether duration of recovery affects running kinematics, and whether changes in running economy are related to changes in running kinematics. Seven highly trained male endurance runners (VO 2max = 72.3 +/- 3.3 ml kg -1 min -1 ; mean +/- s) performed three interval running workouts of 10 X 400 m at a speed of 5.94 +/- 0.19 m s -1 (356 +/- 11.2 m min -1 ) with a minimum of 4 days recovery between runs. Recovery of 60, 120 or 180 s between each 400 m repetition was assigned at random. Before and after each workout, running economy and several kinematic variables were measured at speeds of 3.33 and 4.47 m s -1 (200 and 268 m min -1 ). Speed was found to have a significant effect on shank angle, knee velocity and stride length (P ≪ 0.05). Correlations between changes pre- and post-test for VO 2 (ml kg -1 min -1 ) and several kinematic variables were not significant (P > 0.05) at both speeds. In general, duration of recovery was not found to adversely affect running economy or the kinematic variables assessed, possibly because of intra-individual adaptations to fatigue.

Three-dimensional analysis of blade contact in an ice hockey slap shot, in relation to player skill

The purpose of this study was to examine the three-dimensional movement profile of the blade during a stationary slap shot, as a function of player skill level. A total of 15 subjects participated; eight were classified as elite and the remaining seven were recreational. Performances were evaluated by simultaneously recording the movements of the stick’s lower shaft and blade with high-speed video (1000 Hz), the time of stick-ground contact with two uniaxial forceplates and time of blade-puck contact with a uniaxial accelerometer mounted within the puck. Data were analysed with a two-way MANOVA for several dependent variables including linear kinematics, temporal phase data and global angles. The results indicated that skill level affected blade kinematics, with elite shooters tending to alter timing parameters (i.e. phase length), magnitude of linear variables (i.e. displacement, etc.) and the overall blade orientation to achieve a higher velocity slap shot. These analyses identified a unique ‘rocker’ phase within the execution of the slap shot in both groups.

A test for the measurement of pulmonary diffusion capacity during high-intensity exercise.

The most commonly used technique for the measurement of pulmonary diffusing capacity (DL) is the single-breath hold technique requiring a 10-s breath-hold after the maximal inspiration of carbon monoxide (0.3% CO) and helium (10% He). To measure pulmonary diffusing capacity in our experiments, we had the added advantage of the use of the Gould Pulmonary Function Laboratory that automates the collection and recording of data and the calibration of equipment for each test. However, this technique, DL(CO), is difficult to use during exercise of moderate or elevated intensity because of the lengthy breath-hold. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to compare DL(CO) with 3-s and 5-s breath-holds to a 10-s breath-hold at rest and during moderate and intense exercise in 14 subjects. As expected, an increase in the DL(CO) was observed during moderate and intense exercise when compared to resting values (45.7 +/- 10.0 and 53.0 +/- 7.6 vs 32.1 +/- 7.7 ml CO min-1 mmHg-1). No difference was observed between values for DL(CO) measured at varying breath-hold times at rest (3 s: 32.9 +/- 7.4; 5 s: 32.0 +/- 7.5; 10 s: 31.4 +/- 8.2 ml CO min-1 mmHg-1) or during moderate exercise (3 s: 45.9 +/- 10.1; 5 s: 45.9 +/- 10.6; 10 s: 45.2 +/- 10.4 ml CO min-1 mmHg-1) or intense exercise (3 s: 52.1 +/- 8.3; 5 s: 54.3 +/- 9.3; 10 s: 52.6 +/- 5.2 ml CO min-1 mmHg-1). Reliability coefficients indicated that the use of a 3-s breath-hold was appropriate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Comparison of skating kinetics and kinematics on ice and on a synthetic surface

The recent popularization and technological improvements of synthetic or artificial ice surfaces provide an attractive alternative to real ice in venues where the latter is impractical to install. Potentially, synthetic ice (SI) may be installed in controlled laboratory settings to permit detailed biomechanical analysis of skating manoeuvres. Unknown, however, is the extent to which skating on SI replicates skating on traditional ice (ICE). Hence, the purpose of this study was to compare kinetic and kinematic forward skating parameters between SI and ICE surfaces. With 11 male hockey players, a portable strain gauge system adhered to the outside of the skate blade holder was used to measure skate propulsive force synchronized with electrogoniometers for tracking dynamic knee and ankle movements during forward skating acceleration. In general, the kinetic and kinematic variables investigated in this study showed minimal differences between the two surfaces (P > 0.06), and no individual variable differences were identified between the two surfaces (P ≥ 0.1) with the exception of greater knee extension on SI than ICE (15.2° to 11.0°; P ≤ 0.05). Overall, SI surfaces permit comparable mechanics for on-ice forward skating, and thus offer the potential for valid analogous conditions for in-lab testing and training.

Biochemical adaptation of cardiac and skeletal muscle to physical activity

1. Female Wistar rats were randomly assigned to control (C) or exercising (T) groups and subsequently portioned into 1, 3, 5 and 10 day T and C groups. The T groups completed a progressive endurance running program. Biochemical indices of adaptation were measured in cardiac muscle and in plantaris and soleus muscles of C and T animals after their last exercise bout. 2. In cardiac muscle, myofibrillar ATPase activity was significantly elevated in the 3T (0.241 +/- 0.031) and 5T (0.242 +/- 0.013) groups (P less than or equal to 0.05) compared to their respective controls (3C = 0.187 +/- 0.015 and 5C = 0.190 +/- 0.007). 3. After 10 days of training cardiac myofibrillar ATPase activity was elevated by 17% but this was not significant (P greater than or equal to 0.05). 4. No changes in myofibrillar ATPase activity were seen in skeletal muscle (P greater than or equal to 0.05), however, hexokinase activity progressively increased and was significantly elevated in the 3T, 5T and 10T soleus and plantaris muscles of rats over controls (P less than or equal to 0.05). 5. Minimal nonsignificant changes were noted in the hexokinase activity of the hearts of all T groups (P greater than or equal to 0.05). 6. These results indicate that metabolic adaptation of the heart and skeletal muscles takes place after as little as three training sessions. 7. Although the adaptation of the skeletal muscles continually progresses, the adaptation of the heart appears to be transitory.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Whole-body predictors of wrist shot accuracy in ice hockey: a kinematic analysis

The purpose of this study was to identify joint angular kinematics that corresponds to shooting accuracy in the stationary ice hockey wrist shot. Twenty-four subjects participated in this study, each performing 10 successful shots on four shooting targets. An eight-camera infra-red motion capture system (240 Hz), along with passive reflective markers, was used to record motion of the joints, hockey stick, and puck throughout the performance of the wrist shot. A multiple regression analysis was carried out to examine whole-body kinematic variables with accuracy scores as the dependent variable. Significant accuracy predictors were identified in the lower limbs, torso and upper limbs. Interpretation of the kinematics suggests that characteristics such as a better stability of the base of support, momentum cancellation, proper trunk orientation and a more dynamic control of the lead arm throughout the wrist shot movement are presented as predictors for the accuracy outcome. These findings are substantial as they not only provide a framework for further analysis of motor control strategies using tools for accurate projection of objects, but more tangibly they may provide a comprehensive evidence-based guide to coaches and athletes for planned training to improve performance.