No abstract

This study compares the conditioning services of Spanish sports teams: From soccer and basketball professional leagues, and top-division amateur leagues for handball, volleyball, indoor soccer, and field hockey. A survey was administered to those responsible for the conditioning preparation. The response rate was 82% (77 of 94). The teams were divided into class A and class B, with class A having the best performance. Fifty eight percent of the professional teams have hired a full-time person, with university degree, exclusively for the conditioning. The percentage was significantly less in amateur leagues for handball, volleyball, and field hockey: class A teams (41%), class B teams (0%). A small percentage of the Physical Conditioning Coaches (PCCs) continued their academic education (22%), and the consultation of scientific journals (5%). Only 6% of the PCCs did not mention deficiencies in the context of work. The main complaints are associated with the strength-training equipment and facilities. In class B teams of the amateur leagues, significant deficiencies were found in almost all the variables within the training environment. These results show significant deficiencies in the conditioning services offered by teams to their players, especially in no-professional teams and in the teams with lower performance level. Spanish PCCs should take advantage of advances made through scientific research in the area of conditioning by acquiring Master's Degrees and consulting peer-reviewed journals. The club's managers and/or coaches must be aware of the importance of conditioning for improving the training environment. Both aspects would increase the likelihood that better training or rehabilitation procedures would be developed at the club.

The number of patients that suffer some type of spinal cord lesion in recent years are high and have increased because of factors such as traffic accidents. Although their life expectancy has increased, cardiovascular illnesses is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality. Since the degree of physical fitness is an important factor regarding the risk of cardiovascular disease, the objective of the present study was to examine the global adaptation (cardiorespiratory, metabolic and thermoregulatory response) of the organism to exercise and the application of this data to the habitual practice of physical activity to improve state of health. A group of 42 patients with spinal injury, 85% of whom were paraplegic and the remaining 15% tetraplegic performed 42 exercise tests on a cycloergometer. Body temperature (tympanum, surface of the deltoids and surface of the back), metabolic parameters (plasma uric acid, glycemia, plasma lactate), cardiocirculatory adaptation (heart rate, blood pressure arm, blood pressure leg) and ventilatory adaptation (VO2, VCO2, fr Vt, VE) were monitored. Blood pressure in the arm, blood concentrations of lactate and ventilatory parameters showed an evolution statistically dependent on the work to which the subject was submitted. Heart rate showed a statistically significant correlation with the ventilatory parameters and work load. The proportional response of the cardioventilatory parameters to the increase in the work load allowed us to evaluate the repercussion of a given exercise and thus avoid exercise of an excessive intensity that could produce cardiocirculatory changes that might entail an added risk. Heart rate presents an excellent correlation, shown in this work, with the oxygen consumption and could therefore be used to quantify the cardiorespiratory and metabolic repercussion of the exercise carried out. Furthermore, this quantification may allow for the adaptation of exercise intensity to the patient thus improving the results obtained from the practice of exercise that has been proven so necessary in these patients.