Sports Physiology - Goals and Roles

Introduction:

Sports physiology plays an essential part in an athlete's life to become stronger and faster than before to achieve their height in sports. It deals with acute responses and chronic adaptations to physical activities. Sports physiologists study these responses in athletes to refine and enhance overall fitness and athletic performance. They perform a broad range of tasks that contribute to the individual or a group of athletes.

What Are the Goals of Sports Physiology?

• Exercises rehabilitation.

• Exercises for complex medical conditions.

• Musculoskeletal rehabilitation exercises.

• Exercises for recovery from injury.

• Postural control.

• Improvements in sports performance.

What Are the Types of Exercise Physiology?

• Sports Physiology: It deals with the body’s response to physical activity in athletes.

• Clinical Physiology: It deals with the psychological behavior of the athletes during performance and injury and also helps in rehabilitation.

What Are the Physiological Changes That Occur During Sports?

1. Sports-Induced Physiological Changes in the Brain:

• Oxygen: The brain depends on oxygen to perform its function. Exercise causes a decrease in oxygen levels. If there is a demand for oxygen supply to the brain, it leads to unconsciousness within six to seven and disruption in motor control.

• Cerebral Autoregulation: Cerebral autoregulation usually protects the brain during oxygen deprivation by increasing the cardiac output and producing more capillary oxygen supply to the brain. Brain autoregulation is impaired during maximal exercise since increased capillary oxygen supply alone is insufficient.

• Glucose: Exercise reduces plasma glucose in the brain that compensates for it with lactate, which provides the required energy to the brain.

• Hyperthermia: During exercise, more sweat causes an increase in basal body temperature. It results in cognitive impairment, reduced cerebral blood flow, and brain hyperthermia.

2. Sports-Induced Fatigue:

• Intense Activity: During intense exercise, there occurs disturbance in ion hemostasis and causes cellular membrane depolarization, inexcitability, and muscle weakness.

• Endurance Failure: Intense exercise for a prolonged time causes a collapse in body hemostasis.

3. Other Factors That Cause Fatigue Include:

• Brain hyperthermia (increase in temperature).
• Depletion of glycogen in brain cells.
• Skeletal muscle function impairment.
• Ammonia uptake by the brain.
• Decreased glutamate level.
• Oxygen supply impairment.

Sports-Induced Cardiac Changes:

Prolonged exercise (marathons) causes an increased release of cardiac biomarkers. In clinical conditions, increased release of biomarkers suggests irreversible muscle injury, whereas exertion induced is reversible (usually occurs within 24 hours).

Who Are Sports Physiologists?

Developed countries give accreditation to health professionals who work with clinical and non-clinical clients as certified exercise physiologists (CEP) / accredited exercise physiologists (AEP). They may be scientists, clinical researchers, clinicians, clinical researchers, or sports trainers. They learn biochemistry, hematology, bioenergetics, cardiopulmonary function, biomechanics, skeletal muscle physiology, neuroendocrine function, and central and peripheral nervous system.

Sports physiology prepares students in the field of health sciences and focuses on the scientific study of the physiological processes of physical or motor activity- which includes response mechanisms, sensorimotor interactions, and the effects of injury, disease, and disability. Also, studies about muscular and skeletal anatomy, motor mechanism of neurophysiology, molecular and cellular basis of muscle contraction, respiration, blood flow, endocrine secretions, fatigue, muscle and body training, physiology of injury, exercise physiology of specific activities, and the effects of disabilities and diseases.

Graduated exercise physiologists can do clinical-based research work, client-based work, and non-clinical work. They follow according to the client’s requirements and are as follows:

• Health and Risk Assessment: It is mandatory to work safely with clients. Exercise physiologists must know the benefits and risks associated with physical activity. Examples include- knowing about specific injuries that the body experiences during exercise, proper screening of the client before the session starts, and identifying the factors affecting their physical activity.

• Exercise Testing: Exercise physiologists must coordinate their clients during physical activity. They should monitor cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular endurance, and flexibility and measure body composition. In order to understand the specific part of the body, functional tests are performed. Exercise physiologists should be able to interpret the results and decide about possible health-related outcomes.

• Exercise Prescription: Individuals’ health and goals are assessed by conducting training programs. During the program, exercise physiologists should give importance to different exercises, the reason for a client’s workout, and pre-screened assessments. Also, they should know what exercises can be prescribed for special populations- that include age, pregnancy, cardiac disorders, obesity, joint diseases, and pulmonary diseases.

What Is the Role of Sports Physiologists?

• Assess athletes' physical and physiological characteristics in a field setting or a laboratory.

• Establish the athletes' physiological demands in competition.

• Interprets the routine fitness test results.

• Implements effective interventions like diet and training to improve sports performance.

• Designs and plans training sessions.

• Monitors sports performance of athletes to quantify physical stress placed on athletes.

• Maintains sports technology and scientific equipment.

• Educates athletes, coaches, peers, and students.

• Travel with athletes for training camps and competitions.

• Conduct research to enhance athletes' sports performances.

• Presents and reports the research outcomes.

What Knowledge Do Sports Physiologists Have?

Sports physiologists should possess specific knowledge to perform the following activities.

• Should be trained to use ergometers, spirometers, blood gas analyzers, ultrasound devices, and heart-rate monitors.

• Should perform venepuncture, submaximal and progressive maximal tests, carbon monoxide rebreathing, skeletal muscle biopsies, anthropometry, equipment calibration, and validation.

• Should be able to do a sampling of expired gases, sweat, blood, saliva, skeletal muscles, and feces.

• Should measure heart rate, blood gasses, metabolites, hemoglobin mass, body temperature, jump height, running speed, power output, skinfold thickness, immune function, and urine-specific gravity.

• Should be able to determine lactate threshold, maximal oxygen uptake, body composition, and running economy.

What Are the Specialities of Sports Physiology?

• Altitude training.

• Exercise in the heat.

• Biochemistry and hematology.

• Immunology.

• Performance recovery.

• Tapering- Reducing the training load prior to events.

• Talent identification.

• Anthropometry- Measures the body mass index.

• Smart sensors and devices.

Conclusion:

A sports physiologist knows how well the body adapts and responds to the performances in different environments or circumstances, such as high altitudes and temperatures. This is an important step in preparing the athletes to compete in sports and also to adapt during training sessions. This helps them to achieve their goals and enhance their overall performance. Additionally, exercise physiologists conduct programs for athletes to reduce the number of injuries and recover faster from them.