درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Background: The "athlete's heart" syndrome encompasses structural and functional cardiac adaptations to chronic exercise. These sports impose unique hemodynamic loads, potentially leading to distinct remodeling patterns. Objective: This study aimed to compare central cardiovascular adaptations, both structural and functional, in elite male athletes from basketball, volleyball, and handball to identify sport-specific differences. Methods: Thirty male athletes (aged 18-25; n=10 per sport group) participated in this cross-sectional study. All participants underwent comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography at rest and immediately following a maximal graded exercise test (GXT) on a treadmill. Key measured parameters included left ventricular (LV) dimensions, wall thickness, mass, ejection fraction (EF), stroke volume, and cardiac output. Data were analyzed using One-Way ANOVA or the Kruskal-Wallis test, with post-hoc analyses where appropriate. Results: While most parameters indicated a common adaptive athlete’s heart profile across all sports, significant sport-specific differences were found. Handball players exhibited a significantly higher heart rate post-GXT (180.11±9.45bpm) compared to both basketball and volleyball players (p<0.01). Furthermore, ejection fraction was significantly different between all groups at rest (p<0.05), with handball players also demonstrating a superior EF post-GXT compared to the other groups (p<0.05). A significant difference in left ventricular end-systolic dimension was also observed at rest between all three sports (p<0.001). Conclusion: The significant differences in post-exercise heart rate and ejection fraction, particularly in handball players, suggest that the pronounced upper-body and isometric components of handball impose a unique hemodynamic stress, leading to distinct functional adaptations. This underscores the importance of sport-specific interpretation of cardiac parameters in athletes.

The aim of this research was to determine the impact of a psychological skills training (PST) course on the level of sports injury anxiety and fear of failure. This research was of an applied and cross-sectional nature, and the statistical population consisted of elite football athletes, among whom 45 completed the existing scale. The measurement tools used were the Sports Injury Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI) to assess fear of failure. The pre-test for sports injury anxiety and fear of failure was conducted in all three groups, and the experimental group followed the corresponding protocol for 12 sessions, after which the post-test was carried out. The data were analyzed using the dependent t-test and ANCOVA. The results showed that after the intervention, sports injury anxiety and fear of failure had decreased, and there were differences in the responses to the items on the sports injury anxiety and fear of failure test between the two experimental groups, the pre-exercise intervention and the pre-sleep intervention. In general, it can be concluded that practicing psychological skills can be a strategy for reducing psychological responses such as sports injury anxiety and fear of failure. Sports psychologists are advised to use this intervention to reduce sports injury anxiety and fear of failure, and consequently to improve performance.