Application of traditional Chinese therapy in sports medicine

Chinese herbs have been used as dietary supplements to improve exercise performance.However,evidence-based studies for the use of Chinese herbs in sports remain scarce.Traditional Chinese therapy(TCT),a form of traditional Chinese non-pharmacological intervention,has remained in use for thousands of years in sports medicine.TCT is beneficial for sports injuries and in enhancing skill development,and is becoming increasingly popular among athletes,fitness enthusiasts,and individuals who regularly exercise.The therapeutic effects of TCT have been demonstrated by clinical and experimental studies,but using these modalities still is associate with potentially adverse effects.Further well-designed studies are necessary to confirm the efficacy of TCT in sports medicine.This review aims to summarize the application of TCT,discuss the issues surrounding TCT clinical research,and provide suggestions for applying traditional Chinese methods in the field of sports medicine.

Psychophysiological effects of rhythmic music combined with aerobic exercise in college students with minimal depressive symptoms

Mental health problems are common during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood.Previous studies reported that rhythmic music plus aerobic exercise can have a beneficial effect on emotional state.We examined whether the beneficial effect differed between aerobic exercise interventions with or without rhythmic music.A sample of 94 college students who either had no depressive symptoms(n=47)or minimal depressive symptoms(n=47)underwent 30-min interventions in a randomized and counterbalanced order:rest,rhythmic music,aerobic exercise and aerobic exercise plus rhythmic music.Response time and accuracy of selective attention to positive and negative images were recorded using the spatial cueing paradigm.Participants’heart rate during all conditions and perceived exertion after each condition were measured to clarify physiological and perceptual responses,respectively.The results revealed that a multimodal intervention combining aerobic exercise and rhythmic music had a significant facilitatory effect on attentional bias to positive emotional cues in minimal depressive participants(t=-2.336,p=0.024),including less perceived exertion and higher heart rate after/during the intervention process.The single-modality intervention of aerobic exercise had significant positive effects for individuals with no depressive symptoms(t=2.510,p=0.016).The multimodal intervention was more effective than the single-modality intervention for individuals with minimal depressive symptoms,but the single-modality aerobic exercise intervention was more effective for individuals with no depressive symptoms,providing new evidence for the specificity of the intervention effect for people with different degrees of depressive symptoms.

Change of bio-electric interferential currents of acute fatigue and recovery in male sprinters

We studied the muscle fatigue and recovery of thirty male sprinters(aged 18–22 years)using the Frequency Analysis Method(FAM).The interferential currents(ICs)with different thresholds for sensory,motor and pain responses,the maximal voluntary contraction(MVC),and the amplitude of the surface EMG(aEMG,sEMG)were assessed prior to and immediately after an acute explosive fatigue training session,and during one-week recovery.We found that IC increased on average from 32.38.9 mA to 37.57.5 mA in sensory response at 10 Hz immediately post training(p=0.004)but decreased at 24-hr post training(p=0.008)and returned to pre-levels thereafter.Motor and pain response patterns at 10 Hz were similar(motor:p=0.033 and 0.040;pain:p=0.022 and 0.019,respectively).The change patterns of ICs were similar to but prior to the changes of sEMG.The agreement between IC assessment and amplitude of sEMG(aEMG)/MVC ratio was good(>95%).The present study suggested that the changes in ICs were prior to the changes in both the aEMG and force during fatigue.These changes may reflect the physiological sensory change due to peripheral fatigue.FAM may be useful as an effective early detection and simple tool for monitoring muscle fatigue during training and recovery in athletes.