This week in the world of sports science, here’s what happened…
- Do magnesium gels reduce muscle soreness and muscle damage?
- In-swinging vs out-swinging corner kicks in football
- Can AI help with taekwondo review cases?
Do magnesium gels reduce muscle soreness and muscle damage?
Magnesium is commonly taken to alleviate muscle soreness, typically through oral ingestion. However, there has been a growing interest in magnesium creams and gels recently. Despite this popularity, new research has found no significant benefits from using these magnesium creams.
In a recent study, participants were instructed to apply either magnesium gel or a placebo gel to their thighs before and after a 40-minute session of downhill treadmill running. The researchers assessed perceived muscle soreness, peak isometric knee extensor strength, and creatine kinase levels before, immediately after, 24 hours later, and 48 hours following the treadmill run. The results indicated that the magnesium gel did not lead to a reduction in muscle soreness or markers of muscle damage when compared to the placebo gel.
While further research is needed, the effectiveness of magnesium gel is certainly called into question based on these findings.
In-swinging vs out-swinging corner kicks in football
The effectiveness of in-swinging versus out-swinging corner kicks in football has long been a topic of debate. A recent meta-analysis aimed to shed light on this issue by introducing scientific evidence into the conversation.
This analysis reviewed 12 studies focused on professional football, examining both goals and goal attempts stemming from corner kicks. The results revealed that only 3.09% of corner kicks led to a goal, while roughly one in four corner kicks resulted in a goal attempt.
Interestingly, the analysis found no statistically significant difference in goals scored from either in-swinging or out-swinging corner kicks. However, out-swinging corner kicks did generate more goal attempts compared to in-swinging corner kicks.
The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that both types of corner kicks are equally effective in terms of scoring. Nonetheless, one might argue that, if teams are clinical, out-swinging corner kicks could prove to be more beneficial, since they result in a higher number of goal attempts.
If you’re involved in the world of football, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this ongoing debate! Also, our blog Developing Field Skills in Football (Soccer) Players is well worth checking out!
Can AI help with taekwondo review cases?
A recent study has highlighted the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance both the accuracy and efficiency of video review systems in Taekwondo. The research involved the assessment of 241 video review cases from the Taekwondo competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The AI system utilised in this study demonstrated a strong correlation with the judgments of international referees, with discrepancies noted between the AI system and the referees occurring in only 9 out of the 241 review cases. Furthermore, the implementation of the AI system resulted in an impressive reduction in the average review time by 81%.
It is essential to emphasise that, despite improvements in efficiency and consistency with international referees, human oversight remains necessary for certain ambiguous or complex cases.
In conclusion, the integration of an AI review system, complemented by human expertise, appears to be a promising direction for the management of Taekwondo review cases and may also serve as a viable approach for similar applications in other sports. Watch this space!
If you’re interested in how AI is transforming the sports industry, our podcast episode (click here) featuring Jake Schuster, CEO of Gemeni Sports Analytics, is highly recommended.
From us this week:
>> New course: Nutrition for Injury & Recovery
>> New podcast: NFL’s Digital Athlete – How Data is Transforming Player Health & Safety
>> New infographic: Isometrics
>> New article: Hydrotherapy
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