Erika Zemková

• Prof. PhD.
• Professor (Full) at Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports

Reactive agility is one of the most important skills in basketball. However, the question remains to what extent the sensory and motor components of agility contribute to specific performance in the game. This study investigated the relationship between indicators of game-specific performance and perceptual-cognitive and physical aspects of agility...

Introduction: This study aimed to examine the anthropometric characteristics, body composition, and somatotypes of female field hockey players. Methods: The study involved 30 female athletes aged ranges 13-21 years from the Giri Center in Hisar, Haryana. The anthropometric measurements were conducted in accordance with the protocols of the Internat...

This study compares the magnitude and speed of restoring fatigue-impaired postural stability following passive and active recovery modalities, including diaphragmatic breathing, trunk stability exercises, and foam rolling, among sedentary employees. Eighteen sedentary adults (aged 36.2 ± 8.1 years) volunteered for this study. They performed a modif...

Background Prolonged sitting induces fatigue in deep trunk muscles, thereby decreasing spinal support and increasing stress on the spine. Core exercises effectively facilitate recovery from trunk muscle fatigue based on evidence from subjective outcomes; however, there is a lack of systematic investigation into localized muscle activity specificall...

This study investigates the concurrent validity of the Sportreact single-beam timing system with a standard dual-beam system for the evaluation of linear and change of direction speed. Forty-two youth soccer players (age = 12.9 6 1.1 years) performed linear sprints (10 and 30 m splits) and 505 Agility Test. The times were measured by both systems s...

Background Although a lot of attention is paid to the flaws of balance training research in older adults, the low methodological quality and incomplete reporting of studies still limit the knowledge transfer between research and practice. These known shortcomings are considered also as barriers for creating recommendations for balance training in o...

Prolonged sitting leads to a slumped posture, which indirectly influences spinal curvature and increases low back and hamstring stiffness. Active rather than passive recovery is an effective way to reduce the risks associated with such prolonged inactivity. However, it remains to be investigated which of the exercises frequently used for this purpo...

Agility performance increased from childhood to midadolescence, followed by a plateau until early adulthood. Because adolescence is crucial for the development of perceptualcognitive skills, the question is whether and to what extent its contribution to reactive agility increases during developmental periods of adolescence in invasive sports athlet...

Applying the novel “Football reactive agility for goalkeepers task” (FRAG), this study compared the reactive agility performance of elite youth and amateur adult GKs and analysed their changes in reaction speed with an increasing number of stimuli. The average reaction time in the reactive agility task was shorter in the EY than in the AA group (∆–...

This study investigates individual performance adaptations on 2 years of training between European Aerobics Championships. An elite, 22-year-old aerobic gymnast performed postural coordination test, Y-Balance test, squat and countermovement jumps, 60 s test of repeated jumps, an isokinetic leg muscle strength test, and the Wingate test. Postural st...

Change of direction speed (CODS) is determined by several physical aspects, such as linear sprint speed, reactive strength and power of leg muscles. It appears that core strength may also play a role in CODS, however, its relationship to CODS remains unclear. The aim of this narrative review was to analyze the literature addressing a) the relations...

Background Sitting for long periods of time and lack of physical activity in young adults can cause postural deterioration leading to rapid onset of fatigue and increase the risk of back pain. We were interested in whether there are gender differences in spinal curvature among university students with a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. Methods 2...

This scoping review aims (1) to map the literature dealing with neurophysiological and biomechanical aspects of back problems in athletes in order to identify valid risk-factors for their prevention, plus (2) to identify gaps in the existing research and propose suggestions for future studies. A literature search conducted with Scopus, Web of Scien...

The physical and psychological load of small-sided games (SSGs) can affect players’ neuromuscular and cognitive functions. Yet, little is known about the acute performance changes after such a specific exercise in young soccer players and their association with exercise load applied. This study investigates i) the neuromuscular and perceptual-cogni...

In recent years, much effort has been made to reduce the injury rate in combat sports. However, the question remains to what extent these measures are effective. Analysis of studies could provide evidence of the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing the incidence of injuries. This scoping review aims (1) to map research articles dealing with...

Chrbtica ako dynamická štruktúra podstupuje nepretržité zmeny počas celého života. Unikátne anatomické usporiadanie jednotlivých štruktúr a ich vzájomné prepojenie umožňuje nielen prostý široký rozsah pohybu, avšak aj jej neustále prispôsobovanie sa požiadavkám záťaže človeka – nielen v aktuálnom pohybe, ale aj v priebehu starnutia a plynutia rokov...

Prolonged periods of sitting at work can increase trunk muscle fatigue from the continuous contraction of deep trunk muscles. Insufficient activity of these muscles can decrease muscular support to the spine and increases stress on its passive structures. This can lead to reduced spinal mobility and impaired postural stability. It may also stimulat...

The Yo-Yo Intermittent Test is frequently used to monitor changes in athletes’ performance in response to different interventions. However, the question remains as to whether, and to what extent, retakes of this test would contribute to these changes. This case study sought to determine the magnitude of practice effects, involving test repetition,...

This study investigates the effect of exercise-induced fatigue on change of direction performance and serve precision among young tennis players. A group of 21 players (age 12.90 ± 0.76 years), ranked among the top 50 players on the national tennis federation scale and the top 300 on the “Tennis Europe” scale, participated in the study. They underw...

Biological maturity can affect performance on motor tests, thus young players can have advantages or disadvantages during testing by being more or less mature than their peers of the same chronological age. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of biological age on speed, agility, and explosive power in young tennis players. Fifty te...

Change of direction speed, reaction time, sprint speed, and explosive strength are important factors that determine athletes’ performance in the majority of sports. From the practical standpoint, it is of interest to investigate to what extent they differ among athletes of team and individual sports. We compared 7 handball, 11 basketball, and 15 ma...

Physical exercise and adequate energy intake are the most important needs for optimum health, and they are also strongly connected to the amount of energy used when participating in any kind of physical activity. Total energy expenditure (TEE) may be calculated by combining resting energy expenditure (REE) with the physical activity level (PAL). Va...

Effects of various exercise programs on postural balance control in athletes and their underlying physiological mechanisms have been extensively investigated. However, little is known regarding how challenging sport-specific conditions contribute to the improvement of body balance and to what extent these changes may be explained by sensorimotor an...

Balance, together with other motor qualities, plays an important role in the successful execution of specific gymnastic skills. However, it is also not clear whether different demands on dynamic balance and power produced by lower limb can be observed in sport-specific differences among gymnasts of various modalities. The question also is as to wha...

Given the importance of core stability and strength in athletic performance and in the activities of daily living, its assessment should be considered an integral part of functional diagnostics. This paper presents our approach to assessing the power performance during exercises involving muscles of the core, such as lifting tasks and trunk rotatio...

High-intensity intermittent performance in soccer is widely assessed using the yo-yo intermittent recovery level 2 test (YYIR2). This test is usually associated with aerobic–anaerobic performance. However, less is known about the direct or indirect contributions of abilities, including the anaerobic component. This study aims to propose a three-lev...

This study investigates the effect of 12-week core strengthening and weight training on muscle strength, endurance and flexibility in school-aged athletes. Ninety male athletes at the age of 12 were randomly divided into three equal groups (30 in each). Group 1 underwent core strengthening training, group 2 underwent weight training, and group 3 wa...

Background: To prevent the risk of stair descent falls and associated injuries in the older adults, it is important to understand the factors that affect this frequent locomotion of daily living. The fact that falls are in most cases the result of the interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic factors is very often underestimated when designing t...

This study investigates between-gender differences in trunk rotational power produced at various loads in athletes of gymnastic and dance sports. A group of 24 female and 15 male competitive aerobic and acrobatic gymnasts, ballroom and rock & roll dancers completed two trials of standing trunk rotations at each side with a barbell of different weig...

Recently, the role of exercise in improving executive functioning skills has been highlighted by researchers and conditioning specialists [...]

English for Slovak Sports Experts

Isometric and isotonic exercises are important modes of resistance training for enhancement of athletic performance. However, less is known about their effects on fitness and health in recreationally physically active individuals. This study evaluates the effect of isometric and isotonic training protocols on health-related fitness components in yo...

Background: seated behaviour and a lack of physical activity among university students may cause changes to posture leading to health problems. We were interested whether between-gender differences in spinal curvature exist among university students with a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. Methods: a group of 20 female (age 20 ± 0.73 years) and 39...

The knowledge of the COVID-19 symptomatology has increased since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The symptoms of nervous system involvement have been observed across the spectrum of COVID-19 severity. Reports describing difficulties of nerve roots are rare; the affection of brain and spinal cord by SARS-CoV-2 is of leading interest. Our a...

While force-velocity-power characteristics of resistance exercises, such as bench presses and squats, have been well documented, little attention has been paid to load, force, and power-velocity relationships in exercises engaging core muscles. Given that power produced during lifting tasks or trunk rotations plays an important role in most sport-s...

Zemková, E, Cepková, A, Uvaček, M, andŠooš, L. A novel method for assessing muscle power during the standing cable wood chop exercise. J Strength Cond Res 31(8): 2246-2254, 2017-The study estimates the repeatability and sensitivity of a novel method for assessing (a) the maximal power during the standing cable wood chop exercise with different weig...

Balance and core stabilization exercises have often been associated with improved athlete performance and/or decreased incidence of injuries. While these exercises seem to be efficient in the prevention of injuries, there is insufficient evidence regarding their role in sport-specific performance and related functional movements. The aim of this sc...

While the effect of a variety of exercises on postural balance control has been extensively studied, less attention has been paid to those requiring sport-specific skills. Therefore there is a need to analyze the literature and elucidate changes in postural balance control after exercises performed in conditions close to a particular sport. This sc...

Y-shaped agility test is a reactive agility test that includes both sensory and motor components. However, there is a lack of information about the contribution of these components to reactive agility in basketball players. Therefore, this study investigates: (i) the relationship between Y-shaped agility performance and reaction speed, sprint speed...

Fatigue caused by exercise or mentally demanding tasks can lead to an alteration in the cognitive functioning of athletes. Therefore, it is important to investigate whether and to what extent fatigue influences athletes cognitive performance in sports with high cognitive demands. This scoping review aims to map research articles dealing with the ef...

This study evaluates the effects on the performance of young adults undergoing physical fitness tests with external stimuli (verbal encouragement (VE), performance feedback (PF), goal-oriented (GO) and a combination of external stimuli (CS)) and without external stimuli (WS). A group of 432 male students (age 19.1 ± 2.1 y, BMI 24.72 ± 5.97) was ran...

Background A previous study [Zemková E et al. 2019] identified between-side differences in trunk rotational power in athletes trained in asymmetric sports. However, the question remains whether velocity of trunk rotations can also be considered specific to their asymmetric loading as one of the risk factors for low back disorders. Objective This s...

Though pain is a frequent symptom of long COVID-19, little attention has been paid to vertebral algic syndrome. Therefore, we present the cases reports of two precisely selected physically active patients where vertebral algic syndrome and radiculopathy dramatically worsened in acute SARS-CoV-2 infections. The vertebral pain with radicular irritati...

Aim Afamin is a liver-produced glycoprotein, a potential early marker of metabolic syndrome. Here we investigated regulation of afamin in a course of the metabolic disease development and in response to 3-month exercise intervention. Methods We measured whole-body insulin sensitivity (euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp), glucose tolerance, abdomina...

The study evaluates the effects of a 4-week program of combined resistance and aerobic training and volleyball training on physical fitness in young sedentary adults. Twenty-eight males (age 20.5 ± 1.5 years; body mass 87.2 ± 28.5 kg; height 173 ± 8.1 cm; BMI 28.9 ± 8.4 kg/m²) were divided into two groups. While experimental group 1 (COM) underwent...

Introduction Low back pain (LBP) is widely prevalent in healthcare workers. It is associated with impaired postural and core stability. So far, centre of pressure (CoP) measures have been commonly recorded through the use of a force plate in order to assess postural stability. However, this approach provides limited information about the centre of...

Background: Although low back fatigue is an important intervening factor for physical functioning among sedentary people, little is known about its possible significance in relation to the spinal posture and compensatory postural responses to unpredictable stimuli. This study investigates the effect of lumbar muscle fatigue on spinal curvature and...

Pain is one of the most common complaints among patients infected by SARS-CoV-2. While headache and chest pain are reported widely among COVID-19 presentations, there are only scarce reports about vertebral pain. This study aims to describe cases of four healthy and physically active adults, in whom the new onset of back pain was the early or only...

This study investigates the relationship between reactive agility and reaction speed, sprint speed, and muscle strength and their contribution to Y-shaped agility test and reactive agility test (RAT) performance in handball players. Seven handball players performed a Y-shaped agility test and RAT, simple and choice-based reaction time test, reactio...

Background The bulk of relevant studies compare individual or very few sports and on small samples of athletes. This requires extensive analysing postural stability in various sports. Research question The main objective of our study was to identify the features of postural stability in a normal vertical stance in athletes of various kinds. Metho...

International Journal of Health, Physical Education and Computer Science in sports ISSN 2231-3265 (On-line and Print) ISRA Journal Impact factor is 6.997. Journal published Quarterly for the months of March, June, September and December. IJHPECSS is refereed Journal. Index Journal of Directory of Research Journal Indexing, J-Gate, 120R etc. Interna...

The curved sprint test is the most commonly used test in team sports. From a practical point of view, it would be interesting to know to what extent it is related to a direct sprint and a sprint involving changes in direction. This study investigated the relationship between the times taken by soccer players in the curved sprint test, repeated spri...

Back pain is one of the most costly disorders among the worldwide working population. Within that population, healthcare workers are at a high risk of back pain. Though they often demonstrate awkward postures and impaired balance in comparison with healthy workers, there is no clear relationship between compensatory postural responses to unpredicta...

While competitive training is usually associated with the prevalence of back pain and injuries in athletes, little attention is being paid to the positive effects of sport-specific exercises on core musculature in the prevention of back problems. This scoping review aims (i) to map the literature that addresses the effects on reduction of back prob...

This study investigates postural responses to unexpected perturbations induced by a load release of different weights. Groups of 26 men (age 22.6 ± 2.4 years, height 178.0 ± 9.1 cm, and body mass 86.9 ± 11.5 kg) and 21 women (age 21.9 ± 2.7 years, height 168.8 ± 6.8 cm, and body mass 65.3 ± 8.7 kg) underwent load-triggered postural perturbations by...

Featured Application Though both the long-term and acute effect of instability resistance exercises on lower and upper body muscle power and strength has been widely investigated, the cross-transfer effect of these exercises on power produced during traditional resistance exercises on stable surfaces has yet to be fully examined. Our study revealed...

Despite several studies investigating the effect of instability resistance exercises on neuromuscular performance, the force-velocity-power characteristics of muscles involved in lifting tasks and the underlying mechanisms have not been fully explored. This study investigates power-velocity and force-velocity relationships during resistance exercis...

The relationship between the change of direction speed (CODS) and sprint speed, jump ability, and muscle strength is well recognized. However, the strength of this relationship may depend on how the test is designed and which parameters are analyzed. This scoping review aims to: (1) map the literature that addresses the relationships between the CO...

Stair descent is one of the most common forms of daily locomotion and concurrently one of the most challenging and hazardous daily activities performed by older adults. Thus, sufficient attention should be devoted to this locomotion and to the factors that affect it. This study investigates gender and age-related differences in balance control duri...

Featured Application While force–velocity–power characteristics of resistance exercises, such as squats and bench presses, have been well documented, little attention has been paid to load, force and power–velocity relationships in trunk rotation exercises. This study revealed that the highest power is produced by fighting sports athletes, followed...

The back is subjected to a great deal of strain in many sports. Up to 20% of all sports injuries involve an injury to the lower back or neck. Repetitive or high impact loads (e.g., running, gymnastics, skiing) and weight loading (e.g., weightlifting) affect the lower back. Rotation of the torso (e.g., golf, tennis) causes damage to both, the lumbar...

The effects of different factors—such as age, sex, performance level, and athletic shoe features—on postural balance in athletes remain unclear. The main objective of our study is to identify the features of postural stability in athletes of different age, sex, performance level, and using different types of athletic shoes. This study assessed post...

BACKGROUND Sit-to-stand test is very often used as measure of lower limb strength in elderly adults. However, the recent findings indicate that performance in this test is also influenced by other factors. OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between anthropometric, lower limb strength, and balance variables with the 5-repetition sit-to-stand...

Problem Statement:Limited physical functional performance as a consequence of aging is considered as a possible contributor to falls in older adults, even in physically active ones. Purpose: This study determines which clinical and laboratory tests simulating activities of daily living could distinguish age-related differences in functional perform...

In the study, agility time of ipsilateral and contralateral direction of table tennis players and sedentary subjects of different ages were compared. Forty-nine young, early middle-aged, late middle-aged and older table tennis players and forty-six sedentary subjects of matched age performed the agility test. FiTRO Agility check consisting of movem...

This study evaluates changes in power and strength after implementing two different models of 9-week strength training in elite women’s football players. A group of 13 players (age 20.2 ± 3.3 years, body mass 57.2 ± 3.7 kg, height 163.6 ± 5.3 cm, VO2max 45.2 ± ml/min) underwent either a complex (the intermittent load type) or combined (the maximal...

Purpose: Simulated competition as a training tool has a relevant role in enhancement of exercise intensity, motivation and physical enjoyment. Including a competitive component into the agility training could represent another way to improve agility performance significantly more. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of agility training p...

Background: The individual profile of the asymmetry of the human brain and its reflection in asymmetries of sensory and motor functions qualifies as one of the genetic factors causing the movement individuality and successful athlete performance. Tennis requires asymmetrical arm movementsandsymmetricallegmovements.However,littleisknownaboutthe physiol...

Less or more serious injuries, prolonged convalescence, functional limitations and physical inactivity are the most frequent consequences of falls in elderly adults. Although there is a high prevalence of falls in this population, the risk of falling is not routinely diagnosed in clinical practice in this population in time. In this study, we focus...

Objective: This study investigates the ability of subjects to differentiate the strength of back muscle contraction with and without feedback information on force produced under fatigue and nonfatigue conditions. Design: Controlled laboratory study. Setting: Research laboratory environment. Participants: A group of 52 healthy young men parti...

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs of 18-22 nucleotides, which post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression via mRNA degradation or translational inhibition. During muscle cell differentiation, the largest changes in expression occur in miR-1, miR-133a and miR-499. MiR-1, promotes myoblast differentiation while miR-133 enhances thei...

This study investigates the relationship between peak force and rate of force development (RFD) obtained from maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC) of the back muscles and the power produced during a loaded lifting task. A group of 27 resistance-trained and 41 recreationally physically active men performed a maximal isometric strength test...

Introduction: Isometric and isokinetic dynamometers are mainly used for assessment of strength and endurance of core muscles. However, muscle power represents a more appropriate variable for evaluating of athlete performance that involve dynamic movements of the trunk. This study estimates test-retest reliability of trunk rotational power and veloc...

Background: The asymmetric loading of trunk muscles in sports like golf or tennis may cause side-to-side imbalances in rotational muscle strength and endurance. Such imbalances may be compounded by the presence of low back pain (LBP) and related injuries. However, trunk rotational power is a better predictor of athlete performance, and therefore i...

This study investigates the relationship of trunk rotational velocity with mobility and curvature of the spine in wheelchair table tennis players. Eleven para table tennis players and 13 able-bodied athletes performed 5 seated trunk rotations to each side with 1 kg barbell placed on the shoulders. Trunk rotational velocity and respective angular di...

Objective: To classify impairments in postural control using computerized posturography in lung transplant recipients (LuTXr) undergoing subacute rehabilitation, and to examine the re-test reliability of these measures. Methods: In a prospective repeated-measures study, 50 LuTXr underwent clinical and quantitative posturographic testing (SMART E...

This study evaluates changes in trunk rotational power at different weights and velocities after the preparatory and competitive periods in ice-hockey players, tennis players, and canoeists. The subjects performed trunk rotations to each side with a barbell of different weights placed on the shoulders (6, 10, 12, 16, 20, 22, and 26 kg) prior to and...

Introduction Unstable conditions, in addition to unexpected postural perturbations, have the ability to differentiate between groups of physically active and sedentary adults as early as from 19 years of age [1]. Usually, a stance on a foam cushion, external perturbations from a platform either shifting in antero-posterior and medio-lateral directi...

Introduction Physiological effects on postural control caused by global and local exercises significantly vary. Both types of exercises contribute to a decrease in the efficiency of using incoming and outgoing signals of the postural system [1,2]. It is known that local muscle fatigue starts the work of inactive muscles and co-activation muscle ant...

PURPOSE. This study evaluates main physical features inherent in flying and basing positions in cheerleading girls. METHODS. Eighteen female members of a cheerleading squad, aged 15-18 years, underwent anthropometric measurements and tests of static balance (Romberg test, «Target» test), muscle power (squat jump, countermovement jump), and isokinet...

This study deals with a gap between science and practice in the testing of core stability and strength and presents our approach to solving this issue. Typical core stability tests require the subject to maintain a neutral spinal posture while under load in a quadrupedal or supine position and assess the endurance of global core muscles. However, m...

This study investigates the relationship between peak and mean velocity during trunk rotations and respective angular displacement in young and older adults. Altogether 91 young and older subjects of both genders performed 5 rotations of the trunk to each side, in a seated position, with a barbell of 1 kg and 20 kg placed on their shoulders behind...

The study investigates the relationship between agility time and both two-choice reaction time and movement time in athletes of various specializations. Groups of 18 karate-kumite competitors, 12 tae-kwon-do competitors, 10 ball hockey players, 21 soccer players, and 27 physically active men performed two-choice reaction test, visually-triggered st...

Neuromuscular training in young athletes improves performance and decreases the risk of injuries during sports activities. These effects are primarily ascribed to the enhancement of muscle strength and power but also balance, speed and agility. However, most studies have failed to demonstrate significant improvement in these abilities. This is prob...

Background: Both reaction time and agility times increase with advancing age. However, it is not whether and to what extent regular practise of sport such as table tennis contributes to faster decision-making and movement speed in middle-aged and older adults. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare agility time in table tennis players and...

Purpose. The study evaluates the effect of low-frequency electrical stimulation (LFES) of calf muscles on repeated-sprint performance and compares it with the frequently used active (ACT) and passive (PAS) recovery in amateur soccer players. Methods. A group of 11 amateur male soccer players completed 2 repeated-sprint ability (RSA) tests (7 × 34.2...

Usually, functional exercise protocols have been used to evaluate the athlete performance and its changes after the training programs. However, this classical laboratory testing, with subjects exercising continuously on the treadmill or cycle ergometer, in many ways represent artificial situations. Nevertheless, these procedures provide standardize...

Body balance plays a significant role in performance of athletes in many sports. Its impairment can not only affect the outcome, but may also increase the risk of injuries. This impairment of balance may be observed after specific exercises in a particular sport during training or competition. Therefore, rapid readjustment of balance after exercise...

The aim of this paper was to identify the relationship between the strength of the knee extensors and postural stability in middle-aged population. The study involved forty women (age 56.3±4.7 years; weight 77.2±18.3 kg; height 164.3±5.6 cm). Relative concentric extension peak torque (ConEPTR) and average work (ConEAW) were expressed to assess bila...

Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine whether it is possible to assess static balance on an unstable surface using center of pressure velocities obtained with a force platform when standing on a wobble board. Methods: The center of pressure velocities were recorded with a force platform within three days (four trials per day) in thirty...

Given the importance of core stability in athletic performance and in the activities of daily living, its assessment should be considered an integral part of functional diagnostics. Above all, such testing should differentiate between athletes with different demands on the strength and endurance of their trunk muscles and provide relevant informati...

In addition to traditional orthopaedic assessment, functional testing of the subject's speed, strength, endurance, body balance and mobility is commonĺy performed with aim to estimate injury risk and track rehabilitation progression over time. Isokinetic dynamometry was introduced in the late 1960s and to date it has been the standard diagnostic to...

Background: Despite removal of the ventilatory impairment, both exercise capacity and patients‘ functioning continue to be decreased following LuTX. This is especially be true in the subacute postoperative course, when lung transplant recipients may be cachectic, sarcopenic and limited in their mobility with an increased risk of falls. Thus, assess...