Ranel Rachel Venter

• PhD
• Professor at Stellenbosch University

A growing body of literature addresses the public and scientific interest in barefoot locomotion as an alternative to footwear for running and enhancing physical performance. Little is known about the effects of barefoot training in youth team sport athletes. This randomized controlled trial assessed the efficacy of a nine-week neuromuscular warm-u...

SIGNIFICANCE: Ill-fitting shoes can negatively impact the developing foot. Despite the notable differences in foot shape between South African and European populations, shoe design largely adheres to a universal standard. This discrepancy may arise due to several factors, including limited data on the South African foot morphology, economic constra...

Quantifying thoracic spine mobility with reliable and valid tools is a challenge for clinicians in practice. The aim of this study is to determine the reliability and validity of a smartphone device, bubble inclinometer and universal goniometer to quantify the static kyphotic curve and active range of motion of the thoracic spine. A total of 17 par...

The poster describes the effect of the 6-week standardized intervention program on the FMS score and the Single leg hop for distance test in female netball players.

Background Research shows that ill-fitting shoes can negatively impact the development of the pediatric foot, in a very direct manner. The primary aim of the study was to determine if the dimensions of available prescribed school shoes fit the foot dimensions of habitually barefoot South African children and adolescents. Methods A cross-sectional...

Background Improving the quality of functional movements in athletes generally requires additional training targeting specific functional deficiencies. However, well-rounded, traditional strength and conditioning program should also improve player’s movement quality. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to compare the effect of two differen...

Background Research shows that ill-fitting shoes can negatively impact the development of the pediatric foot, in a very direct manner. The primary aim of the study was to determine if the dimensions of available prescribed school shoes fit the foot dimensions of habitually barefoot South African children and adolescents. Methods A cross-sectional...

Ballet dancers are exposed to chronic high training and performance demands that are associated with overtraining syndrome and injury. Balancing high training loads with recovery to reduce the risk of negative training adaptations is critical. Moreover, the recovery-stress states of professional ballet dancers during training phases of a season are...

Background Improving quality of functional movements in athletes generally requires additional training targeting specific functional deficiencies. However, well-rounded, traditional strength and conducting program should also improve player’s movement quality. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to compare the effect of two different six-...

Elite sporting systems are often descriptions of established practices with little regard for national contexts. This paper examined the influence of contextual factors on the elite sporting system of South-Africa. The contextual factors were evaluated through the lens of systems theory (Components: Economic, social, political, legal, and technolog...

Purpose: To provide a systematic overview of physiological parameters used to determine the training status of a trail runner and how well these parameters correlate with real-world trail running performance. Method: An electronic literature search of the PubMed and Scopus digital databases was performed. Combinations of the terms "trail run" or...

Inter-organisational relationships between governmental stakeholders are critically important in the implementation of elite sport policies. However, these relationships are often compounded by varying challenges, which can cause a stagnation of elite sport policies and its systems. This study evaluated the perceptions of the inter-organisational p...

The implementation of the Varsity Cup rugby competition among South African universities has sparked interest in university rugby cultures around the country. The Varsity Cup has established itself as one of the most important rugby competitions for full-time students. The development of specific conditioning programs for rugby players requires a t...

Rugby union is a physically challenging intermittent sport, whose multi-faceted nature provides players with a range of playing positions, each with various physical traits, roles and responsibilities. In addition, following professionalization, the match-play demands of the game have continued to evolve. There is currently limited literature on th...

Introduction: It has been proposed that an excessive, compensatory, motions of the lumbar vertebrae, often caused by limited mobility of the thoracic vertebral segments, can induce low back pain (LBP). Such altered kinematics in rotational sports (i.e. tennis, golf and baseball), may explain the high prevalence of low back pain in this athletic pop...

Recovery-stress states of professional ballet dancers monitored over two different training phases in a ballet season.

Biomechanical running fatigue can be detected outdoors using wearable accelerometers [ref 1 to 5] However, understanding is limited only to outdoor time-trial protocols [ref 1, 2, 4]. Does fatigue develop differently during training sessions such as long slow duration (LSD) or lactate threshold (LT)? Study aim: To determine the effects of fatigue a...

The aim of this paper is to provide a complete understanding of the sport policies in South Africa (SA) with regard to mass sport for recreation involvement, and the elite sporting system created to develop high performance athletes. In the subsequent sections, various specific contextual factors will first be defined which may influence the sport...

Biological maturation is associated with physiological changes which in turn affect motor performance. No study has assessed the association between growing up habitually shod versus habitually barefoot and motor performance in the context of maturation, so this approach is unique. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of biologica...

Forest plot with estimated effects (95% CI) of the confounders gender, ethnicity, BMI, PAQ score, and order of tests on sprint performance. All confounders were adjusted for age.

Forest plot with estimated effects (95% CI) of the confounders gender, ethnicity, BMI, PAQ score, and order of tests on standing long jump performance. All confounders were adjusted for age.

Forest plot with estimated effects (95% CI) of the confounders gender, ethnicity, BMI, PAQ score, and order of tests on balance performance. All confounders were adjusted for age.

The body of research that reports the relevance of sleep in high-performance sports is growing steadily. While the identification of sleep cycles and diagnosis of sleep disorders is limited to lab-based assessment via polysomnography, the development of activity-based devices estimating sleep patterns provides greater insight into the sleep behavio...

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between growing up barefoot or shod and the development of motor performance during childhood and adolescence. Methods: Habitual barefoot and shod children and adolescents between 6 and 18 years were recruited in South Africa and Germany. Participants completed balance, standin...

The relationship between recovery and fatigue and its impact on performance has attracted the interest of sports science for many years. As such, an adequate balance between stress (training and competition load, other life demands) and recovery is essential to access the full performance potential of an athlete on a long-term basis. A significant...

The relationship between recovery and fatigue and its impact on performance has attracted the interest of sports science for many years. An adequate balance between stress (training and competition load, other life demands) and recovery is essential for athletes to achieve continuous high-level performance. Research has focused on the examination o...

Effects of early and permanent footwear use are not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of habituation to footwear on foot strike patterns of children and adolescents. Healthy habitually barefoot and shod participants (aged 6–18 years) from South Africa (n = 288) and Germany (n = 390) performed multiple 20-m joggin...

Medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS) is a common overuse running injury with pathomechanics likely to be exaggerated by fatigue. Wearable accelerometry provides a novel alternative to assess biomechanical parameters continuously while running in more ecologically valid settings. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of outdoor ru...

The development of the human foot is crucial for motor learning in children and adolescents as it ensures the basic requirements for bipedal locomotion and stable standing. Although there is an ongoing debate of the advantages and disadvantages of early and permanent footwear use, the influence of regular barefootness on foot characteristics in dif...

Over ground gait retraining in the reverse direction has shown to be beneficial for neurological rehabilitation, but has not yet been investigated in Parkinson's disease (PD). Backwards walking (BW) might be a useful training alternative to improve PD gait and possibly reduce fall risk during complex multi-directional daily activities. The primary...

Maintaining stability under dynamic conditions is an inherent challenge to bipedal running. This challenge may impose an energetic cost (Ec) thus hampering endurance running performance, yet the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Wireless tri-axial trunk accelerometry is a simple tool that could be used to unobtrusively evaluate these mechanisms....

Law amendments are fundamental to the development of rugby and are introduced for a variety of reasons. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the general match profile of international rugby between 2007 and 2013 in order to determine the effect of law changes. The researchers made use of mixed method methodology approach for this st...

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of FMS TM screening for high-level university female netball players by evaluating the relationship between FMS total score and various performance tests. Out of 20 elite female netball players, 19 completed the FMS TM screen consisting of deep overhead squat, hurdle step, in-line lunge, active strai...

Background Barefoot locomotion has evoked an increasing scientific interest with a controversial debate about benefits and limitations of barefoot and simulated barefoot walking and running. While most current knowledge comes from cross sectional laboratory studies, the evolutionary perspective suggests the importance of investigating the long-term...

Rugby research has focused on a range of performance indicators related to game structures and tactical aspects. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the effect of law changes on the match profile of Super Rugby between the 2008 and 2013 seasons. For the purpose of this study the researchers made use of mixed-method methodology....

The purpose of this study was to examine fatigue effects on symmetry and stability during a maximal effort running time-trial (TT). Recreational runners had continuous recordings of 3D trunk acceleration parameters (spatio-temporal, RMS vector ratio, step symmetry, and stride regularity) during the TT. Statistical analysis was carried out using gen...

Despite frequently declared benefits of using wireless accelerometers to assess running gait in real-world settings, available research is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate outdoor surface effects on dynamic stability and dynamic loading during running using tri-axial trunk accelerometry. Twenty eight runners (11 highly-trained,...

In rugby union, several law changes were implemented between 2007 and 2013, yet the impact of these law changes on the profile of the game has not been assessed to date. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the law changes on the scoring, time interval, general skills and contact profiles of the South African Currie Cup during the 2...

In rugby union, several law changes were implemented between 2007 and 2013, yet the impact of these law changes on the profile of the game has not been assessed to date. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the law changes on the scoring, time interval, general skills and contact profiles of the South African Currie Cup during the 2...

Small wireless trunk accelerometers have become a popular approach to unobtrusively quantify human locomotion and provide insights into both gait rehabilitation and sports performance. However, limited evidence exists as to which trunk accelerometry measures are suitable for the purpose of detecting movement compensations while running, and specifi...

The purpose of this study was to investigate if trunk accelerometry measures were influenced by outdoor surface while running. A sample of highly-trained (n=12) and recreational (n=17) ran on three independent surfaces, namely asphalt, synthetic track, and wood-chip. Dependent accelerometry measures were step frequency (S FREQ), step symmetry (S SY...

The match-play demands of Rugby Union have increased over time, and these demands should be quantified so as to provide a basis for optimal player loading during training. The primary aim of the study this article was to quantify accelerations, decelerations, impacts and aggregated body demands during the first half of match-play in a Super Rugby t...

In rugby union, several law changes were introduced between 2007 and 2013, yet the impact of these changes have not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the law changes on the time intervals and contact profile of the South African Currie Cup Tournament during the 2007 and 2013 seasons. The frequencies of 15 performa...

In rugby union, several law changes were implemented between 2007 and 2013, yet the impact of these law changes on the profile of the game has not been assessed to date. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the law changes on the scoring, time interval, general skills and contact profiles of the South African Currie Cup during the 2...

The primary aim of the study was to determine the effects of an eight-week barefoot training programme on ankle stability, agility and speed in 20 competitive female netball players (age 20 ±2 years). Before and after the intervention, all players were assessed for stability, agility and speed. The barefoot training group (n = 10) significantly imp...

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine how elite team athletes perceive the importance of various recovery modalities. Differences between men and women, players from various team sports and different levels of participation were determined. A total of 890 athletes who volunteered to participate in the study were team players from field ho...

Using GPS technology to measure fatigue in a professional cricket player during a season.

The purpose of this study was to compare differences in knee and ankle kinematic and spatio-temporal variables at foot strike between barefoot and shod running. Twelve male runners (age 21.6±1.26 years) performed six running trials in each running condition on a 12m indoor runway at a self-selected pace. Lower limb kinematics and spatio-temporal va...

It is suggested that restrictions in the fascia along the kinetic chains could inhibit muscle function and therefore influence movement patterns, such as those required by skilled rugby players. The Bunkie-test has been proposed as a tool to identify fascia restrictions in five kinetic chains. The purpose of this study was to use the isometric Bunk...

An increasing body of evidence indicates that sleep plays a major role in the performance and recovery of athletes, yet all the complex processes of sleep are still unknown. Understanding the effects of sleep, disturbed sleep and sleep deprivation, promotes a deeper appreciation of its impact on athletes. This review provides insights into the role...

This study attempted to use Global Positioning System (GPS) devices to obtain information on elite Under-19 rugby union forward and back players with regard to selected movement patterns, as well as impacts from collisions experienced by players. Seventeen Under-19 male rugby players from a provincial rugby institute in Stellenbosch, South Africa,...

Athletes competing at the highest level, should optimally balance training and competition stress with adequate recovery. However, athletes are not always aware of the available recovery options. This study investigated the recovery modalities currently used by elite South African sports persons. Research questions focused on types and frequency of...

This study investigated the effect of a backward training programme on the speed, agility and power of well-trained netball players. Seventeen women club netball players (aged 19 – 20 years) were divided into an experimental (n=10) and a control group (n=7) and participated in a six-week backward (BW) and forward (FW) training programme after the c...

It has been speculated that repetitive patterns of movement will lead to specific patterns in fascia contraction, which, if it exceeds a specific limit, will lead to injury. Therapists working in the athletic environment are challenged to find ways not only to assess and measure fascia dysfunction, but also to restore functional strength by manipul...

Athletes competing at the highest level, should optimally balance training and competition stress with adequate recovery. However, athletes are not always aware of the available recovery options. This study investigated the recovery modalities currently used by elite South African sports persons. Research questions focused on types and frequency of...

The aim of this study was to determine how elite team athletes perceive the importance of various recovery modalities. Differences between men and women, players from various team sports and different levels of participation were determined. A total of 890 athletes who volunteered to participate in the study were team players from field hockey (n 0...

There is general consensus that athletes, striving to compete and perform at the highest level, should optimally balance training and competition stress with adequate regeneration. Although a well-planned training programme is of utmost importance, the time between training sessions and competitions is critical for the modern-day athlete. It is sug...

This study explored the differences in technical performance and tactical knowledge of netball players at different levels of competition in the Western Cape. The players (N=30) were divided into three groups based on their level of competition (high level n=5, middle level n=12 and low level n=13). Each player's technical performance was assessed...

This study explored the differences in technical performance and tactical knowledge of netball players at different levels of competition in the Western Cape. The players (N=30) were divided into three groups based on their level of competition (high level n=5, middle level n=12 and low level n=13). Each player's technical performance was assessed...

Objective. The primary aim of this study was to determine the physical and physiological profiles of 48 netball players (aged 18-24 years) playing in the super and first league in the Boland region. The secondary aim of the study was to compare the profiles of the Boland netball players with those of Australian under-21 players. Design. The netball...

This study investigated the effect of a backward training program on the physical and fitness condition of young women. Twenty-six healthy female university students (aged 18 - 23 years) took part in three different baseline tests: body composition, a submaximal treadmill test, and a 20-m shuttle run test. Subjects were divided into a training grou...

There is a universal concern about the rapid decline in the physical activity levels of children, particularly adolescent girls. There is evidence of an increase in juvenile obesity that is associated with numerous health risks. During adolescence the majority of psychological problems associated with obesity stem from a disturbance in self-concept...

In this study game analysis was applied to gain insight into the kinds of "critical incidents" on a netball court that lead a team to either score a goal, or to allow the opponents to score. Four expert coaches analysed three top-level international netball matches to identify the reasons for success/failure during game play. A computer-based game...

The purpose of this study was to develop a questionnaire that measures the assertiveness of netball players. The identification of typical characteristics and assessment by experts regarding the correctness and technical presentation of the items resulted in a preliminary questionnaire. The item analysis for the reduction of items took place by...

A sample of 116 subjects were classified as adherers or drop-outs on the basis of exercising at an on-campus exercise facility over 1 yr. Scores on the Eysenck Personality Inventory showed that adherers did not differ from drop-outs in scores on extraversion; however, drop-outs recorded significantly higher neuroticism scores than adherers.

Examined the relationship between adherence to exercise and scores on extraversion and neuroticism. 116 students and faculty members (mean age 21.5 yrs) of an academic institution were given a short questionnaire and the Eysenck Personality Inventory (H. J. Eysenck et al, 1963) when joining an on-campus exercise facility at the beginning of the aca...

INTRODUCTION It has been suggested that running barefoot (BF) can be viewed as a condition where both external protection as well as shock reduction is at a minimum, and as a result, changes in running style could be expected compared to when running shod (SH) [1, 2]. Several authors have revealed changes such as greater knee flexion and less dorsi...