Integrated Readiness Monitoring Based on Post-Competition Fatigue in Team Sports: A Longitudinal Study Comparing Male and Female Athletes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69665/iss.v48i1S.149Keywords:
fatigue monitoring, load management, performance readiness for exercise, recovery, team sportAbstract
The study aimed to assess the utility of a fatigue-monitoring protocol for determining athletes’ readiness post-competition and to present sex-related variation in its use. Methods included a subjective assessment of specific dimensions of perceived readiness (dRIs) and an objective evaluation of the physical readiness (RDs). dRIs evaluated fatigue upon waking up, sleep quality, mood, and muscle soreness, while RDs consisted of 3 field tests. Twenty-one male and 23 female athletes were tested 4 days per week, starting from the match day (MD): MD+2, MD+3, MD+5. Results indicated no significant differences in dRIs among females, whereas for males, fatigue upon waking was lower at MD+2, MD+3, and MD+5 than at MD, and muscle soreness was higher at MD+5 than on the other days. For RDs, only a significant difference in adductor strength was found in females between MD and MD+2, as well as between MD+2 and MD+3, whereas no notable changes were evidenced in males. Between sexes, the dRIs comparison showed significant differences on MD; for RDs, a difference was found only for the Adductor Squeeze Test on MD+3. In conclusion, sex differences in the utility of dRIs have been noted: they appear less suitable in females, whereas in males they reflect the expected fatigue pattern. Instead, in terms of RDs, they seemed limited in fatigue detection in both sexes; they serve as useful tools for assessing physical readiness with eventual differences in ROM and strength.
Downloads
References
Baptista I., Alexandersen A., Winther A. K., Johansen D., & Pettersen, S. A. (2025). Effect of match load on perceived wellness in highly trained female football players. PLOS One, 20(4), e0321505. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321505
Carmichael,M. A., Thomson, R. L., Moran, L. J., & Wycherley, T. P. (2021). The impact of menstrual cycle phase on athletes’ performance: A narrative review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1667. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041667
Drole, K., Doupona, M., Steffen, K., Jerin, A., & Paravlic, A. (2025). Associations between subjective and objective measures of stress and load: An insight from 45-week prospective study in 189 elite athletes. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1521290. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1521290
Edouard, P., Pollock, N., Guex, K., Kelly, S., Prince, C., Navarro, L., Branco, P., Depiesse, F., Gremeaux, V., & Hollander, K. (2022). Hamstring muscle injuries and hamstring specific training in elite athletics (track and field) athletes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(17), 10992. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710992
Enoka, R. M., & Duchateau, J. (2008). Muscle fatigue: What, why and how it influences muscle function. The Journal of Physiology, 586(1), 11–23. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2007.139477
Gabbett, T. J. (2016). The training—injury prevention paradox: Should athletes be training smarter and harder? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(5), 273–280. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095788
Halson, S. L. (2014). Monitoring training load to understand fatigue in athletes. Sports Medicine, 44(S2), 139–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0253-z
Hodgson, L., Hignett, T., & Edwards, K. (2015). Normative adductor squeeze tests scores in rugby. Physical Therapy in Sport, 16(2), 93–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ptsp.2014.08.010
Hulin, B. T., Gabbett, T. J., Lawson, D. W., Caputi, P., & Sampson, J. A. (2016). The acute chronic workload ratio predicts injury: High chronic workload may decrease injury risk in elite rugby league players. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(4), 231–236. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-094817
Johnston, R. D., Gabbett, T. J., & Jenkins, D. G. (2013). Influence of an intensified competition on fatigue and match performance in junior rugby league players. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 16(5), 460–465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2012.10.009
Lee, E. C., Fragala, M. S., Kavouras, S. A., Queen, R. M., Pryor, J. L., & Casa, D. J. (2017). Biomarkers in sports and exercise: Tracking health, performance, and recovery in athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 31(10), 2920–2937. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002122
Legerlotz, K., & Nobis, T. (2022). Insights in the effect of fluctuating female hormones on injury risk—Challenge and chance. Frontiers in Physiology, 13, 827726. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.827726
Lund, H., Søndergaard, K., Zachariassen, T., Christensen, R., Bülow, P., Henriksen, M., Bartels, E. M., Danneskiold‐Samsøe, B., & Bliddal, H. (2005). Learning effect of isokinetic measurements in healthy subjects, and reliability and comparability of Biodex and Lido dynamometers. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging, 25(2), 75–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-097X.2004.00593.x
Mayorga-Vega, D., Merino-Marban, R., & Viciana, J. (2014). Criterion-related validity of sit-and-reach tests for estimating hamstring and lumbar extensibility: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 13(1), 01-14 https://www.jssm.org/volume13/iss1/cap/jssm-13-1.pdf
McLean, B. D., Coutts, A. J., Kelly, V., McGuigan, M. R., & Cormack, S. J. (2010). Neuromuscular, endocrine, and perceptual fatigue responses during different length between-match microcycles in professional rugby league players. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 5(3), 367–383. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.5.3.367
Powden, C. J., Hoch, J. M., & Hoch, M. C. (2015). Reliability and minimal detectable change of the weight-bearing lunge test: A systematic review. Manual Therapy, 20(4), 524–532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2015.01.004
Ramírez-López C., Till, K., Beasley, G., Giuliano, P., Leduc, C., Dalton-Barron, N., Weakley, J. J. S., & Jones, B. (2020a). Sleep patterns of elite youth team-sport athletes prior to and during international competition. Science and Medicine in Football, 4(1), 15–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2019.1662081
Ramírez-López C., Till, K., Sawczuk, T., Giuliano, P., Peeters, A., Beasley, G., Murray, F., Pledger, S., Read, D., & Jones, B. (2020b). A multi-nation examination of the fatigue and recovery time course during the inaugural Under-18 Six Nations rugby union competition. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(6), 644–651. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1722589
Ramírez‐López C., Till, K., Weaving, D., Boyd, A., Peeters, A., Beasley, G., Bradley, S., Giuliano, P., Venables, C., & Jones, B. (2022). Does perceived wellness influence technical–tactical match performance? A study in youth international rugby using partial least squares correlation analysis. European Journal of Sport Science, 22(7), 1085–1093. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2021.1936195
Read, D., Weaving, D., Phibbs, P., Darrall-Jones, J., Roe, G., Weakley, J., Hendricks, S., Till, K., & Jones, B. (2017). Movement and physical demands of school and university rugby union match-play in England. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 2(1), e000147. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2016-000147
Roe, G. (2016). Changes in markers of fatigue following a competitive match in elite academy rugby union players. South African Journal of Sports Medicine, 28(1), 2–5. https://doi.org/10.17159/2078-516X/2016/v28i1a1411
Roffler, A., Fleddermann, M.-T., De Haan, H., Krüger, K., & Zentgraf, K. (2024). Menstrual cycle tracking in professional volleyball athletes. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 6, 1408711. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2024.1408711
Saw, A. E., Main, L. C., & Gastin, P. B. (2016). Monitoring the athlete training response: Subjective self-reported measures trump commonly used objective measures: A systematic review. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(5), 281–291. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-094758
Starling, L. T., & Lambert, M. I. (2018). Monitoring Rugby players for fitness and fatigue: What do coaches want? International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 13(6), 777–782. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2017-0416
Taylor, K.-L., Chapman, D. W., Cronin, J. B., Newton, M. J., & Gill, N. (2012). Fatigue monitoring in high performance sport: A survey of current trends. Journal of Australian Strength & Conditioning. 20(1), 12-23.
Tornero-Aguilera, J. F., Jimenez-Morcillo, J., Rubio-Zarapuz, A., & Clemente-Suárez, V. J. (2022). Central and peripheral fatigue in physical exercise explained: A narrative review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(7), 3909. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19073909
Twist, C., & Highton, J. (2013). Monitoring fatigue and recovery in rugby league players. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 8(5), 467–474. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.8.5.467
Watson, N. F., Badr, M. S., Belenky, G., Bliwise, D. L., Buxton, O. M., Buysse, D., Dinges, D. F., Gangwisch, J., Grandner, M. A., Kushida, C., Malhotra, R. K., Martin, J. L., Patel, S. R., Quan, S., & Tasali, E. (2015). Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: A joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. SLEEP. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.4716
West, D. J., Finn, C. V., Cunningham, D. J., Shearer, D. A., Jones, M. R., Harrington, B. J., Crewther, B. T., Cook, C. J., & Kilduff, L. P. (2014). Neuromuscular function, hormonal, and mood responses to a professional rugby union match. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28(1), 194–200. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e318291b726
Yeomans, C., Kenny, I. C., Cahalan, R., Warrington, G. D., Harrison, A. J., Hayes, K., Lyons, M., Campbell, M. J., & Comyns, T. M. (2018). The incidence of injury in amateur male rugby union: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 48(4), 837–848. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0838-4
