Key result
Higher precompetitive heart rate is linked to better performance scores in elite snowboarders.
Why the study?
Although extreme sports athletes exhibit precompetitive cardiac sympathetic tone, the relationship between precompetitive autonomic nervous system activity and competitive performance remains unclear.
Does precompetitive sympathetic predominance improve competitive performance in elite extreme sports athletes?
Observational (n=20)
No
Does precompetitive sympathetic predominance improve competitive performance in elite extreme sports athletes?
Effect estimate: r = 0.468 (95% CI 0.253-0.639)
p-value: p=<0.001
Precompetitive sympathetic predominance is positively related to competitive performance in elite extreme sports athletes.
Sympathetic predominance was associated with higher performance scores in snowboarders; hypothesis-generating and should not yet change athlete management.
Elite athletes achieve superior performance under high pressure in competitive situations. Although it is known that such situations affect the precompetitive activity of their autonomic nervous system (ANS), the relationship between precompetitive ANS activity and performance remains controversial. Especially in extreme sports, it has been shown that cardiac sympathetic tone occurs in athletes before competition attempts. However, the relationship between precompetitive sympathetic tone and performance is unclear. To investigate this relationship in extreme sports, we organized a freestyle snowboard jumping competition and examined competitors' physiological states and performance during this event. The electrocardiograms (ECGs) of 20 elite snowboarders were measured 10 min before each jump in different competitive situations: practice, qualifying , and final sessions . The mean heart rate (HR), the low-frequency to high-frequency component ratio (LF/HF ratio), the logarithm of the HF (lnHF) component of the frequency-domain of the heart rate variability (HRV), the ratio of the standard deviation of all R–R intervals to the root mean square of successive differences of R–R intervals (SDNN/rMSSD ratio), and the rMSSD of the time-domain of the HRV were calculated from the ECG data. The results showed a significant increase in the mean HR as well as significant decreases in the lnHF component and rMSSD of the HRV as the sessions progressed. Interestingly, the mean HR, LF/HF ratio and SDNN/rMSSD ratio of the HRV showed significant positive correlations with competitive scores, and the lnHF component and rMSSD of the HRV showed significant negative correlations with the scores. Our results indicate that precompetitive ANS activity becomes predominantly sympathetic in elite extreme athletes, such as freestyle snowboarders, when the competition intensifies, and that this sympathetic predominance is positively related to competitive performance.
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Matsumura et al. (2021) conducted an observational in Healthy elite athletes (freestyle snowboarders) (n=20). Precompetitive sympathetic predominance (autonomic nervous system activity) vs. Lower sympathetic tone (practice session baseline) was evaluated on Correlation between normalized mean heart rate and competitive score variation (r = 0.468, 95% CI 0.253-0.639, p=<0.001). Precompetitive sympathetic predominance, as indicated by increased mean heart rate, was positively correlated with competitive performance scores in elite freestyle snowboarders (r = 0.468, p < 0.001).
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