Injuries, infections and under-performance are common problems in top-level sport. Every year, injuries and the effects of overwork cost athletes precious training days, limiting their progress and, in extreme cases, their health. Over the past two years, the Centre Provincial d’Athlétisme has recorded that almost 50% of athletes had an injury that limited their training and had repercussions on their competitive season.
The Fédération Québécoise d’Athlétisme and Triathlon Québec, in collaboration with the Clinique Médicale du PEPS de l’Université Laval, Excellence Sportive Québec-Lévis (ESQL), the Département de Kinésiologie de l’Université Laval and Biotwin, are today investigating how to increase the training load of high-volume running athletes in order to reduce mechanical stress and the risk of injury. Research will also focus on optimizing the return to running training following injury.
Félix-Antoine Lapointe, head coach of the Quebec Team of the Fédération québécoise d’athlétisme, is delighted with the start of this research project. “Athletes will quickly be able to benefit from the learning and research tools, and this will enhance the Provincial Center’s offering, improving the overall environment with an outstanding service offering for the Quebec City region. Athletes will no longer have to travel outside the province to obtain high-level support.” The aim is twofold: to optimize athletes’ training load while controlling the risk of injury, and to optimize individual protocols for returning to training following injury. Firstly, we will attempt to optimize individual training load and sports performance with athletes deemed able to withstand a greater volume of training.
“The installation of the Alter G antigravity mat will be an additional asset for athletes, coaches and stakeholders in the region, particularly in our triathlon and track and field disciplines. In the short and long term, I’m sure we’ll see significant benefits in terms of athlete preparation, injury rehabilitation and overall performance. “ Francis Sarrasin-Larochelle, Competition and High Performance Director at Triathlon Québec. On the newly received “anti-gravity” mat at PEPS, the team’s trainer and physiologist will assess the additional training load that athletes can perform in running during key weeks of the annual training cycle, and the potential gains in performance. We also hope to examine the effects of combining mechanical stress reduction during “anti-gravity” mat exercise with the blood flow restriction technique on muscle mass regain and return to training.
Léo Roy, Team Québec triathlete, suffered a stress fracture while preparing for the Junior World Championships. He had to stop running completely. “Having had access to a tool like this, and training support despite the injury, I could have maintained a racing volume and performed better at the world championships.” Alexis Lepage has a different opinion, and hopes to work on optimizing his movements. I’m tall (1,94 m), my leg frequency is sometimes lower than that of my competitors, so the mat would enable me to run more efficiently.
The partners hope to apply the innovations developed over several years, while supporting a maximum number of high-performance athletes through their needs throughout this research project. Stay tuned for updates from Triathlon Québec and La Fédération Québécoise d’Athlétisme.
