title: Improvement of Elite Female Athletes' Physical Performance With a 3-Week Unexpected Disturbance Program.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sensorimotor training is commonly used in a rehabilitative setting; however, the effectiveness of an unexpected disturbance program (UDP) to enhance performance measures in uninjured elite athletes is unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the impact of a 3-wk UDP program on strength, power, and proprioceptive measures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Matched-group, pre-post design.
  
  
  METHODS
  National sport institute.
  
  
  METHODS
  21 international-level female field hockey athletes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two 45-min UDP sessions were incorporated into each week of a 3-wk training program (total 6 sessions).
  
  
  METHODS
  1-repetition-maximum strength, lower-limb power, 20-m running speed, and proprioception tests were performed before and after the experimental period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Substantial improvements in running sprint speed at 5-m (4.4 ± 2.6%; effect size [ES]: 0.88), 10-m (2.1 ± 1.9%; ES: 0.51), and 20-m (1.0 ± 1.6%; ES: 0.23) were observed in the UDP group. Squat-jump performance was also clearly enhanced when compared to the control group (3.1 ± 6.1%; ES: 0.23). Small but clear improvements in maximal strength were observed in both groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A 3-wk UDP can elicit clear enhancements in running sprint speed and concentric-only jump performance. These improvements are suggestive of enhanced explosive strength and are particularly notable given the elite training status of the cohort and relatively short duration of the intervention. Thus, the authors would reiterate the statement by Gruber et al (2004) that sensorimotor training is a "highly efficient" modality for improving explosive strength.
authors.forename: Jorg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Teichmann
authors.forename: Edin K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Suwarganda
authors.forename: C Martyn
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Beaven
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hébert-Losier
authors.forename: Jin Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Florencio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tenllado Vallejo
authors.forename: Philip Chun Foong
authors.initials: PCF
authors.lastname: Lew
authors.forename: Ramlan Abdul
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Aziz
authors.forename: Yeo Wee
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Kian
authors.forename: Dietmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schmidtbleicher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes; D054874:Athletic Performance; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006688:Hockey; D006801:Humans; D064797:Physical Conditioning, Human / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: field hockey; power; rate of force development; sprint speed; strength