Factors of success in advanced level wrestling; reliability and validity of several diagnostic methods

Abstract

Achievement in contemporary Olympic wrestling depends largely on upper body strength, endurance and anaerobic power [1-3]. Studies have found that elite wrestlers possess a higher fat free mass, vertical jump height, anaerobic Wingate power, dynamic and isokinetic strength, in comparison to their less successful peers [1,4,5]. Due to biomechanical and anatomical similarity to sport of wrestling, different arm-cranking test protocols were applied in testing the physical capacities of the wrestlers [6-9]. This test was applied in wrestling as a common arm Wingate, or modified arm Wingate or variable intensity arm crank test designed to be similar to wrestling match conditions [1,3,4,10]. Transcutaneous monitoring is a noninvasive method to estimate the partial pressure of oxygen (tcpO2) on the skin surface by employing noninvasive heated electrodes [11,12]. It has been shown that arterial and transcutaneous blood gas values are highly correlated [13]. The tcp O2 is a known diagnostic tool in several medical treatments (wound evaluation, hyperbaric therapy, amputation level determination, plastic surgery, and peripheral vascular disease assessment), but it’s usage is suggested for assessment of the intramuscular oxygen partial pressure among healthy subjects during exercise [14,15]. The aim of this study was to determine the differences between high-level and top-level wrestling athletes in several fitness parameters including tcpO2 measures. This included the validation of the applied tests in defining the differences between top-level and high-level wrestlers, apart from the fact that very few studies investigated fitness factors which contribute to success in competitive wrestling, we have found no study which investigated differences between high-level wrest lers in pursuit of small gains performance (i.e. high-level and toplevel athletes). Apart from standard and known sport-specific measuring protocols, in this study the arm-cranking test is modified in order to design the measuring procedure of si mi lar physical demands as they appear throughout a wrestling match.