Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of shock wave therapy in the complex treatment of athletes with lateral epicondylitis in comparison with standard methods of treatment.

Materials and methods: On outpatient treatment in the period from 2019 to 2022. There were 168 athletes diagnosed with Lateral epicondylitis, including 78 women (46.4 %) and 90 men (53.6 %) aged 20 to 45 years. The mean age of the patients was 31.48 ± 6.72 years. The average duration of the disease was 33.68 ± 28.17 days. To achieve the set goals and objectives, a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted. We used a clinical examination of patients, a study of carpal dynamometry of the affected arm, an assessment of the level of pain and quality of life using the QuickDash and Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) scales, statistical research methods, as well as the use of standard treatment for lateral epicondylitis and radial shock wave therapy with an assessment of effectiveness one month after treatment.

Results: shock wave therapy in the complex treatment of athletes with lateral epicondylitis, compared with standard methods of treatment, improved the quality of life and reduced pain three weeks after the start of treatment and has a more pronounced effect in the long term (p < 0.05); allowed to reduce the intensity of the signal from the bone tissue (trabecular edema) according to the results of magnetic resonance imaging.

Conclusion: the expediency of using shock wave therapy in the complex treatment of athletes with lateral epicondylitis is substantiated, which makes it possible to recommend its use in practical healthcare.

Objective: currently, many researchers are evaluating the morphological parameters of athletes in order to determine the morphofunctional status, which is only a small part of a comprehensive survey devoted, for example, to assessing nutrition or sports achievements. However, the primary task of sports morphology remains the search for “preferred” or “reference” somatotypes characteristic of a particular sport, since the key to sports success is not only the most effective fitness and endurance, but also the morphological status characteristic of a particular sport (anthropometric indicators, body composition and somatotypological profile).

Purpose of the study: to summarize the data available to date, based on the results of original studies related to sports somatotypology.

Materials and methods: to solve the tasks set, an analysis of the scientific and methodological literature devoted to the somatotypological characteristics of athletes of various groups and sports was used. 29 literature sources were analyzed, the data of literary (15) and own (14) studies on the problem of sports somatotypology were summarized.

Results: the summary tables contain the somatotypological characteristics of athletes according to the time periods of work on determining the somatotypological profile of athletes. Table 1 presents the results of examinations by Mrtirosov Eduard Georgievich, a leading specialist in the field of functional and sports morphology, whose research dates back to the 1980s — 2000s. Table 2 contains a few results of studies conducted over the past 10 years, in which, as in the studies of Martirosov E.G., emphasis was placed on an integrated approach to assessing the physical development of athletes. Table 3 shows the result of studies carried out as part of the work of the Laboratory of Sports Anthropology and Nutrition (since January 2022 — the Laboratory of Anthroponutriology and Sports Nutrition) of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Federal Research Center of Nutrition and Biotechnology" from 2018 to 2021, affecting some groups of sports, with the aim of determining the dynamics of the components of the somatotype of athletes depending on gender, age, sport, weight category, as well as playing roles.  

One of the pathognomonic COVID‑19 signs, occurring in 85‑98% of patients, is olfactory dysfunction, developing in the absence of pronounced inflammation and edema of the nasal mucosa. A promising medicine direction that helps restore microcirculation, increase blood oxygenation, improve metabolism and regenerate olfactory epithelial cells is the Nadi Shodhana breathing exercise technique.

Objective: To assess the possibilities of using the pranayama technique as a method of restorative olfactory treatment in the post‑covid period.

Materials and methods: 79 persons aged 22 to 68 years with olfactory disturbances occurring at COVID‑19 and persisting in the post‑covid period were examined. As a restorative treatment for olfactory disorders, the patients of the main group were offered a course of Nadi Shodhana breathing exercises, which is an alternate nostril breathing. Breathing training consisted of three such cycles performed three times a day at the same time for 15 days. The possibility of using the pranayama technique was assessed according to the visual analog scale. The control group consisted of 74 patients with olfactory disorders after COVID‑19 comparable in sex and age with the main group.

Results: Olfactory disorders are characteristic of post‑COVID patients. Using Nadi Shodhana breathing exercise course can significantly reduce the olfactory dysfunction level in this patient category. It was showen that the pranayama technique is more effective in people under 40 years of age. It was also established that the olfaction restoration largely depends on the duration of the dysfunction period.

Conclusion: The study results make it possible to recommend the using breathing exercises in patients underwent COVID‑19 to restore olfaction in the post‑COVID period.

Aim of the study: to identify mutual interaction between the reaction to a moving object with functional state of the central nervous system and kinematic-dynamic parameters of complex coordination movement.

Materials and methods: 9 elite alpine skiers were participated in this study. Visual-motor coordination variables were assessed by computer complex for psychophysiological testing NS-Psychotest (Neurosoft, Russia). Dynamic parameters of complex coordination movement during counter movement jump were registered on the MuscleLab Force Plate (Ergotest Innovation A.S., Norway). Quantitation of hormones — adrenaline and noradrenaline as well as neurotransmitters — dopamine and serotonin in blood samples was performed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatograph combined with triple quadrupole mass analyzer LCMS-8060 (Shimadzu, Japan).

Results: a significant negative relationship between the maximum output of motor efforts during counter movement jump, mean reaction time and the number of negative reactions recorded within visual-motor coordination testing was documented. A reliable positive relationship between excitation processes, jump power and jump time was established. Increases in noradrenaline and serotonin concentrations are positively associated with the number of accurate reactions, whereas dopamine level was positively correlated with jump altitude.

Conclusion: the predominance of excitation over inhibition processes in the central nervous system had a positive effect on reducing the time spent on counter moving and increasing the maximum power of movement. As applied to alpine skiers we registered the following relationship: the higher the speeds of signal perception and muscle activation when solving a visual-motor task, the higher the power of working efforts, the shorter the time of the eccentric phase and total time spent on performing counter movement jump.

The purpose of the study was to search for the relationship of Pulse Debt Accumulation Intensity (PDАI) with the rate of formation of oxygen demand and the accumulation of lactate in the blood during the performance of limiting cyclic exercises of various durations.

Methods: 14 athletes‑cyclists (1st category, 20 ± 3 years, MОC — 52.9 ± 5.10 ml / min / kg), performed a series of bicycle ergometric exercises of maximum power on different days at a fixed duration of 10, 30, 60, 120, 360 and 1800 s. Based on the pulse sums of the five‑minute recovery (minus the pre‑start HR level) and the exercise time, the intensity of accumulation of pulse debt was calculated for all exercises in each subject. The rate of accumulation of lactate concentration in the blood (SNCL) and the rate of formation of oxygen demand (OCR) were also calculated.

Results: SOCS, SNCL and PDАI have a close non‑linear relationship with exercise time (respectively: r² = 0.84, r² = 0.91, r² = 0.96, at p < 0.05), as well as with relative exercise power (respectively: r² = 0.80, r² = 0.86, r² = 0.90, at p < 0.05). INPD has a close relationship with SRCS and SNCL (respectively: r² = 0.80, r² = 0.94, p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The results of the study make it possible to use the INPD heart rate indicator for a fairly reliable determination of exercise intensity and for predicting the level of lactate accumulation, and on this basis, determining the direction of the exercise and normalizing the training load.

Exercise tolerance test with the use of the spiroergometry technique is a reliable diagnostic method which provides objective information about cardiorespiratory system condition when performing physical activity. Both new and traditional, well-proven cardiorespiratory markers obtained in the process of treadmill testing “to failure”, are described in this article. The nature of the influence of physical exertion on the indicators of cardiorespiratory system functional activity is presented. The interpretation for planning and subsequent monitoring of the training process in athletes of various professional activities is proposed.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to find out the indicators of the distribution of plantar pressure in the two-legged stands with open and closed eyes in experienced rhythmic gymnasts.

Materials and methods: 31 highly qualified gymnasts (candidates and masters of sports of Russia), age 18.5 ± 0.5 years, experience in rhythmic gymnastics 13.5 ± 1.5, performed three upright postures on the footscan ® podometric platform of RSscan: the main stand, a modified Romberg test with open and closed eyes. Postural control was assessed by quantifying the plantar pressure (P%) in relation to 4 zones of the right and left foot and the trajectory of the movement of the center of pressure (CP) over time intervals.

Results: The results of the study showed the presence of a right-sided distribution of plantar pressure in two-legged stands in experienced gymnasts. The regulation of posture occurs mainly in the anterior-posterior direction, but has different strategies for managing balance. The sagittal-cross pattern determines the interaction of plantar pressure between the right and left feet in the basic pose. The Romberg test with open eyes (EO) and closed eyes (EC) characterizes sagittal-parallel and sagittal-asymmetric balance, respectively. We revealed an increase in the vibrations of the gymnast's body in the absence of visual information for only the first 12 seconds.

Conclusions: We have identified a variety of combinations of two types of strategies while maintaining posture in simple poses. This indicates the ability of experienced gymnasts to fine-tune the postural stability, including in the absence of visual information.

Objective: assess the suitability of existing domestic and international recommendations for the use of echocardiography as a screening method for examining athletes; to select standards that characterize the heart in different sports, based on their own research.
Materials and methods: a meta‑analysis of 38 domestic and foreign literature sources based on the results of an echocardiographic examination of athletes was carried out. The indicators of 2647 male athletes aged 16 to 45 years old, playing for the national teams of the city of Moscow and having passed an in‑depth medical examination at the Sports Medicine Clinic, were studied.
Results: heart sizes in athletes differ slightly from population indicators, however, in 14–45% of cases they go beyond the reference values. In the absence of heart disease, the largest dimensions of the left ventricle (LV) are observed in endurance exercisers. At the same time, high functionality correlates with increased LV volume indexed by BCA (for EDV/BSA and VO2 AT r = 0.52, p < 0.05).
Conclusion: echocardiographic screening of athletes allows obtaining sufficient information to identify congenital or pathology that has arisen during excessive training loads. As standards, it is advisable to use population indicators expressed in centile values.

The article is a research into psychological and pedagogic support of sportsmen aged 18–25 years old, with taking into account the gender factor, at the stages of training with the strength exercises. It states methods of psychical reserves mobilization of different psychophysical types of sportsmen, aimed at training process efficiency increase in order to reach high results during competitions.
Introduction. The article is based at the methodic of classical development of sportsmen’s strength abilities in powerlifting in composition with psychological methods of psychological and pedagogic support (PPS) for increasing of reliability and successfulness of pre-competition training. PPS is considered to be a combination of targets, media, methods and circumstances of planning, realization and control of the process of formation, activation and optimization of sportsmen’s psychological processes, at the stages of preparing for competitions and participating in them. Research target. Theoretical elaboration and experimental substantiation of the methodic of PPS training preparation for the competitions when going in for powerlifting and weightlifting.
Materials and methods. The method of control test, pedagogic experiment (PE), fitness tests, anthropometrical methods, psychological development of personality methods, mathematical statistics methods. The research was being performed during five weeks (2020-02-01–2020-03-15). During the pedagogical experiment (PE), strength trainings were based at five-week cycle by B.I. Sheyko, which is equal to one pre-competition mesocycle. Sportsmen aged 18–25 years old formed two groups of 20 persons each: control group (CG) and experimental group (EG), divided [inside] by the gender factor. CG and EG were training with the classical powerlifting methodic, in EG it was supplemented with psychological processes optimization methods.
The methodic of PPS preparation for a competition included: learning of goal-setting, forming of readiness for competitions, learning of coping, activation of motivation processes, increase of self-control and of psychoregulation of behavior and sport activity.
Results. The authors elaborated five-week mesocycle (medium cycle) of training for powerlifters aged 18-25 years old. The forming impact of the complex of PPS methods in EG caused certain growth of strength results in EG at the end of PE: each of CG sportswomen lifted 142.5 kg in the sum of three-lift, CG sportsmen — 215 kg. In EG the result of sportswomen is 190 kg, the result of sportsmen is 250 kg. The growth, when comparing EG and CG, was 57.5 kg for sportswomen and 35 kg for sportsmen in favour of RG with PPS. Psychophysical types of young powerlifters, who need psychological and pedagogic support, were identified, recovery measures for psychological preparation were proposed.
Conclusion. PPS in the complex with strength trainings caused certain growth of strength indexes of powerlifters aged 18–25 years old, with taking into account the gender factor. Strength indexes of girls progressed 1,8–2 times more significantly, than of men. When performing PPS, they wust take into account the gender specifics of powerlifters, attached to different impact of psychological preparation methods on boys and girls.