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Cognitive training is a broad term referring to a wide variety of psychological techniques that help individuals alter their own thoughts and perceptions. Biofeedback training allows individuals to become aware of typical patterns of physiological responding to environmental events. Two studies investigated whether a training program which combined these techniques would help athletes reduce competitive stress reactions and improve competitive performance. Studies of football players and basketball players found statistically significant differences (p < .05) between pre- and posttreatment comparisons of performance ratings. In the second study, a treatment group improved performance whereas a contact control group did not. Subjects in the treatment condition reported feeling more comfortable and confident in discussions subsequent to the training.

This field study examined the effects of indoor versus outdoor thermal biofeedback training on digital skin temperature for outdoor sports, and also tested the accuracy of estimating one's skin temperature in an outdoor environment. A sample of 25 university student volunteers (14 males and 11 females) were randomly distributed across three groups. Indoor subjects practiced exclusively indoors and outdoor subjects practiced exclusively outdoors, while control subjects did not receive any training. All pre-and posttests for all groups were conducted outdoors in an unhealed tent. Subjects were trained twice a week for 4 weeks, with twice-a-day respective indoor or outdoor home practice on nontraining days. Results indicated the post-peroid change scores of the outdoor trained group to be superior to indoor trained subjects and controls when all groups were asked to perform outdoors. Indoor subjects were only able to maintain their temperature outdoors, whereas control subjects continued to lose temperature as they did during the pretest. Interestingly, there was no significant overall temperature difference between groups, and all subjects overestimated their temperatures regardless of training. Learning to control extremity temperatures in cold environments may depend on environmental context.

Context: Biofeedback training enables an athlete to alter biomechanical and physiological function by receiving biomechanical and physiological data concurrent with or immediately after a task. Objective: To compare the effects of 2 different modes of real-time biofeedback focused on reducing risk factors related to anterior cruciate ligament injury. Design: Randomized crossover study design. Setting: Biomechanics laboratory and sports medicine center. Participants: Female high school soccer players (age 14.8 ± 1.0 y, height 162.6 ± 6.8 cm, mass 55.9 ± 7.0 kg; n = 4). Intervention: A battery of kinetic- or kinematic-based real-time biofeedback during repetitive double-leg squats. Main Outcome Measures: Baseline and posttraining drop vertical jumps were collected to determine if either feedback method improved high injury risk landing mechanics. Results: Maximum knee abduction moment and angle during the landing was significantly decreased after kinetic-focused biofeedback (P = .04). The reduced knee abduction moment during the drop vertical jumps after kinematic-focused biofeedback was not different (P = .2). Maximum knee abduction angle was significantly decreased after kinetic biofeedback (P < .01) but only showed a trend toward reduction after kinematic biofeedback (P = .08). Conclusions: The innovative biofeedback employed in the current study reduced knee abduction load and posture from baseline to posttraining during a drop vertical jump.

Since the first Paralympics in 1960 there has been an increase in social and scientific interest in Paralympic athletes’ personality, their preparation, and their sport results. During the last 20 yr, researchers and practitioners have been focused on psychological-skills programs for athletes with disabilities. The purpose of this article was to describe a psychological-preparation program for Israeli Paralympic athletes. Two subprograms, the learning-modification-application approach and the Simulation Training Exercise Program, were adapted to athletes’ disability and sport demands. Two case studies, from table tennis and sailing (Sonar 3-person keelboat), are described to demonstrate how systematic sport psychology preparation can be effectively integrated into the training process of Paralympic athletes. Some recommendations for Paralympic athletes are presented.

The present article outlines the development and implementation of a multifaceted psychological skills training program for the Canadian National Short Track Speedskating team over a 3-year period leading up to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. A program approach was used emphasizing a seven-phase model in an effort to enhance sport performance (Thomas, 1990) in which psychological skills training was integrated with biofeedback training to optimize self-regulation for performance on demand and under pressure. The biofeedback training protocols were adapted from general guidelines described by Wilson, Peper, and Moss (2006) who built on the work of DeMichelis (2007) and the “Mind Room” program approach for enhancing athletic performance. The goal of the program was to prepare the athletes for their best performance under the pressure of the Olympic Games. While causation cannot be implied due to the lack of a control group, the team demonstrated success on both team and individual levels.

This study assessed the multimodal effects of electromyographic biofeedback on highly trait-anxious subjects, boys who scored in the upper quartile of the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT). Subjects participated in a bogus sport competitive tournament and participated individually in six laboratory sessions that consisted of a practice session and five matches. Each session comprised an adaptation period and three games separated by three rest periods. Biofeedback or placebo condition was administered during the rest periods. Frontalis EMG, heart rate, and respiratory rate were measured at the end of a rest period and immediately before every game (i.e., stress periods). State anxiety (STAIC; Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970) was measured before every game, and game performance was also recorded. Results from a MANOVA combining the three physiological variables revealed significant variations between rest and stress periods but no significant group differences. Results from univariate repeated measures ANCOVAs on all dependent variables revealed that the biofeedback group was superior to the placebo group in reducing frontalis EMG both during rest periods and in the general competitive setting. Results support the specificity of single-system biofeedback training and are discussed in light of the discriminative/motor skills model and the trophotropic rebiasing model.