Level of Agreement, Reliability, and Minimal Detectable Change of the Musclelab^TM Laser Speed Device on Force-Velocity-Power Sprint Profiles in Division II Collegiate Athletes

• Main Authors: Jamie J. Ghigiarelli (Author), Keith J. Ferrara (Author), Kevin M. Poblete (Author), Carl F. Valle (Author), Adam M. Gonzalez (Author), Katie M. Sell (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2022-04-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

This study examined the level of agreement (Pearson product-moment correlation [<i>r</i>_P]), within- and between-day reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]), and minimal detectable change of the Musclelab^TM Laser Speed (MLS) device on sprint time and force-velocity-power profiles in Division II Collegiate athletes. Twenty-two athletes (soccer = 17, basketball = 2, volleyball = 3; 20.1 ± 1.5 y; 1.71 ± 0.11 m; 70.7 ± 12.5 kg) performed three 30-m (m) sprints on two separate occasions (seven days apart). Six time splits (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 m), horizontal force (<i>HZT</i> F₀; N∙kg⁻¹), peak velocity (V_MAX; m∙s⁻¹), horizontal power (<i>HZT</i> P₀; W∙kg⁻¹), and force-velocity slope (S_FV; N·s·m⁻¹·kg⁻¹) were measured. Sprint data for the MLS were compared to the previously validated MySprint (MySp) app to assess for level of agreement. The MLS reported good to excellent reliability for within- and between-day trials (ICC = 0.69-0.98, ICC = 0.77-0.98, respectively). Despite a low level of agreement with <i>HZT</i> F₀ (<i>r</i>_P = 0.44), the MLS had moderate to excellent agreement across nine variables (<i>r</i>_p = 0.68-0.98). Bland-Altman plots displayed significant proportional bias for V_MAX (mean difference = 0.31 m∙s⁻¹, MLS < MySp). Overall, the MLS is in agreement with the MySp app and is a reliable device for assessing sprint times, V_MAX, <i>HZT</i> P₀, and S_FV. Proportional bias should be considered for V_MAX when comparing the MLS to the MySp app.

Item Description

10.3390/sports10040057
2075-4663