Ricardo Jorge Lemos Pimenta
@ipmaia.pt
Professor, Biomechanics
Research Center of the Polytechnic Institute of Maia (N2i), Maia Polytechnic Institute (IPMAIA), Castêlo da Maia, 4475-690 Maia, Portugal
Ricardo Pimenta is a passionate sports scientist and researcher who tries to solve practical problems supported by theory using the scientific method.
Furthermore, he is Head of Sport Science and Performance at Futebol Clube Famalicão SAD, an invited professor at Instituto Politécnico da Maia and a research fellow at CIPER (Faculty of Human Kinetics) and LABIOMEP (Faculty of Sports of Porto). His fields of specialisation are strength and conditioning training, sports performance, injuries rehabilitation, sports software, electromyography, musculoskeletal ultrasonography, shear wave elastography, hamstring muscles and muscle-tendon unit.
Overall, Ricardo is a critical thinker who wants positively impact the field of sports science.
EDUCATION
- Master degree in High Performance Training from the Faculty of Human Kinetics at the University of Lisbon, specialising in musculoskeletal ultrasonography in the hamstring muscles
- Ph.D. in Biomechanics from the Faculty of Human Kinetics at the University of Lisbon, specialising in muscle injuries and football performance.
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Biophysics, Physiology, Radiological and Ultrasound Technology, Biomaterials
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Ricardo Pimenta, Tomás Lopes, and A. P. Veloso
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Abstract Background To identify at which point fatigue on neuromuscular parameters occurs in the knee flexors during a repeated sprint protocol. Methods Physical active males without previous hamstring strain injury were recruited. Neuromuscular parameters such as peak torque (PT) and rate of torque development (RTD) were assessed after every two sprints in a 5 × (2 x 30 m) repeated sprint protocol. Results Twenty physical active males participated in the study. A significant effect of sprint number was found (p < 0.001; η2p = 0.643) with a decreased sprint speed by 6.9% from fastest to slowest sprint. No significant differences were observed in the time between finishing the sprint and performing the first MVIC (46.3 ± 4.7s; p = 0.423), nor in the time between finishing a set and starting the next set (121.2 ± 7.6s; p = 0.503). Regarding neuromuscular parameters, the only significant difference found was in PT between before and after two sprints (117.95 ± 5.61 N⋅m vs. 110.64 ± 5.71 N⋅m; p = 0.048, d = 0.289) and on RTD 0-50ms before and after ten sprints (465.78 ± 223.76 N⋅m/s vs. 382.30 ± 189.56 N⋅m/s; p = 0.008; η2p = 0.149). Conclusions A recovery time of 46s between sprints and testing neuromuscular parameters (due to experimental design) seems sufficient to restore the neuromuscular system. Therefore, it can be suggested that time recovery is the principal factor in detecting fatigue on neuromuscular parameters.
Ricardo Pimenta, José P. Correia, João R. Vaz, António P. Veloso, and Walter Herzog
Elsevier BV
Ricardo Pimenta, José P. Correia, João R. Vaz, António P. Veloso, and Walter Herzog
Elsevier BV
Ricardo Pimenta, Tomás Lopes, José Pedro Correia, and António Prieto Veloso
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractThe purpose of the present study was to examine the acute effects of a maximum repeated sprint protocol on (1) hamstring shear modulus and (2) knee flexor neuromuscular parameters such as peak torque (PT) and rate of torque development (RTD). Muscle shear modulus was assessed in 18 healthy males using shear wave elastography at rest and during 30° isometric knee flexion at 20% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction, before and after a 10 × 30 m repeated sprint protocol. There was a 9% decrease in average speed between the fastest and slowest sprint (p < 0.001; d = 2.27). A pre-post decrease was observed in PT (p = 0.004; η2p = 0.399) and in the 0–50 ms (p = 0.042; η2p = 0.222), and 50–100 ms (p = 0.028; η2p = 0.254) RTD periods. For the active shear modulus, the only significant change after the sprint task was in the biceps femoris long head (BFlh) with an increase of 10% (Pre: 26.29 ± 8.89 kPa; Post: 28.93 ± 8.31 kPa; p = 0.015; d = 0.31). The present study provides evidence that repeated sprinting leads to significant decreases in average speed, PT, early RTD (0–50 ms; 50–100 ms), and to an increase in BFlh active shear modulus without changing the shear modulus of the other hamstrings muscles.
Ricardo Pimenta, Tomás Lopes, Paula Bruno, and António Veloso
MDPI AG
The aim of the present study is to compare the effects of a (i) repeated sprint protocol on the sprint performance, hamstrings shear modulus pattern, and neuromuscular parameters between players with and without previous hamstring strain injury (HSI); and (ii) between limbs with HSI and their healthy contralateral limbs on the hamstrings shear modulus pattern and neuromuscular parameters. One-hundred-and-five professional and semiprofessional football field players were invited to participate in this study during the pre-season 2021/2022 (June–July), resulting in a sample size of 210 limbs with 46 sustaining HSI in the previous 2 years. No differences were seen between previously injured and healthy control players regarding their sprint performance, hamstrings shear modulus pattern, and neuromuscular parameters, except for the early rate of torque development (0–50 ms) with previously injured limbs in the biceps femoris long head (BFlh) displaying higher rates than their contralateral muscle (injured: 496.93 ± 234.22 Nm/s; contralateral 422.72 ± 208.29 Nm/s; p = 0.005; η2p = 0.469). Overall, the present study provides evidence for no differences regarding sprint performance, hamstrings load sharing pattern, and major neuromuscular parameters between players with previous HSI in the last 2 years and healthy control players. Therefore, the results can possibly suggest that the duration between injury and screening could recover the differences between injured-control and injured-contralateral groups.
Ricardo Pimenta, Hugo Antunes, Paula Bruno, and A. P. Veloso
Frontiers Media SA
Purpose: This study compares the average speed, knee flexor peak torque and shear modulus of the hamstrings after a repeated sprint task, in football players of different competitive levels and playing positions.Methods: Fifty-four football field players without hamstring strain injury history participated, 15 being categorized as professional (2nd league) and 39 as semi-professional (17 in 3rd and 22 in 4th league). Muscle shear modulus was assessed using ultrasound-based shear wave elastography at rest and at 20% of maximal voluntary isometric effort before and immediately after the repeated sprint protocol.Results: No significant differences were seen in average sprint speed between competitive levels (p = 0.07; η2p = 0.28) and positions (p = 0.052; η2p = 0.29). Moreover, the sprint fatigue index showed no significant differences between competitive levels (p = 0.14; η2p = 0.08) and playing positions (p = 0.89; η2p = 0.05). No significant differences were observed in hamstring shear modulus changes between competitive levels (p = 0.94; η2p = 0.03) and positions (p = 0.92; η2p = 0.03). Peak torque changes also showed non-significant association with competitive levels (p = 0.46; η2p = 0.03) and positions (p = 0.60; η2p = 0.02).Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the average sprint speed performance parameter and mechanical parameters are not able to distinguish football players of different competitive levels and positions.
Ricardo Pimenta, Pedro Almeida, José P. Correia, Paula M. Bruno, and João R. Vaz
Informa UK Limited
This study examined the effects of fatigue on hamstring muscles and gluteus maximus passive and active shear modulus in hip extension (HE) and knee flexion (KF) at 20% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction performed until task failure. Measurements were taken before and after the fatigue tasks and the delta (post-pre) was calculated. No differences in the fatigue effects on passive shear modulus were seen between muscles nor between tasks. For the active shear modulus: a task × muscle interaction was seen (p = 0.002; η2p = 0.401). The results for the tasks separately demonstrated only a significant effect for muscle in KF (p < 0.001; η2p = 0.598), with different individual contributions identified between BFlh-SM (p = 0.006; d = 1.10), BFlh-ST (p = 0.001; d = 1.35) and SM-ST (p = 0.020; d = 0.91). The comparisons between tasks for each muscle demonstrated significant differences for SM (p = 0.025; d = 0.60) and ST (p = 0.026; d = 0.60); however, no differences were seen for BFlh (p = 0.062; d = 0.46). Therefore, fatigue effects induce different patterns on the hamstring muscles in HE and KF tasks when performed at 20% MVIC.
Ricardo Pimenta, Hugo Antunes, Tomás Lopes, and António Veloso
MDPI AG
The aim of this study was to compare the biceps femoris long head (BFlh) architecture between football players with (twelve) and without (twenty) history of BFlh injury before and after a repeated sprint task. Fascicle length (FL), pennation angle (PA) and muscle thickness (MT) were assessed at rest and in the active condition before and after the repeated sprint protocol. Athletes with previous BFlh injury showed shorter FL at rest (p = 0.014; η2p = 0.196) and active state (p < 0.001; η2p = 0.413), and greater PA at rest (p = 0.002; η2p = 0.307) and active state (p < 0.001; η2p = 0.368) before and after the task. Intra-individual comparisons showed that injured limbs have shorter FL at rest (p = 0.012; η2p = 0.519) and in the active state (p = 0.039; η2p = 0.332), and greater PA in passive (p < 0.001; η2p = 0.732) and active conditions (p = 0.018; η2p = 0.412), when compared with contralateral limbs. Injured players, at rest and in the active condition, display shorter BFlh FL and greater PA than contralateral and healthy controls after repeated sprints. Moreover, the BFlh of injured players presented a different architectural response to the protocol compared with the healthy controls.
RICARDO PIMENTA, ANTHONY J. BLAZEVICH, and SANDRO R. FREITAS
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
ABSTRACT Purpose To assess the repeatability of, and measurement agreement between, four sonographic techniques used to quantify biceps femoris long head (BFlh) architecture: (i) static-image with linear extrapolation; extended field-of-view (EFOV) with linear ultrasound probe path (linear-EFOV), using either (ii) straight or (iii) segmented analyses; and (iv) EFOV with nonlinear probe path and segmented analysis (nonlinear-EFOV) to follow the complex fascicle trajectories. Methods Twenty individuals (24.4 ± 5.7 yr; 175 ± 0.8 cm; 73 ± 9.0 kg) without history of hamstrings strain injury were tested in two sessions separated by 1 h. An ultrasound scanner coupled with 6-cm linear probe was used to assess BFlh architecture in B-mode. Results The ultrasound probe was positioned at 52.0% ± 5.0% of femur length and 57.0% ± 6.0% of BFlh length. We found an acceptable repeatability when assessing BFlh fascicle length (ICC3,k = 0.86–0.95; SEM = 1.9–3.2 mm) and angle (ICC3,k = 0.86–0.97; SEM = 0.8°–1.1o) using all sonographic techniques. However, the nonlinear-EFOV technique showed the highest repeatability (fascicle length ICC3,k = 0.95; fascicle angle, ICC3,k = 0.97). The static-image technique, which estimated 35.4% ± 7.0% of the fascicle length, overestimated fascicle length (8%–11%) and underestimated fascicle angle (8%–9%) compared with EFOV techniques. Also, the rank order of individuals varied by approximately 15% between static-image and nonlinear-EFOV (segmented) when assessing the fascicle length. Conclusions Although all techniques showed good repeatability, absolute errors were observed using static-image (7.9 ± 6.1 mm for fascicle length) and linear-EFOV (between 3.7 ± 3.0 and 4.2 ± 3.7 mm), probably because the complex fascicle trajectories were not followed. The rank order of individuals for fascicle length and angle were also different between static-image and nonlinear-EFOV, so different muscle function and injury risk estimates could likely be made when using this technique.