Martin Gardiner in Improbable Research
With
the Winter Olympics about to begin, what better time to ask, ‘Do Latvian
bobsleighers have a unique
advantage? Specifically, the RE21 from the Latvian Academy of
Sport Education? [see photo]
Details
were revealed in a 2011 paper for the LASE JOURNAL OF SPORT SCIENCE 2011/2/1
| 3 by Uģis Ciematnieks, Nauris Ķeizans, Sandis Prūsis and Leonīds Čupriks,
entitled: ‘VIBROSTIMULATION IN
BOBSLEIGH’
Vibrostimulating
the athletes with the RE21 paid off, say the investigators, at least in Olympic
scenarios where a few-hundredths-of-a-second advantage might be crucial.
“Summarizing the study results, we can conclude that
vibrostimulation has effect, the experimental group result in bobsleigh push
from standing position increased by 0.04sec, while the control group by 0.07sec
after applying local vibrostimulation.”
BONUS
(unrelated): “Cardiovascular Responses to Vibrostimulation for
Sperm Retrieval in Men With Spinal Cord Injury” [study]