Giacomo BELMONTE
Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Via Giovanni Pascoli 6, Palermo, 90144, Italy.
e-Mail: giacomo.belmonte@unipa.it
Education
Scienze e Tecniche delle Attività Motorie Preventive ed Adattate e delle Attività Sportive (LM-67)
Current Positions
PhD Student in Health Promotion and Cognitive Sciences
PhD project title and a short abstract
PhD project Title
Effects of Different Warm-Up Protocols on Post-Activation Potentiation, Neuromuscular Function, and Injury Risk Across Various Physical Activity Groups.
PhD project abstract
The induction of neuromuscular readiness through pre-exercise preparation is a determining factor for both immediate kinetic production and long-term musculoskeletal integrity. Contemporary research confirms the effectiveness of dynamic warm-up (DWU) protocols in exploiting post-activation potentiation (PAP), thereby increasing explosive muscle actions. In contrast, the prevailing literature often reports that some traditional stretching modalities induce a transient decrease in muscle-tendon stiffness, resulting in acute attenuation of maximum force production capabilities. However, the external validity of these performance-focused paradigms is often limited to specialized athletic cohorts. There remains a significant lack of robust evidence on the long-term impact of these distinct preparatory interventions on functional integrity and actual injury burden within diverse cohorts, including individuals who engage in general physical activity or who require robust fall prevention strategies.
Therefore, this project aims to evaluate and compare the acute performance enhancement and chronic protective effects of long-term dynamic, static, and mixed warm-up routines. This research aims to generate scientific evidence to establish the optimal preparatory mode to maximize sustained neuromuscular function and minimize the cumulative incidence of injury across the entire human movement spectrum and activity levels.
Supervisor: Prof. Antonino Bianco
Main research areas of interest
Biomechanics, Performance, Health, Injury Prevention, Cycling
Researcher ID
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2326-8164
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=58772197500
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Giacomo_Belmonte