The Effect of Mindfulness Interval and Transcrinal Direct Current Stimulation on Injury Anxiety and Performance in Elite Fencers

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of mindfulness and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on psychological factors such as injury anxiety and performance improvement. There are models of the relationship between psychological factors and injury showing that stress, anxiety and worry can limit cognition, increase muscle tension, increase distractibility and lose focus. Finding a way to reduce anxiety and improve performance is important for professional athletes. This study was conducted in the form of an experiment involving two experimental groups (mindfulness training group and electrostimulation group) and a control group with a pretest-posttest design. The statistical sample of this study consists of 36 volunteers who participated in this study. The statistical population of this study was all elite fencers who had at least third place in Tehran province in their record. Anxiety inventory questionnaire prepared by Cassidy (2006) and sports performance questionnaire prepared by Charbonio (2001) were used to measure injury anxiety and performance. Data were measured with descriptive statistics to show the mean and standard deviation of the data, and inferential statistical tests through paired t-tests and Fisher’s tests to show the differences between groups, using SPSS-25 software. The results showed that mindfulness and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) had a significant effect on the pretest in both performance and anxiety variables by paired t-tests. By Fisher’s test, the variables of injury anxiety in the two groups of mindfulness and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) showed no significant difference. In this study, it can be concluded that both mindfulness and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation had a significant effect on these variables and that mindfulness is a suitable, inexpensive and accessible way for athletes to access it.