Influence of physical development on start and countermovement jump performance in adolescent sprint athletes.

AIM: The aim of the present study was to describe the effect of physical changes during adolescence on sprint start and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance. METHODS: Twenty-eight girls and 25 boys (15.0±1.6 and 14.7±1.9 years at start respectively) were measured twice with a one year interval. Anthropometric data allowed skeletal muscle mass (SMM) estimation. Athletes performed a 10m sprint tracked from behind by a laser sensor, with starting blocks measuring propulsion forces. CMJ's were performed on a Kistler force plate. RESULTS: Between the two measurement occasions both genders increased in body height, weight and SMM. In girls and boys, impulse during the push-off, block leaving velocity and times at 5 and 10 m improved significantly. In both genders CMJ absolute power increased but not power.kg-1. Only in boys a higher CMJ was registered on occasion 2. For both genders on both occasions, impulse during the push-off correlated with body weight, SMM and CMJ power (r from .46 to .84), and in boys also with CMJ height and CMJ power.kg-1 (r from 0.43 to 0.76). Boys showed CMJ height and power to correlate with 5 and 10 m times (r from -0.42 to -0.79) and with block leaving velocity, however only on the first data collection (r=0.61 and 0.59, respectively). CONCLUSION: Sprint start performance is only partly related to muscular development and CMJ could predict start performance in boys only. Sprint start and CMJ rely on technical skills and, therefore, increasing muscularity should be accompanied with sufficient specific training to allow an optimal transfer to start performance.

Experimentally generated footprints in sand: Analysis and consequences for the interpretation of fossil and forensic footprints.

Fossilized footprints contain information about the dynamics of gait, but their interpretation is difficult, as they are the combined result of foot anatomy, gait dynamics, and substrate properties. We explore how footprints are generated in modern humans. Sixteen healthy subjects walked on a solid surface and in a layer of fine-grained sand. In each condition, 3D kinematics of the leg and foot were analyzed for three trials at preferred speed, using an infrared camera system. Additionally, calibrated plantar pressures were recorded. After each trial in sand, the depth of the imprint was measured under specific sites. When walking in sand, subjects showed greater toe clearance during swing and a 7 degrees higher knee yield during stance. Maximal pressure was the most influential factor for footprint depth under the heel. For other foot zones, a combination of factors correlates with imprint depth, with pressure impulse (the pressure-time integral) gaining importance distally, at the metatarsal heads and the hallux. We conclude that footprint topology cannot be related to a single variable, but that different zones of the footprint reflect different aspects of the kinesiology of walking. Therefore, an integrated approach, combining anatomical, kinesiological, and substrate-mechanical insights, is necessary for a correct interpretation.

Control of acceleration during sudden ankle supination in people with unstable ankles.

STUDY DESIGN: Comparative study of differences in functional control during ankle supination in the standing position in matched stable and unstable ankles (ex post facto design). OBJECTIVES: To document acceleration and deceleration during ankle supination in the standing position and to determine differences in control of supination perturbation between stable and unstable ankles. BACKGROUND: Repetitive ankle sprain can be explained by mechanical instability only in a minority of cases. Exercise therapy for ankle instability is based on clinical experience. Joint stability has not yet been measured in dynamic situations that are similar to the situations leading to a traumatic sprain. The process of motor control during accelerating ankle supination has not been adequately addressed in the literature. METHODS AND MEASURES: Patients with complaints of ankle instability (16 unstable ankles) and nonimpaired controls (18 stable ankles) were examined (N = 17 subjects, 10 women and 7 men). The average age was 23.7 +/- 5.0 years (range, 20-41 y). Control of supination speed was studied during 50 degrees of ankle supination in the standing position using accelerometry (total supination time and deceleration times) and electromyography (latency time). Timing of motor response was estimated by measuring electromechanical delay. RESULTS: The presence of an early, sudden, and presumably passive slowdown of ankle supination in the standing position was observed. Peroneal muscle motor response was detected before the end of the supination. Unstable ankles showed significantly shorter total supination time (109.3 ms versus 124.1 ms) and significantly longer latency time (58.9 ms versus 47.7 ms). CONCLUSIONS: Functional control in unstable ankles is less efficient in decelerating the ankle during the supination test procedures used in our study. Our conclusions are based on significantly faster total supination and significantly slower electromyogram response in unstable ankles. The results support the hypothesis that both decelerating the total supination movement during balance disturbance and enhancing the speed of evertor activation through exercise can be specific therapy goals.

Electrodynographic evaluation of the foot during treadmill versus overground locomotion.

Biomechanical foot function as expressed by the duration of successive ground contact phases and by dynamic variables, such as the peak pressure on different parts of the foot, their respective loading rate, and duration, is compared for two walking and running conditions: overground on a 20-m walkway and on a treadmill. Statistical analysis revealed foot pressure characteristics as measured with a Electrodynogram during walking and running to alter significantly when using a treadmill. The differences were more pronounced for walking than for running. During walking, loading of the forefoot tends to last longer (longer propulsion phase) on a treadmill. Loading rate is decreased for the whole foot during either walking or running. Maximum heel pressure is diminished for walking but increased during running on a treadmill. Moderate variations of treadmill velocity were shown to have no significant influence on the measurements.

Force analysis of the rowing stroke employing two differing oar grips.

The velocity of the rowing boat appears to depend on the force which the athlete applies at the handle of the oar. Although force is generated by legs, upper body, and arms, the latter are the only limbs which actually transmit and apply the force against the oar. The force output of the arms seem to be a function of the forearm position used by the athlete while gripping the oar. The traditional gripping technique is with the forearms in pronation. This technique was never challenged or scientifically researched to see whatever a modified one might lead to better efficiency. Consequently, the purpose of this investigation was to analyze whether athletes' force output differed if the gripping technique was changed from pronation to a semiprone grip (one arm prone, the other semiprone). Under the specific conditions of this investigation it was demonstrated that the semiprone position was generating greater force output, thus being superior to the classical prone grip.