Kinematic traits of an elite paralympic karateka: a case report.

Karate is a martial art that includes striking, kicking and punching techniques, and requires high levels of functional skills. Karate counts millions of practitioners worldwide and it is also spreading in Paralympic competitions: there is a need for accurate categories definition for disabled athletes. The aim of the current study was to present kinematic data of an elite Paralympic karateka, in comparison with able-bodied athletes, to promote a better classification within the discipline, based on objective evaluations of physical impairments. A male black belt Paralympic karateka (age: 36 years; body weight: 75.5 kg; height: 173 cm) with lower limbs impairments was evaluated. He performed a standardized sequence of movements (kata) from Shotokan karate. Joints and center-of-mass kinematics were collected with an optoelectronic motion capture system and compared with those obtained in two groups of able-bodied (Masters and Practitioners) athletes from a previous study. The sequence performed by the karateka lasted longer than in both able-bodied groups. Center of mass velocity and acceleration lowered in comparison with Masters. Knees range of movement and peak angular velocity were similar to Practitioners but lower than Masters. We concluded that physical impairments negatively affected the function of lower limbs in the Paralympic athlete, as fundamental skills in karate elite performance (dynamic balance control and joint angular velocity) were lower.

Effect of kinesio taping on lower limb joint powers in individuals with genu varum.

OBJECTIVE: Therapeutic lateral knee joint muscle taping potentially offers a low-risk, economical and effective alternative for the clinical treatment of light to moderate knee overload, due to misalignment in patients with genu varum. In this study, we aimed at investigating the immediate effect of lateral knee joint muscular kinesio taping on lower limb joint powers, during the stance phase of walking, in individuals with genu varum. METHODS: Fifteen male subjects with genu varum misalignment (age: 24.2±3.7 years) participated in the study. Subjects performed three walking trials without, and three with, biceps femoris and vastus lateralis kinesio taping. The three-dimensional position coordinate data of reflective markers were collected at 100 Hz using a six-cameras Vicon system (Motion Analysis Corp., UK). Additionally, two Kistler force plates (Kistler AG, Winterthur, Switzerland) were used to record the Ground Reaction Forces (GRF) components at 1000 Hz during stance phase of walking. A three-way ANOVA with post-hoc testing (using paired samples Student's t-test with Bonferroni correction) was performed to compare the power values of lower limb joints before and after the use of KT. RESULTS: With kinesio taping, we observed that the average negative power increased at the ankle level in dominant limb, (P<0.05, 10-20% of gait cycle, GC), and at the knee level in both limbs (10-20% and 60-80% GC). Further, average negative power of the non-dominant knee joint (80-100% GC) and positive power of the non-dominant hip joint (60-80% GC) significantly reduced (P<0.05) in kinesio taping condition. CONCLUSION: The biomechanical analysis of joint power during walking using kinesio taping provided essential information about the possible mechanisms involved in gait analysis with this intervention in adults with genu varus.

Multi-segmental movements as a function of experience in karate.

Karate is a martial art that partly depends on subjective scoring of complex movements. Principal component analysis (PCA)-based methods can identify the fundamental synergies (principal movements) of motor system, providing a quantitative global analysis of technique. In this study, we aimed at describing the fundamental multi-joint synergies of a karate performance, under the hypothesis that the latter are skilldependent; estimate karateka's experience level, expressed as years of practice. A motion capture system recorded traditional karate techniques of 10 professional and amateur karateka. At any time point, the 3D-coordinates of body markers produced posture vectors that were normalised, concatenated from all karateka and submitted to a first PCA. Five principal movements described both gross movement synergies and individual differences. A second PCA followed by linear regression estimated the years of practice using principal movements (eigenpostures and weighting curves) and centre of mass kinematics (error: 3.71 years; R2 = 0.91, P â‰ª 0.001). Principal movements and eigenpostures varied among different karateka and as functions of experience. This approach provides a framework to develop visual tools for the analysis of motor synergies in karate, allowing to detect the multi-joint motor patterns that should be restored after an injury, or to be specifically trained to increase performance.

lower limbs kinematic assessment of the effect of a gym and hydrotherapy rehabilitation protocol after knee megaprosthesis: a case report.

[Purpose] To quantitatively assess the effect of a personalized rehabilitation protocol after knee megaprosthesis. [Subject and Methods] The gait patterns of a 33-year-old male patient with knee synovial sarcoma were assessed by a computerized analysis before and after 40 rehabilitation sessions. [Results] The rehabilitation protocol improved the gait pattern. After rehabilitation, hip flexion was nearly symmetric, with normalized affected limb hip flexion, and improved ankle flexion. Ankle in/eversion was asymmetric and did not improve after physiotherapy. Before physiotherapy, the hip flexion on the affected side anticipated the movement but nearly normalized in the follow-up assessment. Hip abduction range of motion increased, with wider movements and good balance. Knee range of motion nearly symmetrized, but maintained an anticipated behavior, without shock absorption at heel-strike. [Conclusion] Instrumental gait analysis allowed us to gain evidence about the training and how to expand rehabilitative interventions to improve efficacy. In particular, we recommend quadriceps and gastrocnemius eccentric contraction training (to improve the shock absorption phase, preventing early failures of the prosthesis); one-leg standing performance (to improve the support phase of the affected limb); adductor strength training (to aid in hip control during the swing phase); and peroneus strength training (to increase ankle joint stabilization).

Dynamic balance in elite karateka.

In karate, balance control represents a key performance determinant. With the hypothesis that high-level athletes display advanced balance abilities, the purpose of the current study was to quantitatively investigate the motor strategies adopted by elite and non-elite karateka to maintain balance control in competition. The execution of traditional karate techniques (kihon) in two groups of elite Masters (n = 6, 31 ± 19 years) and non-elite Practitioners (n = 4, 25 ± 9 years) was compared assessing body center of mass (CoM) kinematics and other relevant parameters like step width and angular joint behavior. In the considered kihon sequence, normalized average CoM height was 8% lower (p < 0.05), while CoM displacement in the horizontal direction was significantly higher in Masters than in Practitioners (2.5 vs. 1.9 m, p < 0.05), as well as CoM average velocity and rms acceleration (p < 0.05). Step width was higher in Masters in more than half of the sequence steps (p < 0.05). Results suggest that elite karateka showed a refined dynamic balance control, obtained through the increase of the base of support and different maneuvers of lower limbs. The proposed method could be used to objectively detect talented karateka, to measure proficiency level and to assess training effectiveness.