Inter-Segment Coordination of Male and Female Collegiate Ice Hockey Players During Forward Skating Starts.

Purpose: Coordination in ice hockey skating has been minimally investigated, particularly in females. The objective was to compare lower-extremity inter-segment coordination of collegiate male and female ice hockey players during forward skating starts. Methods: 3D kinematic data were collected on collegiate male (n = 9) and female (n = 10) participants during accelerative steps. Continuous relative phase (CRP) was calculated for shank-sagittal/thigh-sagittal, shank-sagittal/thigh-frontal, and foot-sagittal/shank-sagittal segment pairs across 2.5 strides on each side. Principal component analysis (PCA) extracted features of greatest variability of the CRP and relationships between principal components and sex were investigated using hierarchical linear model. Results: Males demonstrated more out-of-phase coordination (higher CRP) for side one (p = .01) and side two (p < .01) shank-sagittal/thigh-sagittal as well as side one shank-sagittal/thigh-frontal (p < .01) segment pairs throughout each step. Females demonstrated a greater change in CRP from late stance/early swing to late swing/early stance on side two for shank-sagittal/thigh-frontal segments (p < .01). For side two shank-sagittal/thigh-frontal segments, faster males utilized more out-of-phase coordination throughout each step whereas faster females utilized more in-phase coordination (p < .01). Conclusion: Males and females may employ different coordinative strategies to achieve faster skating speeds. Males tend to utilize more out-of-phase coordination of the shank and thigh throughout strides, although coordinative differences of the shank and foot were not found between sexes. Further investigation is needed to examine the relationship between lower limb strength and coordination as well as the effect of targeted training protocols on lower extremity coordinative patterns.

Differences in inter-segment coordination between high- and low-calibre ice hockey players during forward skating.

The objective was to compare lower extremity inter-segment coordination between high-calibre and low-calibre ice hockey players during forward full stride skating. A 10-camera Vicon motion capture system collected kinematic data on male high-calibre (n = 8) and low-calibre (n = 8) participants. Continuous relative phase (CRP) was calculated for shank-sagittal/thigh-sagittal, shank-sagittal/thigh-frontal and foot-sagittal/shank-sagittal segment pairs. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract features of greatest variability of the CRP and hierarchical linear model investigated relationships between principal components and skill level. High-calibre players demonstrated more out-of-phase coordination (higher CRP) of shank-sagittal/thigh-sagittal throughout glide/push-off (p = 0.011) as well as a delay in the transition to more in-phase coordination during early recovery phase (p = 0.014). For shank-sagittal/thigh-frontal (p = 0.013), high-calibre players had more out-of-phase coordination throughout the entire stride. High-calibre players were also associated with an earlier transition to more out-of-phase coordination of the foot-sagittal/shank-sagittal during push-off (p = 0.007) and a smaller difference in CRP between mid-glide/early recovery (p = 0.016). Utilising more out-of-phase modes of coordination may allow players to more easily adjust to optimal modes of coordination throughout skating strides. Skating drills incorporating varying speed, directionality and external stimuli may encourage the development of more optimal coordination during skating.