Measurement of pelvic motion is a prerequisite for accurate estimation of hip joint work in maximum height squat jumping.

In experiments investigating vertical squat jumping, the HAT segment is typically defined as a line drawn from the hip to some point proximally on the upper body (eg, the neck, the acromion), and the hip joint as the angle between this line and the upper legs (θUL-HAT). In reality, the hip joint is the angle between the pelvis and the upper legs (θUL-pelvis). This study aimed to estimate to what extent hip joint definition affects hip joint work in maximal squat jumping. Moreover, the initial pelvic tilt was manipulated to maximize the difference in hip joint work as a function of hip joint definition. Twenty-two male athletes performed maximum effort squat jumps in three different initial pelvic tilt conditions: backward (pelvisB), neutral (pelvisN), and forward (pelvisF). Hip joint work was calculated by integrating the hip net joint torque with respect to θUL-HAT (WUL-HAT) or with respect to θUL-pelvis (WUL-pelvis). θUL-HAT was greater than θUL-pelvis in all conditions. WUL-HAT overestimated WULpelvis by 33%, 39%, and 49% in conditions pelvisF, pelvisN, and pelvisB, respectively. It was concluded that θUL-pelvis should be measured when the mechanical output of hip extensor muscles is estimated.

Submaximal leaping in the grey mouse lemur.

In arboreal animals such as the grey mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus Miller, 1777), leaping is the most frequent strategy for predator avoidance. The aim of this study was to characterise the locomotor adaptation in response to the structural constraint of the habitat (i.e., position of the landing substrate). Thus, we characterised the push-off phase by inducing the lemurs to leap up to a range of heights from horizontal to their own individual highest performance. Using uniplanar high-frequency cineradiographs collected in a sagittal plane, the relative contributions of the centre of mass (CoM) velocity vector magnitude and orientation to leaping performance were evaluated. The kinematics of the push-off phase showed that for low landing heights, leaping performance was essentially due to hip and knee extensions. Higher leaps seemed to be related to an increase in ankle contribution. At all leaping heights, the proximal-to-distal sequence of the hind limb joints controlled the orientation and magnitude of the M. murinus CoM velocity vector while pushing off. Finally, the analysis of the velocity vector at the onset of take-off suggested that the optimal solution for predator avoidance was to leap for horizontal distance and not for vertical distance.

Hindlimb interarticular coordinations in Microcebus murinus in maximal leaping.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pattern of coordinations of the hindlimb joints in the world's smallest living primate (Microcebus murinus). The sequencing and timing of joint rotations have been analyzed in five adult males performing maximal leaping from a take-off immobile platform to their own wooden nest. Angular kinematics of hip, knee, angle and metatarso-phalangeal (MT) joints were deduced from high-speed X-ray films in the sagittal plane of the animals. The body mass center (BMC) of the lemurs was assimilated to their iliac crest. The maximal airborne performance of the lemurs was 0.33+/-0.04 m, which represented 2.55+/-0.36 times their snout-vent length. Take-off instant occurred 72+/-7 ms after the start of the push-off, with a BMC velocity of 3.23+/-0.48 m s(-1), oriented 55+/-14 deg. with the horizontal plane. The kinematic analysis of the joints and musculo-tendon architecture of the M. murinus plantar flexors pointed out mechanical power amplifier mechanisms (i.e. stretch-shortening cycle of hindlimb muscles and proximo-to-distal sequence).

Influence of figure skating skates on vertical jumping performance.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of wearing figure skating skates on vertical jump performance and interjoint co-ordinations described in terms of sequencing and timing of joint rotations. Ten national to international figure skaters were filmed while performing a squat jump (SJ) on a force platform. Three experimental conditions were successively realized: barefoot (BF), lifting a 1.5 kg weight (LW) corresponding to the skates' mass, attached on the distal extremity of each leg and wearing skates (SK). Jump height, angular kinematics as well as joints kinetics were calculated. Relative to the SJ height reached in the BF condition, SJ performance was significantly decreased by 2.1 and 5.5 cm in the LW and SK conditions, respectively. The restriction of ankle amplitude imposed by wearing skates was found to significantly limit the knee joint amplitude while the hip angular motion was not affected. Neither the skates' mass nor the limited ankle angular motion modified the proximo-distal organization of joint co-ordination observed when jumping barefoot. However, with plantar flexion restriction, the delay between hip and knee extensions increased while it was reduced between knee and ankle extensions. Work output at the knee and ankle joints were significantly lowered when wearing skates. The decrease of work at the knee was shown to result from an early flexing moment causing a premature deceleration of the knee and from a reduction of knee amplitude. Taken together, these results show a minimization of the participation of the knee when plantar flexion is limited. It was proposed that constraining the distal joint causes a reorganization of interjoint co-ordinations and a redistribution of the energy produced by knee extensors to the hip and ankle joints.

Vertical jumping reorganization with aging: a kinematic comparison between young and elderly men.

To our knowledge jumping kinematics have never been studied in elderly persons. This study was aimed at examining the influence of aging on vertical jump performance and on interjoint coordination. Two groups of adults, 11 young men ages 18-25 years and 11 older men ages 79-100 years, were filmed while performing a maximal squat jump. Compared to young adults, jump height was significantly decreased by 28 cm in the elderly. Older adults spontaneously jumped from a more extended position of the hip. Results showed a decrease in hip, knee, and ankle linear velocity and angular amplitude with aging. The decrease in jump height was attributed to a decrease in explosive force and in the range of shortening of extensor muscles. In agreement with the literature, a proximo-distal coordination pattern was observed in young adults. Older adults used a simultaneous pattern. This may indicate that adults adjust their pattern of joint coordination as they age.

Short-term effects of using verbal instructions and demonstration at the beginning of learning a complex skill in figure skating.

This study examined whether providing verbal instructions plus demonstration and task repetition facilitates the early acquisition of a sport skill for which learners had a prior knowledge of the individual motor components. After one demonstration of the task by an expert, 18 novice skaters practiced a figure skating jump during a 15-min. period. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: a group provided with a verbal instruction that specified the subgoals of the task (Subgoals group), a group provided with a verbal instruction that used a metaphor (Metaphoric group), and a group not receiving any specific instruction during training (Control group). Subjects were filmed prior to and immediately following the practice session. Analysis indicated that the modifications of performance were related to the demonstration and the subsequent task repetitions only. Providing additional verbal instructions generated no effect. Therefore, guiding the learner toward a solution to the task problem by means of verbal instruction seems to be ineffective if done too early in the course of learning.