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This study compared interlimb coordination and indicators of swim efficiency and effectiveness between expert and recreational breaststroke swimmers. Arm-leg coordination of 8 expert and 10 recreational swimmers at two different paces, slow and sprint, were compared using relative phase between elbow and knee. For each participant, knee and elbow angles were assessed using a 3-dimensional video analysis system with four below and two above cameras. During each phase of the cycle, indicators of swim efficiency (intracyclic velocity variations) and effectiveness (horizontal distance, velocity peaks, acceleration peaks) were calculated. Two coordination patterns emerged between expert and recreational swimmers, with significant differences in the relative phase at the beginning of a cycle (−172.4° for experts and −106.6° for recreational swimmers) and the maximum value of relative phase (9.1° for experts and 45.9° for recreational swimmers; all P < .05). Experts’ coordination was associated with higher swim effectiveness (higher acceleration peak: 2.4 m/s² for experts and 1.6 m/s² for recreational swimmers) and higher distance covered by the center of mass during each phase of the cycle (all P < .05). This study emphasized how experts coordinate arms and legs to achieve effective behavior, therefore exhibiting flexibility, mainly in the timing of the glide phase, to adapt to different speed.

Concurrent activation of muscles on opposite sides of joints is a common phenomenon. In simple planar mechanical systems, it is easy to identify such an electromyographic pattern as co-contraction of agonist and antagonist muscles. In complex 3-D systems such as the lumbar spine, it is more difficult to precisely identify whether EMG recordings represent co-contraction. Qualitative definitions of antagonist muscles emphasize that their actions wholly oppose the action of the prime movers. The qualitative definition of antagonist muscles was used to formulate a mathematical requirement for there to be co-contraction of agonists and antagonists. It was shown that the definition of co-contraction implies muscle activity beyond what is required to maintain equilibrium. The method was illustrated by classifying EMG recordings made of the lumbar region musculature during tasks involving combined torso extension and axial twisting loads. The method, which identified muscle activity in excess of that required to maintain static equilibrium, could be used to identify conditions in which muscle activation is required for something other than merely maintaining moment equilibrium.

The sprint starts of 15 skilled sprinters were filmed and their sprinting times recorded while they were performing four 20-meter sprinting trials. They employed their natural hand-block spacings with alternative leg placements in the front starting block. The subjects were tested for dynamic strength on a force platform and their stronger leg was determined. Selected qualitative variables concerning certain perceived characteristics of lateral dominance and preferred leg for some basic motor skills were identified using a questionnaire. Significantly greater takeoff velocities and faster sprinting times were found when the stronger leg was placed in the front block. Previous empirical methods used in determining the best front leg in the start were found unreliable. Even some experienced sprinters fail to use their optimal leg in the forward position. Dynamic lower limb strength asymmetry was established as the key determinant in optimizing leg placement in the sprint start.

A device has been designed to simultaneously measure the vertical pressure and the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral distributed shearing forces under the plantar surface of the foot. The device uses strain gauge technology and consists of 16 individual transducers (each with a surface area measuring 2.5 × 2.5 cm) arranged in a 4 × 4 array. The sampling frequency is 37 Hz and data may be collected for 2 s. The device was calibrated under both static and dynamic conditions and revealed excellent linearity (±5%), minimal hysteresis (±7.5%), and very good agreement between applied and measured loads (±5%). Vector addition of the distributed loads gave resultant forces that were qualitatively very similar to those obtained from a standard force plate. Data are presented for measurements from the forefoot of 4 diabetic subjects during the initiation of gait, demonstrating that distributed shear and pressure on the sole of the foot can be measured simultaneously.

Bone remodeling as a response to exercise in human subjects is described in the literature, although most studies treat exercise as a qualitative factor contributing to bone remodeling. Quantitative description requires assessment of the mechanical loads on the bones. This work describes a generalized lower extremity model that uses existing musculoskeletal modeling techniques to quantify mechanical variables in the femoral neck during exercise. An endurance exercise program consisting of walking, jogging jumping rope, and weight-training was analyzed. Peak femoral neck cortex stresses and strains were high during jogging and squatting, compared to walking, whereas jumping rope and other weight-training exercises produced peak stresses comparable to or lower than walking. Peak stress and strain rates were significantly higher for walking, jumping rope, and jogging than for weight-training. The model should prove useful for any study investigating a quantitative relationship between exercise and bone remodeling.

In response to the popularity of clipless bicycle pedals with float designs, an instrumented force pedal system with multicompatibility for different shoe/pedal interfaces is presented. A dual piezoelectric element pedal has been modified for use with popular clipless pedal interfaces. The dual transducer arrangement permits measurement of three components of uniaxial load, location of the applied load, and calculation of the moment M_z about an axis through the position of the applied load and orthogonal to the pedal surface. Quantification of lower extremity kinetics using float feature pedals and the investigation of the pathomechanics of lower extremity cycling overuse injuries, especially knee injuries, is warranted. Qualitative descriptions of lower extremity pathomechanics related to overuse injuries have suggested that foot constraint may induce undesirable knee kinematics and kinetics. The instrumented force pedal system described here permits a comparison between pedal kinematics and kinetics of popular shoe/pedal interfaces with varying degrees of float allowance.

Five elite gymnasts performed giant circles on the high bar under different conditions of loading (without and with 6-kg loads attached to the shoulders, waist or ankles). Comparing the gymnasts’ kinematic pattern of movement with that of a triple-pendulum moving under the sole influence of nonmuscular forces revealed qualitative similarities, including the adoption of an arched position during the downswing and a piked position during the upswing. The structuring role of nonmuscular forces in the organization of movement was further reinforced by the results of an inverse dynamics analysis, assessing the contributions of gravitational, inertial and muscular components to the net joint torques. Adding loads at the level of the shoulders, waist or ankles systematically influenced movement kinematics and net joint torques. However, with the loads attached at the level of the shoulders or waist, the load-induced changes in gravitational and inertial torques provided the required increase in net joint torque, thereby allowing the muscular torques to remain unchanged. With the loads attached at the level of the ankles, this was no longer the case and the gymnasts increased the muscular torques at the shoulder and hip joints. Together, these results demonstrate that expert gymnasts skillfully exploit the operative nonmuscular forces, employing muscle force only in the capacity of complementary forces needed to perform the task.

Laboratory-based simulators afford many advantages for studying physiology and biomechanics; however, they may not perfectly mimic wheelchair propulsion over natural surfaces. The goal of this study was to compare kinetic and temporal parameters between propulsion overground on a tile surface and on a dynamometer. Twenty-four experienced manual wheelchair users propelled at a self-selected speed on smooth, level tile and a dynamometer while kinetic data were collected using an instrumented wheel. A Pearson correlation test was used to examine the relationship between propulsion variables obtained on the dynamometer and the overground condition. Ensemble resultant force and moment curves were compared using cross-correlation and qualitative analysis of curve shape. User biomechanics were correlated (R ranging from 0.41 to 0.83) between surfaces. Overall, findings suggest that although the dynamometer does not perfectly emulate overground propulsion, wheelchair users were consistent with the direction and amount of force applied, the time peak force was reached, push angle, and their stroke frequency between conditions.

The ankle joint has typically been treated as a universal joint with moments calculated about orthogonal axes and the frontal plane moment generally used to represent the net muscle action about the subtalar joint. However, this joint acts about an oblique axis. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between joint moments calculated about the orthogonal frontal plane axis and an estimated subtalar joint axis. Three-dimensional data were colected on 10 participants running at 3.6 m/s. Joint moments, power, and work were calculated about the orthogonal frontal plane axis of the foot and about an oblique axis representing the subtalar joint. Selected parameters were compared with a paired t-test (α = 0.05). The results indicated that the joint moments calculated about the two axes were characteristically different. A moment calculated about an orthogonal frontal plane axis of the foot resulted in a joint moment that was invertor in nature during the first half of stance, but evertor during the second half of stance. The subtalar joint axis moment, however, was invertor during most of the stance. These two patterns may result in qualitatively different interpretations of the muscular contributions at the ankle during the stance phase of running.

The purposes of this study were to (a) describe the racket-arm kinematics and kinetics of the soft-tennis smash during match rallies, and (b) assess the characteristics of this smash vs. the laboratory-simulated smash of our previous study. In the current study we recorded soft-tennis smash motions during match play of the 3rd East Asian Games. Racket-arm anatomical joint angular velocity and anatomical joint torque were calculated from 3-D coordinate data of 13 collected motions obtained using the direct linear transformation procedure. The results showed that most of the maximum values of the anatomical joint torques were qualitatively smaller than those of the tennis serve. Peak elbow extension, shoulder internal rotation, and elbow varus torques in match play were significantly greater than values reported for laboratory-simulated conditions. The greater forward swing torques did not result in significantly different racket head velocity, possibly because there was a significantly shorter forward swing phase in match conditions. In particular, a clear peak of the elbow extension torque during the forward swing phase was the most characteristic pattern in the smashes under match conditions, for it was 160% greater than laboratory-simulated conditions. These results supported our hypothesis that racket-arm kinematic and kinetic characteristics of the smash under match conditions differ from those under laboratory-simulated conditions. Possible explanations include the time-pressure conditions of the competitive situation in a match, and the Hawthorne effect (Hudson et al., 1986), both of which alter performance between match conditions and laboratory-simulated conditions.