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Shoulder and thorax kinematics contribute to increased power output of competitive handcyclists

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posted on 2019-02-12, 13:24 authored by Ben W. Stone, Barry Mason, Martin B. Warner, Vicky Goosey-TolfreyVicky Goosey-Tolfrey
Current knowledge on recumbent handbike configuration and handcycling technique is limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the upper limb kinematics and handbike configurations of recreational and competitive recumbent handcyclists, during sport specific intensities. Thirteen handcyclists were divided into two significantly different groups based on peak aerobic power output (POpeak) and race experience; competitive (n=7; 5 H3 and 2 H4 classes; POpeak: 247±20W) and recreational (n=6; 4 H3 and 2 H4 classes; POpeak: 198±21 W). Participants performed bouts of exercise at training (50% POpeak), competition (70% POpeak), and sprint intensity while three‐dimensional kinematic data (thorax, scapula, shoulder, elbow and wrist) were collected. Statistical parametric mapping was used to compare the kinematics of competitive and recreational handcyclists. Handbike configurations were determined from additional markers on the handbike. Competitive handcyclists flexed their thorax (~5°, P<0.05), extended their shoulder (~10°, P<0.01) and posteriorly tilted their scapular (~15°, P<0.05) more than recreational handcyclists. Differences in scapular motion occurred only at training intensity while differences in shoulder extension and thorax flexion occurred both at training and competition intensities. No differences were observed during sprinting. No significant differences in handbike configuration were identified. This study is the first to compare the upper limb kinematics of competitive recreational handcyclists at sport‐specific intensities. Competitive handcyclists employed significantly different propulsion strategies at training and competition intensities. Since no differences in handbike configuration were identified, these kinematic differences could be due to technical training adaptations potentially optimising muscle recruitment or force generation of the arm.

Funding

This study was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant no. EP/M507489/1) and supported by the English Institute of Sport and British Cycling.

History

School

  • Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences

Published in

Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports

Citation

STONE, B.W. ... et al, 2019. Shoulder and thorax kinematics contribute to increased power output of competitive handcyclists. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 29(6), pp. 843-853.

Publisher

Wiley © The Authors

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Publisher statement

This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Acceptance date

2019-02-04

Publication date

2019-02-10

Notes

This is an Open Access article. It is published by Wiley under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY). Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

ISSN

0905-7188

eISSN

1600-0838

Language

  • en

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