Injury risk in technique selection: influence of hand position in the back handspring.

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Author
Burton, Sophie
Date
2015Type
Dissertation
Publisher
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The back handspring is a fundamental skill for female artistic gymnasts. Wrist
injuries from tumbling movements are common in recreational and elite gymnasts
(Farana et al., 2015). Coaches often face the challenge of determining which
individual technique will suit the gymnast, reduce injury potential and optimise
performance making the sport safer, more efficient and effective. The aim of this
research was to examine the influence of hand position on the biomechanical risk
factors at the wrist during the back handspring. The overall purpose was to gain
an insight into injury risk at the wrist joint, offering valuable information for athletes,
coaches and clinicians. After University ethical approval and participant informed
consent, three national level female artistic gymnasts completed five trials of
hurdle step round-off to back handspring with “inward”, “parallel” and “outward”
hand positions. 13 opto-electric cameras (250Hz) were synchronised with and two
piezo-electric force plates (1000Hz) providing three dimensional kinematics and
kinetic data. Inverse dynamics analysis was used to calculate internal wrist joint
kinetics. All analyses centered on the ground contact phase of both hands.
Differences between limbs in discrete variables (joint kinematics, kinetics and
external forces) were analysed using an independent t-test. A one-way ANOVA
examined differences between techniques within each performer; alpha level was
set at P≤0.05. The initial observations highlighted a large level of between subject
variability for all ground reaction force data. Maximum wrist flexion was
significantly higher in the “inward” technique for two of the three gymnasts
(P≤0.05). In addition, vertical wrist joint force and flexion moment were
significantly higher in parallel and outward techniques for two of the three
gymnasts (P≤0.05). All participants showed significantly higher internal wrist
moments in the “outward” and “parallel” techniques (P≤0.05). The within gymnast
self-organisation to perform these skills is evident with the high level of the
between subject variability. The findings highlight two techniques that may
predispose the performer to injury risk conditions, parallel and outward. The
former is more commonly used to teach the back handspring and as such this
information would be useful to coaches and clinicians. The findings align with
current coaching recommendations in terms of the outward version, suggesting
potentially higher injury risk at the wrist complex with this technique. Knowledge of
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the internal joint kinetics and kinematics has increased understanding of the
underpinning biomechanics of these skills. This study has added knowledge of
the risk potential of certain techniques, highlighting the need to increase
knowledge of technique selection within the sport of gymnastics. Future studies
should examine issues such as variability, coordination and the influence of other
upper limb joints.
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