The biomechanics of the sprint start in a cerebral palsied athlete

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Author
Richardson, Rhian
Date
2015Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Since athletes with disabilities have progressively entered the world of competitive sport,
growing pressure and expectation has been placed on their standard of performance. The
aim of this study was, therefore, to perform an in-depth kinematic and kinetic analysis of
the sprint start, from block start to the third step out of the blocks, in an elite T36 cerebral
palsy sprinter. One sprinter, fitted with 69 spherical retro-reflective markers, performed six
maximal sprint starts. An automatic opto-electronic motion analysis system comprising of
fifteen cameras (250 Hz), with synchronised force plates (Kistler, 1000 Hz), collected
three-dimensional (3-D) marker trajectories of the four-segment model and corresponding
ground reaction forces (Nexus, Vicon). This provided the necessary data for further
inverse dynamics analyses (Visual3D). The results showed that predominant contributors
to performance were step lengths over the first three steps, knee extensor moments,
vertical centre of mass velocity at block exit, and extension of the trunk in the first three
steps. Most notably, a more flexed trunk at block exit (28°), continued flexion until step
three (38°), and a lower vertical velocity at block exit (0.31 m·s−1), while exhibiting a large
knee peak extensor moment (212 N and 141 N for consecutive touchdowns), is suggested
to produce a superior performance (values taken from the best performed trial).
Additionally body mass, average horizontal external power, resultant centre of mass
velocity and step length were significantly reduced in the T36 sprinter when compared to
existing literature on able-bodied sprinters. The limited power production during the sprint
start in this specific T36 athlete was likely due to the reduced body mass and velocity
exhibited, which may be manifestations of cerebral palsy itself that cannot be overcome.
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