Shoulder joint loading in the high performance flat and kick tennis serves.
OBJECTIVE
To quantify and compare the full body kinematics and shoulder joint kinetics during the high-performance tennis flat (FS) and kick serves (KS).


METHODS
A 12-camera 250 Hz, Vicon motion analysis system recorded the three-dimensional FS and KS of 12 high-performance male players. A total of 22 paired Student's t tests, with an accompanying partial Bonferroni correction (p<0.01), determined statistically significant differences between the variables of interest in both serves.


RESULTS
Higher peak horizontal, vertical and absolute racquet velocities were developed during the FS, while higher lateral velocities characterised the KS. Similar shoulder joint kinematics and kinetics punctuated both serves, but with some variation in trunk and lower limb mechanics.


CONCLUSIONS
Similar shoulder joint kinetics assisted the development of varying three-dimensional racquet velocities in the FS and KS. The comparable shoulder joint loading conditions point to the repetitive, long-term performance of either serve as relevant in shoulder joint injury pathologies.
Reid
Machar
M
University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia. mmreid@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
Elliott
Bruce
B
Alderson
Jacque
J
D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013715:Tennis / Q000502:physiology*