title: Influence of swimming speed on inter-arm coordination in competitive unilateral arm amputee front crawl swimmers.
abstract: This study examined the effect of swimming speed on inter-arm coordination and the inter-relationships between swimming speed, inter-arm coordination, and other stroke parameters, in a group of competitive unilateral arm amputee front crawl swimmers. Thirteen highly-trained swimmers were filmed underwater during a series of 25-m front crawl trials of increasing speed. Arm coordination for both arms was quantified using an adapted version of the Index of Coordination. Inter-arm coordination of the amputee swimmers did not change as swimming speed was increased up to maximum. Swimmers showed significantly more catch-up coordination of their affected-arm compared to their unaffected-arm. When sprinting, the fastest swimmers used higher stroke frequencies and less catch-up of their affected-arm than the slower swimmers. Unilateral arm-amputees used an asymmetrical strategy for coordinating their affected-arm relative to their unaffected-arm to maintain the stable repetition of their overall arm stroke cycle. When sprinting, the attainment of a high stroke frequency is influenced mainly by the length of time the affected-arm is held in a stationary position in front of the body before pulling. Reducing this time delay appears to be beneficial for successful swimming performance.
authors.affiliation: Manchester Metropolitan University, Crewe, United Kingdom. C.Osborough@mmu.ac.uk
authors.forename: Conor D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Osborough
authors.forename: Carl J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Payton
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Daly
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000674:Amputees; D001259:Ataxia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D013550:Swimming / Q000502:physiology*; D014741:Video Recording; D055815:Young Adult