title: Effect of hold depth and grip technique on maximal finger forces in rock climbing.
abstract: The aim of this study was to understand how the commonly used climbing-specific grip techniques and hold depths influence the finger force capacities. Ten advanced climbers performed maximal voluntary force on four different hold depths (from 1 to 4 cm) and in two force directions (antero-posterior and vertical) using three grip techniques (slope, half crimp and full crimp). A specially designed platform instrumented with a 6-degrees-of-freedom (DoF) force/torque sensor was used to record force values. Results showed that the maximal vertical forces differed significantly according to the hold depth and the grip technique (ranged from 350.8 N to 575.7 N). The maximal vertical forces increased according to the hold depth but the form of this increase differed depending on grip technique. These results seemed to be more associated with finger-hold contact/interaction than with internal biomechanical factors. Similar results were revealed for antero-posterior forces (ranged from 69.9 N to 138.0 N) but, it was additionally noted that climbers have different hand-forearm posture strategies with slope and crimp grip techniques when applying antero-posterior forces. This point is important as it could influence the body position adopted during climbing according to the chosen grip technique. For trainers and designers, a polynomial regression model was proposed in order to predict the mean maximal force based on hold depth and adopted grip technique.
authors.affiliation: School of Sport Sciences and Technology, Biomechanics Research Group, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. amithat@hacettepe.edu.tr
authors.forename: Arif Mithat
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Amca
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vigouroux
authors.forename: Serdar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aritan
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Berton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology*; D005542:Forearm; D006225:Hand; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult