title: Elbow joint variability for different hand positions of the round off in gymnastics.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to conduct within-gymnast analyses of biological movement variability in impact forces, elbow joint kinematics and kinetics of expert gymnasts in the execution of the round-off with different hand positions. Six international level female gymnasts performed 10 trials of the round-off from a hurdle step to a back-handspring using two hand potions: parallel and T-shape. Two force plates were used to determine ground reaction forces. Eight infrared cameras were employed to collect the kinematic data automatically. Within gymnast variability was calculated using biological coefficient of variation (BCV) discretely for ground reaction force, kinematic and kinetic measures. Variability of the continuous data was quantified using coefficient of multiple correlations (CMC). Group BCV and CMC were calculated and T-test with effect size statistics determined differences between the variability of the two techniques examined in this study. The major observation was a higher level of biological variability in the elbow joint abduction angle and adduction moment of force in the T-shaped hand position. This finding may lead to a reduced repetitive abduction stress and thus protect the elbow joint from overload. Knowledge of the differences in biological variability can inform clinicians and practitioners with effective skill selection.
authors.affiliation: Human Motion Diagnostic Center, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic. Electronic address: Roman.Farana@osu.cz.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farana
authors.affiliation: Human Motion Diagnostic Center, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic; Sport Biomechanics Research Group, Cardiff School of Sport, Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK.
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Irwin
authors.affiliation: Human Motion Diagnostic Center, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jandacka
authors.affiliation: Human Motion Diagnostic Center, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jaroslav
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Uchytil
authors.affiliation: School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Lincoln, UK.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Mullineaux
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006173:Gymnastics; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009048:Motor Skills; D009068:Movement; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D016474:Weight-Bearing; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Biomechanics; Fundamental; Skill; Technique; Tumbling; Variability