An arm swing enhances the proximal-to-distal delay in joint extension during a countermovement jump.

ABSTRACT: An abundance of degrees of freedom (DOF) exist when executing a countermovement jump (CMJ). This research aims to simplify the understanding of this complex system by comparing jump performance and independent functional DOF (fDOF) present in CMJs without (CMJ_NoArms) and with (CMJ_Arms) an arm swing. Principal component analysis was used on 39 muscle forces and 15 3-dimensional joint contact forces obtained from kinematic and kinetic data, analyzed in FreeBody (a segment-based musculoskeletal model). Jump performance was greater in CMJ_Arms with the increased ground contact time resulting in higher external (p = 0.012), hip (p < 0.001) and ankle (p = 0.009) vertical impulses, and slower hip extension enhancing the proximal-to-distal joint extension strategy.

SUBMITTER: Cefai CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11368957 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature