Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the extent of asymmetry of spinal segment mobility in canoeists. Moreover, the relationship between this parameter and racing speed was analyzed. The study included 18 canoeists with a mean age of 16.4 years. Mobility of cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine, in sagittal, coronal and transverse planes, was measured with the aid of a tensometric electrogoniometer. The racing speed was based on results achieved during the qualifying competition for the Polish national team. Spinal mobility was measured within two days after the competition. Significant associations were observed between average racing speed and the asymmetry coefficients of the cervical (r=−0.52; p=0.03) and lumbar spinal flexure in the coronal plane (r=0.57; p=0.01). The extent of the asymmetry of the cervical spine flexure in the coronal plane should possibly be reduced, because such asymmetry exerts a negative effect on racing speed. In contrast, canoeist’s training should be oriented towards increasing the asymmetry of the lumbar spine flexure in the coronal plane. However, one should keep in mind that such an approach, although favorable in terms of race performance, could negatively affect the canoeist’s health.
Highlights
Achieving satisfactory sport results in kayaking requires a significant level of muscular strength (Mann and Kearney, 1980)
The only observed significant difference in spinal mobility pertained to the maximal left rotation of the cervical spine (CTL): it was lower in right-sided paddlers (RP) than in left-sided paddlers (LP), 60.38 and 67.7, respectively, for RP and LP left side of the canoe
The asymmetry coefficients of spinal mobility were subjected to correlation analysis, separately for RP and LP (Table 1)
Summary
Achieving satisfactory sport results in kayaking requires a significant level of muscular strength (Mann and Kearney, 1980). Athletes practicing this sport need to develop sufficient strength of the upper body, including the trunk (Tesch, 1983; Fry and Morton, 1991; Fekete and Coach, 1998; Akca and Muniroglu, 2008). Canoeing is a paddling discipline that requires the athletes to paddle on one side of the boat, left or right Such paddling technique requires an asymmetric position of the body and performance of asymmetric muscular work (Rynkiewicz and Starosta, 2011). Finite element models predicted that maximum symmetric efforts produce tensile strains in the annulus fibers of 10% but when combined with bending and
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