Biomechanical analysis of Instep and Toe-Poke Kicking in futsal players

Abstract

The aims of this study were to investigate relationships between the angular velocity of the lower limb and the foot velocity during instep and toe-poke kicking and to compare the angular velocity of the lower limb and the foot velocity between instep and toe-poke kicking. Twelve semi-professional futsal players were recruited in this study. Each participant performed instep and toe-poke kicking with the dominant limb to the ball which placed at a kick point (second penalty) of 10m distances from the goal and hit the target (1x1 m), which was centered between the goalposts. Kicking was randomly assigned for each participant and recorded by 6 infrared cameras at 200 Hz. The results found that hip angular velocity was significantly correlated with the foot velocity, similar to knee angular velocity and the foot velocity during instep and toe-poke. Hip angular velocity was significantly different between instep and toe-poke (p<0.05). Toe-poke kicking (6.64±0.88 rad/s) recorded higher hip angular velocity than instep kicking (5.68±4.10 rad/s). In conclusion, the angular velocity of the lower limb and the foot velocity were important factors for the ball velocity. Toe-poke was a more successful goal scoring maneuver than instep. However, there were other important factors affecting the ball velocity and accuracy, which was the position of foot-to-ball contact. When futsal players have experienced kicking with instep and toe-poke, they can decide and adjust their skills appropriately in competitive games.