Comparison of the Ground Reaction Force, Center of Mass to Center of Pressure Changes, and Time to Stabilization During a Jump in Young Professional and Semiprofessional Karate Girls

Abstract

Background and Aims: Since there is a direct relationship between achieving the best athletic performance and minimizing the damage and the potential injuries with people’s ability to perform the technique, this study aimed at comparing the selected biomechanical variables during consecutive jump-landings between professional and semi-professional karate athletes. Methods: In the current study, using a force plate, the ground reaction force, changes of the center of mass to the center of pressure, and stabilization time during jump-landing of nine young members of the female karate national team (professional) and nine selected karate athletes of Mazandaran province (semi-professional), on their both right and left legs separately, were obtained and statistically analyzed. Results: In the information collected from the selected biomechanical variables, the average and standard deviation in the left foot of both groups were higher than in the right foot. There was a significant difference between the ground reaction force and the change of center of mass to the center of pressure (stress) in the internal-external non – professional karate athletes and the left foot of the professional and non-professional. There was a significant difference between the ground reactions force in the posterior-anterior direction between the right and left foot of the professional group and the right and left foot of the non – professional group and the right and left foot of both groups in the change of center of mass to the center of pressure between the right and left foot of these two groups. However, there was no significant difference in the stabilization time. Conclusion: According to the results, the variables of the ground reaction force and changes in the center of mass to the center of pressure, and the time needed to achieve stability for karate athletes can be used as an index to evaluate the level of ability to perform and detect the potential injuries occurrence in professional and semi-professional karate athletes.