BACKGROUND: Pole vaulting involves trunk flexion, extension, and rotation, which may place the lumbar spine under stress. Repeated pole vaulting may cause lumbar disc degeneration (DD) and lumbar spondylolysis (LS); however, this phenomenon is yet to be established. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the difference in the maximum joint angles of the shoulder, hip, and trunk during pole vaulting between male pole vaulters with and without lumbar DD or LS. METHODS: This retrospective study included 17 male pole vaulters. Four high-speed cameras were used to record the pole vaulters at 240 Hz. Radiography and magnetic resonance imaging were used to examine the lumbar spine in all athletes. Differences in the data between two sets of groups were analyzed using the unpaired t-test or the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the maximum joint angle of hip flexion between pole vaulters with and without lumbar DD (p= 0.03). CONCLUSION: Pole vaulters with lumbar DD may use lumbar flexion instead of hip flexion during the rock-back movement. Moreover, LS may occur due to repeated failed vaulting. Therefore, trunk stability and functional movements should be prioritized to prevent organic changes in the lower back.
One form of assisted training is a downhill sprint, which uses a portion of gravity.This study aimed to compare sprinting on multiple downhill and level ground to clarify the parameters related to sprint velocity and differences in movement. The subjects were 17 male university athletics students, made to sprint 50 m on level ground and five downhill slopes (slope = 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5°), respectively. The results showed that the sprint velocity were higher than on level ground for downhill sprint at all slopes (1°, 2°, 3°, 4°, and 5°), and even higher than on other slopes at 4° and 5°. In addition, minor changes in sprint kinematics were observed at 1°, 2°, and 3°, while major changes were observed at 4° and 5°. In particular, many joint angle differences were observed between 4° and 5°, suggesting that they were due to gravity-assisted velocity increases on downhill slopes and structural features of the slopes. Therefore, it is clear that downhill has different effects on sprinting depending on the degree of slope.
Study aim: To determine the difference in joint angles of the shoulder, hip, and trunk (angle of the upper torso and lower torso) during vaulting between male pole vaulters with and without chronic low back pain (LBP) and to examine the relationship between the range of motion (ROM) and maximum angle of the same joint during vaulting in all participants. Material and methods: This cross-sectional study included 17 male vaulters. The participants were divided into two groups (chronic LBP and control) based on their questionnaire results. Four high-speed cameras were used to record at 240 Hz from the touchdown of the last step on the run-up to the pole straight phase. The vaulter cleared the bungee bars that were set at 90% of their personal best record. The ROM of hip flexion and extension, shoulder flexion, and straight leg raise were measured. Results: There was no difference in the joint angles between the chronic LBP group and control group. In contrast, there was a significantly positive correlation between ROM and the maximum joint angle during hip extension (p = 0.01, r = 0.58). Conclusions: Insufficient hip ROM may result in compensatory motion in lumbar extension during pole vaulting.
Background: Large maximum hip flexion and extension range of motion is considered effective in preventing injury in pole vaulters. Nonetheless, whether the improvement in hip flexion and extension range of motion changes their hip joint angle during pole vaulting remains unclear. Objectives: The present study aimed to clarify the acute effects of intervention for hip flexion and extension range of motion in pole vaulters on the maximum hip joint angle during pole vaulting. Methods: Seventeen male pole vaulters who underwent the same intervention for hip range of motion were included. The maximum hip joint angle during the pole vault from the touchdown of the last step of the run-up to the pole straightening was calculated from videos taken pre- and post-intervention and was subsequently compared. The pole vaulters cleared bungee bars that were set at the height of 90% of their personal best record. Three types of self-massages were used to improve the hip flexion and extension range of motion, and an active straight leg raise exercise was also performed. All intervention programs were completed in approximately 25 min on an experimental day, and all interventions were monitored by the examiner. Results: No significant improvements were observed between pre and post-intervention hip range of motion. The magnitude of change in the range of motion of active hip flexion was significantly correlated with the magnitude of change in the maximum hip flexion angle during pole vaulting pre-and post-intervention (P = 0.002, r = 0.687). Conclusions: Athletes should find ways to improve their active range of motion to prevent injuries and improve their performance. Coaches and athletic trainers should adopt an active range of motion as an indicator to control athlete conditioning.
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