The purpose of this study was to assess kinematic lower extremity motion patterns (hip flexion, knee flexion, knee valgus, and ankle dorsiflexion) during various foot-landing techniques (self-preferred, forefoot, and rear foot) between genders. 3-D kinematics were collected on 50 (25 male and 25 female) college-age recreational athletes selected from a sample of convenience. Separate repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to analyze each variable at three time instants (initial contact, peak vertical ground reaction force, and maximum knee flexion angle). There were no significant differences found between genders at the three instants for each variable. At initial contact, the forefoot technique (35.79° ± 11.78°) resulted in significantly (p= .001) less hip flexion than did the self-preferred (41.25° ± 12.89°) and rear foot (43.15° ± 11.77°) techniques. At peak vertical ground reaction force, the rear foot technique (26.77° ± 9.49°) presented significantly lower (p= .001) knee flexion angles as compared with forefoot (58.77° ± 20.00°) and self-preferred (54.21° ± 23.78°) techniques. A significant difference for knee valgus angles (p= .001) was also found between landing techniques at peak vertical ground reaction force. The self-preferred (4.12° ± 7.51°) and forefoot (4.97° ± 7.90°) techniques presented greater knee varus angles as compared with the rear foot technique (0.08° ± 6.52°). The rear foot technique created more ankle dorsiflexion and less knee flexion than did the other techniques. The lack of gender differences can mean that lower extremity injuries (e.g., ACL tears) may not be related solely to gender but may instead be associated with the landing technique used and, consequently, the way each individual absorbs jump-landing energy.
Teachers of young children know the importance of designing developmentally appropriate activities to encourage motor development but are not always prepared with the information they need to accomplish this design. When teachers choose movement activities, motor development theory must be understood and utilized in the planning of activities to ensure that the choice of the movement task, equipment, and the movement environment interact to encourage developmentally appropriate movement experiences. Basic motor development theory is explained as the basis for examples of appropriate movement tasks for young children.
This study tested the hypothesis that scaling environmental objects can afford differently sized individuals the opportunity to make similarly effective movements with that object. Four similar tennis rackets were scaled to provide consistent differences in length, weight, and grip size. Children between 4 and 10 years of age were asked to strike with each racket for speed and accuracy. A significant relationship existed between body size and strength and the ability to both generate racket head speed and control the racket for an accurate strike; racket size and weight, however, were not significant factors in the ability to swing effectively.
LlNDA CACEN NANCY CETCHELLUnderstanding how a variety of constraints influence movement will allow movement educators to plan lessons that have a greater chance for success. F or motor development teachers, the study of theories is critical to the understanding of developmental change. The paradigm shift during the past 20 years, from a maturational perspective to an ecological perspective, is an exciting challenge for teachers, but not necessarily for students. To students, theory is boring at best, and at worst it can make them feel inept; in terms of usefulness, it falls under the category of "remember for final exam" rather than "apply to real life." Herein lies the dilemma for educators: how do they make a theoretical perspective easier to understand and relevant enough to apply to everyday activities in the gymnasium?Because it is important for theory and practice to go hand in hand, this article will provide simple, practical ideas for the gymnasium that stem directly from the ecological perspective. Those studying within the ecological perspective can assert that complexities exist that do not lend themselves to a simple jump from the laboratory to the gym. Fortunately, there is at least one concept within the ecological perspective that is both easy to understand and that has many useful implications for the gymnasium: the notion of constraints. Constraints either encourage or discourage movements and have various degrees of importance (Newell, 1984). Both theoretically and practically, different constraints influence the form that movement takes. In that sense, constraints can have both positive effects (promoting proficient movements) and negative effects (promoting ineffective movements or inhibiting any movement). With this in mind, movement educators must determine which constraints most affect movement in order to provide the best possible practices for students to develop motor skills. At the same time, movement educators must analyze constraints in order avoid practices that might actually hinder the development and achievement of desired movements.
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