Ground reaction forces produced by two different hockey skating arm swing techniques

Abstract

The arm swing in hockey skating can have a positive effect on the forces produced by each skate, and the resulting velocity from each push off. The main purpose of this study was to measure the differences in ground reaction forces (GRFs) produced from an anteroposterior versus a mediolateral style hockey skating arm swing. Twenty-four elite-level female hockey players performed each technique while standing on a ground-mounted force platform, and all trials were filmed using two video cameras. Force data was assessed for peak scaled GRFs in the frontal and sagittal planes, and resultant GRF magnitude and direction. Upper limb kinematics were assessed from the video using Dartfish video analysis software, confirming that the subjects successfully performed two distinct arm swing techniques. The mediolateral arm swing used a mean of 18.38° of glenohumeral flexion/extension and 183.68° of glenohumeral abduction/adduction while the anteroposterior technique used 214.17° and 28.97° respectively. The results of this study confirmed that the mediolateral arm swing produced 37% greater frontal plane and 33% less sagittal plane GRFs than the anteroposterior arm swing. The magnitudes of the resultant GRFs were not significantly different between the two techniques; however, the mediolateral technique produced a resultant GRF with a significantly larger angle from the direction of travel (44.44°) as compared to the anteroposterior technique (31.60°). The results of this study suggest that the direction of GRFs produced by the mediolateral arm swing more closely mimic the direction of lower limb propulsion during the skating stride.

Effects of Flywheel vs. Traditional Resistance Training on Neuromuscular Performance of Elite Ice Hockey Players

“…Unilateral squat with the FW machine mimics this propulsive movement. On the other hand, unilateral training with the FW squat machine mimics the change of direction and skating thrust mechanics and leaves open the possibility of using the mediolateral arm swing to increase ground forces on the outer leg, which is nearly impossible with barbell training (12). Flywheel and eccentric overload training are effective in improving change-of-direction performance in team sport athletes (16).…”

Validation of the Polar Team Pro System for Sprint Speed With Ice Hockey Players

“…Compared to traditional bipedal running, ice skating elicits more horizontal velocity (19), which incorporates more side-to-side arm swing (15). The arm swing within a hockey skating stride can have a positive effect on the propulsion and velocity exhibited by each push off (15), but this technique may result in varying sprint speeds for the PTPS. Furthermore, it is believed that skating mechanics could also result in a decreased amount of vertical trunk movement and acceleration, which could result in underestimations of sprint speed while ice skating (1,5,12).…”

“…Unlike the indoor and outdoor sprint PTPS measurements, which both overestimated sprint speed, an underestimation of sprint speeds was exhibited for both distances of indoor ice skating. Obtaining results within this sport-specific setting has proved to be highly desirable (28), but data obtained may be spurious due to the unique mechanics of the skating stride (15). The kinematics of the body during forward ice skating may affect the accuracy of the PTPS to measure sprint speed.…”

“…The kinematics of the body during forward ice skating may affect the accuracy of the PTPS to measure sprint speed. Compared to traditional bipedal running, ice skating elicits more horizontal velocity (19), which incorporates more side-to-side arm swing (15). The arm swing within a hockey skating stride can have a positive effect on the propulsion and velocity exhibited by each push off (15), but this technique may result in varying sprint speeds for the PTPS.…”

“…Beyond skating mechanics, the anterior/posterior upper-body movement patterns while ice skating are also dissimilar to traditional land-based running (15,27). In addition, postural differences during the power stroke phase of forward skating can result in greater lateral trunk movement (27).…”