Relationships Between Isokinetic Shoulder Evaluation and Fitness Characteristics of Elite French Female Water-Polo Players

Abstract

Swimming and throwing are involved in water-polo player performance. These movements have a common biomechanical basis in the use of the internal shoulder rotation and adductor muscles. The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between shoulder isokinetic evaluation and throwing velocity as well as swimming performance in female water-polo players. Fifteen high level water-polo players completed two isokinetic shoulder evaluations to determine peak torque of shoulder rotators of the dominant shoulder (concentric and eccentric movements at an angular velocity of 60°·s-1 and concentric movements at an angular velocity of 240°·s-1) and shoulder extensors of both arms (concentric movements at an angular velocity of 60°·s-1 and 240°·s-1). Throwing velocity was measured using a radar gun placed 5 m behind the goal post. Front crawl swimming velocity was determined at 25 m, 100 m and 400 m distances. Concentric peak torque at 60°·s-1 and 240°·s-1 of internal rotators and eccentric peak torque at 60°·s-1 of external rotators were predictors of throwing velocity. The best model to explain the relationship between isokinetic evaluations and throwing velocity was obtained with concentric IR peak torque at 60°·s-1 and eccentric ER peak torque at 60°·s-1 (r2 = 0.52, p = 0.012). Relative total work done and peak torque of shoulder extensors were predictors of 25 m swimming velocity. Shoulder isokinetic evaluations correlate significantly with swimming performance and throwing velocity of female water-polo players. The results may help coaches to develop new strategies such as eccentric dry land training programs to increase both shoulder external rotators strength and throwing velocity.

Effects of Pre-Activation with Variable Intra-Repetition Resistance on Throwing Velocity in Female Handball Players: A Methodological Proposal

“…While studying this, Chelly et al (2014) concluded that after eight weeks of plyometric training, there was an increase in throwing velocity among elite handball players, but they also mention that the application of all training methods should be tested in all populations, determining the real effect that occurs within each group of subjects, especially in women ( Chelly et al, 2014 ). Additionally, it is known that the torque produced during internal and external rotation movements of the shoulder, evaluated through isokinetic instruments, correlates significantly with throwing velocity in water polo players ( Olivier and Daussin, 2018 ), and it must be taken into account. Since isokinetic movements do not resemble the reality of sports, it is necessary to implement evaluations and training that allow sports movements to be controlled in a natural way.…”

Shoulder Muscle Imbalance as a Risk for Shoulder Injury in Elite Adolescent Swimmers: A Prospective Study

“…Assessing rotator muscle imbalance in swimmers thus appears highly relevant and feasible in clinical settings using isokinetic testing, which is an objective, useful and reliable tool to quantify muscular strength and imbalances Journal of Human Kinetics -volume 75/2020 http://www.johk.pl (Batalha et al, 2013;Collado-Mateo et al, 2018;Olivier and Daussin, 2018). Strength imbalances are evaluated using the conventional ratio, calculated as the ratio between ER and IR peak torques (PTs) in a concentric (conER:conIR) or eccentric contraction mode (eccER:eccIR).…”

Effect of Acupuncture on Timeliness of Male Shoulder Joint Endurance

“…Maximum torque flexion of the shoulder at Post 1, Post 2, Post 3 and Post 4 was higher than that at baseline and the flexor muscle strength increased approximately 33 min after acupuncture. The enhancement of the maximum torque is mainly due to the complementary centripetal/centrifugal contraction of the muscles, which results in increased peak torques when the antagonist and active muscles contract synchronically and improve performance [ 26 ]. Past studies have shown that 10 min electrical nerve stimulation of the muscles around the knee joint of endurance athletes can increase the peak limb torque value after exercise and improve the anti-fatigue ability of endurance athletes [ 19 ].…”