Biomechanical analysis in freestyle snowboarding: Application of a full‐body inertial measurement system and a bilateral insole measurement system

Abstract

2009) Biomechanical analysis in freestyle snowboarding: Application of a full-body inertial measurement system and a bilateral insole measurement system, Sports Technology, 2:1-2, 17-23To link to this article: http://dx.Several investigations show that 5-28% of all snowboarding injuries relate to the ankle joint complex. To reduce the risk of ankle injuries, the development of enhanced snowboard equipment is considered. Therefore, it is essential to understand the biomechanics in snowboarding. Scientific studies investigating the ankle joint complex in freestyle snowboarding, including inrun, flight phase, and landing, are so far not available. An auspicious method to determine relevant kinematical and kinetic parameters is based on the utilization of an inertial measurement suit in combination with a bilateral insole measurement system. This pilot study aims at the application of these two systems in freestyle snowboarding for data collection in a real snowboarding environment. The accuracy of the used measurement systems is assessed. The insole measurement system shows a root mean square error of 28% (76.6%) in reference to a force plate. A maximum mean deviation of 4.81 (70.31) is found in the inertial measurement system compared to an optical video-based system. The on-snow data collection reveals valuable information and provides a better understanding of the biomechanics in freestyle snowboarding. Ranges of movement of the ankle joint complex and forces essential to perform snowboarding maneuvers are measured. In addition, combinations of joint angles and landing forces occurring during the landing phase of an aerial maneuver are found that have the potential to cause injuries. Critical values of 251 dorsiflexion and 81 external rotation in combination with a normal force of 3020 N are measured at the back leg.

Injuries in elite and recreational snowboarders

“…A 2006 study used four high-speed cameras for video data collection and a force plate mounted on the snowboard to record the force during jump landings, and concluded that this method had potential for future biomechanical analyses 75. Another such study used full-body inertial and insole measurement systems 76. The inertial suit is an alternative to the traditional motion capture, which has high accuracy but is difficult to carry out in an outdoor environment, especially in the snow.…”

3D motion analysis of national rider athletes by riding types in horse simulator

“…Supej [3] has presented a novel system involving a GNSS RTK that returns a reference trajectory through the use of a suit, embedded with inertial sensors, to reveal subject segment motion. Kruger [4] has covered application of an inertial measurement suit in combination with a bilateral insole measurement system in freestyle snowboarding for data collection in a real snowboarding environment. Brodie [5] has used a fusion motion capture to capture 3D kinetics and kinematics of alpine ski racing.…”

Measurement in Sports Biomechanics

“…These are becoming common in biomechanics research [22,23] and in performance assessment [24]. IMUs are small electronic devices that usually contain gyroscopes, magnetometers and accelerometers that can be fixed onto an object or onto an athlete's limb segments.…”