Kinematic comparison of the preferred and non-preferred foot punt kick

Abstract

Kicking with the non-preferred leg is important in Australian Football and becoming important in the rugby codes. The aim of this study was to examine differences between preferred and non-preferred leg kicking in the drop punt kick. Seventeen elite Australian Football players performed kicks with the preferred and non-preferred leg. Optotrak Certus collected kinematic data of the kick leg and pelvis (200 Hz) from kick leg toe-off until ball contact. Foot speed, knee and shank angular velocity at ball contact, and pelvis range of motion were significantly larger for the preferred leg (P < 0.05). In contrast, hip and thigh angular velocity at ball contact and hip range of motion were significantly larger for the non-preferred leg. This indicates different movement patterns, with preferred-leg kicks making greater use of the pelvis, knee, and shank while non-preferred leg kicks rely relatively more on the hip and thigh (P < 0.05). Reasons for this difference might be due to locking degrees of freedom or sub-optimal sequencing in the non-preferred leg. The thigh-knee continuum identified by Ball ( 2008 ) was also evident in this study. Findings have implications for training non-preferred leg kicking for performance and injury prevention.

Bilateral Leg Differences in Soccer Kick Kinematics Following Exhaustive Running Fatigue

“…Previous studies have reported dynamic balance asymmetry during soccer specific tasks that explained differences between the preferred and the non-preferred leg (23). Therefore, our results are in agreement with previous studies indicating that kicking with the preferred leg is generally faster compared with the non-preferred leg (4,5,7,24). This was attributed a lower amount of work done on the shank (5), a lower knee muscle moment and angular impulse (7) and hip and pelvis movement control deficiencies when using the nonpreferred leg (24).…”

“…Therefore, our results are in agreement with previous studies indicating that kicking with the preferred leg is generally faster compared with the non-preferred leg (4,5,7,24). This was attributed a lower amount of work done on the shank (5), a lower knee muscle moment and angular impulse (7) and hip and pelvis movement control deficiencies when using the nonpreferred leg (24). Further, bilateral leg differences in knee strength have been previously reported (25).…”

“…that kicking with the non-preferred leg is characterized by a different inter-segmental motion pattern than the preferred one (4,5,24,25). However, Nunome et al (7) reported no difference in inter-segmental moments between preferred and non-preferred leg kicking.…”

Differences in plantarflexor function during a stretch-shortening cycle task due to limb preference

“…An understanding of these asymmetries and establishment of the level of asymmetry in healthy individuals is important to avoid potential injury (Knapik, Bauman, Jones, Harris, & Vaughan, 1991) and aid in the monitoring of rehabilitation programmes. Knowledge of the kinematic and kinetic characteristics of the weaker or lesser skilled limb is also important in guiding skill development and enhancing performance (Ball, 2011). Kinematic and kinetic asymmetries in healthy individuals have been observed at the ankle, knee and hip during walking and running tasks by several authors (Bredeweg, Buist, & Kluitenberg, 2013;Exell, Irwin, Gittoes, & Kerwin, 2012;Korhonen et al, 2010).…”

Effect of hamstring injuries on kicking in football = Efecto de las lesiones de los isquiotibiales en el golpeo del fútbol

“…These results partly contradict findings from previous dynamic kicking analyses in 5 highly skilled male under-17 players (Nunome, Ikegami, et al, 2006) and in 7 skilled male players (Dorge et al, 2002) No inter-limb differences in the ground reaction and support leg forces were observed in the two types of kicks as previously observed in Australian football (Ball, 2011). However, the delays in the dominant limb kicks across the various groups are an important result of this study.…”