Relationship between Sprint Capacity and Acceleration of Wrists in Wheelchair Basketball Players: Design and Reliability of a New Protocol

Abstract

The application of new technologies in wheelchair basketball (WB) is important for the advancement and improvement of athletic performance. The purposes of this study are twofold: (a) to develop a methodological design in order to assess WB players’ performance, using wireless inertial measurement units (WIMU®) and a laser system (BioLaserSport® with computer vision), in a 20 m sprint test on court and (b) to assess bilateral symmetry as a performance indicator and for injury prevention purposes, the study of which in previous research is unknown. For both aims, the relation of the acceleration of the players’ wrists to the speed achieved by the player in the wheelchair was explored. Ten elite WB players participated in an on-court 20 m sprint test during real training. BioLaserSport® with computer vision was used to assess the average velocity (Va) and maximum velocity (Vmax) of the WB players, and two WIMU® were used for the total acceleration (AcelT) of the players’ wrists. A very high correlation was obtained in the assessment of the Va (0.97) and AcelT of both wrists (0.90 and 0.85). There was a significant relationship between the average AcelT of the dominant wrist and the Va on-court sprint velocity (p < 0.05). Two players did not show good wrist symmetry. In conclusion, a new methodological protocol was developed, making it possible to assess the bilateral symmetries in elite WB players in on-court real training and the relation between the acceleration of players’ wrists and players’ wheelchair speed. Coaches can use this protocol to assess performance or for injury prevention, as it shows very good reliability, with high ICC values.

With or without straps? A pilot study to investigate whether restraint devices affect the wheelchair basketball players' performance

“…Specifically, the speed gain revealed in the 20-m straight line test could be attributed to an increase in trunk stability that leads to powerful movements arising from the shoulder and the wrist muscles. 17,18 In fact, the upper body kinetic chain links the pelvis, trunk, shoulder, arm, and wrist muscles explaining that movement is a complex of muscular and articular activation from different body segments. 19 After the human movement concept of proximal to distal sequencing, 20 the action of driving the wheelchair requires that the maximal acceleration is supplied to the end of the linked segments, that is the hand, by the anatomical segments that precede it proximally.…”

Most frequent tests in the literature for the evaluation of physical qualities in elite level Paralympic wheelchair basketball: a systematic review

“…On the other hand, authors (Bergamini et al, 2015) indicate the importance of an adequate propulsion symmetry as an indicator value related to sports performance and possible injuries using the 20m Sprint test with inertia measurement units. Similarly, Ferro et al (2021) is a relationship between the speed of movement of the players and the acceleration generated from the players' wrists.…”

“…In terms of attempts, there are studies in which athletes perform two repetitions (Molik et al, 2013;Marszalek et al, 2019) and research applying three (De groot, 2012;Granados et al, 2018;Yanci et al, 2018). It is important to consider the dominant wrist acceleration in the test as an indicator of higher acceleration, so states Ferro et al (2021), where it is shown that there is a significant relationship between the average acceleration of the dominant wrist and the average speed of the wheelchair player, being this relationship stronger at the beginning (0-3 m).…”

Automatic Markerless Motion Detector Method against Traditional Digitisation for 3-Dimensional Movement Kinematic Analysis of Ball Kicking in Soccer Field Context

“…Currently, among the tools available to examine kicking movement performance, video analysis originates the most objective and sensitive kinematic metrics, which are not always captured by only visual ratings [5]. In fact, video analysis has been used in some other research fields (e.g., animal displacement detection and analysis), as well as in a range of sports [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. However, while ecologically valid assessment protocols using an on-field multiple-camera setup (such as high-speed action sport cameras [15]) have made it possible to record the three-dimensional and open nature of soccer kicks, flexible/reliable and boosting image processing methods are still required to provide useful information to practitioners in due time [3,16,17].…”