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Use of pressure distribution analysis to estimate fluid forces around a foot during breaststroke kicking

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Abstract

The aims of this study were twofold: first, use a robotic leg to investigate the reliability of estimating fluid forces acting on the foot during breaststroke kicking and second, test the utility for actual human swimmer’s kicking. In this study, fluid forces were estimated from the measurement of pressure distribution around a foot. In the first experiment, the reliability of the estimated measurements was evaluated in a series of experiments using a robotic leg that can reproduce breaststroke-kicking motions. The resulting estimates correlated significantly with the fluid force acting on the foot model that was measured by a load cell (r = 0.62−0.92). In the second experiment, breaststroke-kicking motions of human swimmers were analyzed using the methodology tested in the first experiment. The estimated fluid forces showed significant correlation with the velocities of the human swimmers (r = 0.87). Furthermore, this methodology can monitor intra-cycle force fluctuations. We conclude that the present methodology can be used to evaluate breaststroke-kicking motions quantitatively, thereby assisting swimmers and their coaches in better understanding of breaststroke kicking.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant-in-aid of Yamaha motor foundation for sports. The authors wish to acknowledge Professor Shozo Tsubakimoto, Dr. Yasuo Sengoku, and Dr. Shigetada Kudo for their kind supports and comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tennodai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8574, Japan

    Takaaki Tsunokawa & Hideki Takagi

  2. Department of Mechanical and Control Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Oookayama 2-12-1-I3-9 (3-406), Meguro, Tokyo, 152-8552, Japan

    Motomu Nakashima

Authors
  1. Takaaki Tsunokawa
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  2. Motomu Nakashima
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  3. Hideki Takagi
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Correspondence to Takaaki Tsunokawa.

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Tsunokawa, T., Nakashima, M. & Takagi, H. Use of pressure distribution analysis to estimate fluid forces around a foot during breaststroke kicking. Sports Eng 18, 149–156 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-015-0174-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-015-0174-6

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