Influence of figure skating skates on vertical jumping performance

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Sports Science
• Human Movement Analysis

Background:

• Vertical jump performance is crucial in many sports.
• Interjoint coordination, including sequencing and timing of joint rotations, influences jump height.
• The impact of specialized equipment like figure skating skates on biomechanics is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how wearing figure skating skates affects vertical jump performance.
• To analyze the influence of skates on interjoint coordination, specifically joint rotation sequencing and timing.
• To compare jump performance and coordination in barefoot, weight-lifting, and skates conditions.

Main Methods:

• Ten elite figure skaters performed squat jumps (SJ) on a force platform.
• Filming captured kinematic data under three conditions: barefoot (BF), lifting equivalent skate weight (LW), and wearing skates (SK).
• Analysis included jump height, angular kinematics, and joint kinetics.

Main Results:

• Vertical jump height decreased significantly in the weight-lifting (2.1 cm) and skates (5.5 cm) conditions compared to barefoot.
• Skates restricted ankle range of motion, limiting knee amplitude but not affecting hip motion.
• While the proximo-distal joint coordination sequence remained similar, the timing shifted: increased delay between hip-knee extension and reduced delay between knee-ankle extension.
• Work output at the knee and ankle joints was significantly reduced when wearing skates.

Conclusions:

• Wearing figure skating skates significantly impairs vertical jump performance.
• Limited ankle plantar flexion due to skates minimizes knee joint contribution during the jump.
• This constraint forces a redistribution of work output to the hip and ankle joints, altering interjoint coordination timing.