[Biomechanical and functional comparison of kayaking by abled-disabled athletes]

Introduction: During kayaking, the whole body works in a perfect harmony. While the trunk is doing a rotation, flexion-extension helps to the upper limb to create a special cyclic paddle. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the physical disabled (later disabled) person's kayaking motions and to probe whether there were any significant differences between disabled and non-disabled kayakers with special focus on the use of footrest. We hypothesised significantly different ranges of motion and muscle activity in lower limbs but no significant differences in those of the upper limbs. Aim: Our goal was to know more about the abled and disbled kayaking and compare the athlete's kayaking movements. Method: Thirteen (n = 13) elite disabled athletes (age range: 18-40 years, height range: 164-194 cm, body mass range:74-93 kg), eleven (n = 11) elite non-disabled athletes (age range: 18-40 years, height range:172-197 cm, body mass range: 72-96 kg) and nine (n = 9) athletes whose movements were artificially limited to imitate disabled conditions("imitation disabled" group) (age range: 18-40 years, height range: 172-197 cm, body mass range: 72-96 kg) were measured. Weba sport kayak ergometer, surface electromyography (EMG), and a 3-dimensional Vicon (MX T40) camera system were used to record the data, and a combined Matlab and MS Excel system was used to analyse the results. Results: In line with our basic assumption, range of motion of the upper limbs was not significantly different between disabled athletes and non-disabled athletes (p ≥ 0.05). However, muscle activities were significantly different in the disabled group compared to the non-disabled group (p ≤ 0.05). In the disabled group the knee joint and trunk motions and muscle activities were also significantly different compared to those in the non-disabled group (p ≤ 0.05). The differences in performance force applied to both footrests and force were significant (p ≤ 0.05). Discussion: The assumption that shoulder and elbow ranges of motion were not significantly different in disabled athletes compared to non-disabled athletes was proven. However, muscle activities were significantly different in the disabled group. In the disabled group, knee and trunk motions and muscle activities were also significantly different compared to the non-disabled group. Significant differences were found in performance, force and footrest use. Our results proved our assumption that motions and muscle activities of disabled and non-disabled athletes were significantly different. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(52): 2061-2066.