Quantifying wrist angular excursion on impact for Jab and Hook lead arm shots in boxing

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Biomechanics
• Orthopedics

Background:

• Hand injuries are prevalent in boxing, leading to significant time loss.
• Wrist flexion is implicated in boxing-related hand injuries, but kinematic data is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify wrist kinematics during the impact phase of boxing punches.
• To investigate differences in wrist motion between Jab and Hook punches.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an electromagnetic tracking system for in-vivo analysis.
• Assessed wrist motion in 29 elite boxers performing Jab and Hook shots.
• Measured wrist flexion and ulnar deviation angles at impact.

Main Results:

• Both Jab and Hook shots exhibited concurrent wrist flexion and ulnar deviation upon impact.
• Jab shots showed significantly greater wrist flexion (9.3° ± 1.9°) and ulnar deviation (4.7° ± 1.2°) compared to Hook shots (5.5° ± 1.1° and 3.3° ± 1.1°, respectively).
• Wrist motion during impact represented a substantial portion of the total available active range of motion (>30% for Jab, >20% for Hook).

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first quantitative data on wrist kinematics in boxing impact.
• The observed wrist motion patterns, particularly the greater angles in Jab punches, may contribute to understanding boxing hand injury mechanisms.
• Findings support the need for further research into injury prevention strategies targeting wrist biomechanics.