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Updated: Aug 29, 2025
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Combining Volumetric Capnography And Barometric Plethysmography To Measure The Lung Structure-function Relationship
Published on: January 8, 2019
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Projected frontal area and its components during front crawl depend on lung volume
Sohei Washino1, Akihiko Murai1,2, Hirotoshi Mankyu3
1Human Augmentation Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan.
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
|September 10, 2022
Summary
Increasing lung volume in swimmers improves body position and reduces frontal area. This research shows how lung volume impacts swimming hydrodynamics, benefiting athletic performance.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Biomechanics
- Human Physiology
Background:
- Lung volume significantly influences a swimmer's body position and drag.
- Understanding these effects is crucial for optimizing swimming technique and performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of lung volume on vertical body position, trunk inclination, and projected frontal area (PFA) in front crawl swimming.
- To analyze the inter-relationships between these kinematic factors.
Main Methods:
- Twelve elite male swimmers performed front crawl at a set velocity with varied lung volumes (maximal inspiration, expiration, intermediate).
- A digital human model, integrating 3D scanning and underwater motion capture, calculated vertical center of mass (CoM) position, trunk inclination, and PFA.
- PFA was determined via automated analysis of reconstructed digital human models.
Main Results:
- Higher lung volume correlated with a higher vertical CoM position (p < 0.01).
- Trunk inclination was reduced during inspiration and intermediate lung volumes compared to expiration (p < 0.01).
- Projected frontal area (PFA) decreased with increased lung volume (p < 0.01), influenced by CoM position and trunk inclination interactions (p = 0.006).
Conclusions:
- Increased lung volume enhances swimming hydrodynamics by raising the center of mass and reducing trunk inclination, thereby decreasing projected frontal area.
- These findings offer insights into optimizing swimming efficiency through respiratory control.
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