An arm swing enhances the proximal-to-distal delay in joint extension during a countermovement jump

An abundance of degrees of freedom (DOF) exist when executing a countermovement jump (CMJ). This research aims to simplify the understanding of this complex system by comparing jump performance and independent functional DOF (fDOF) present in CMJs without (CMJ_NoArms) and with (CMJ_Arms) an arm swing. Principal component analysis was used on 39 muscle forces and 15 3-dimensional joint contact forces obtained from kinematic and kinetic data, analyzed in FreeBody (a segment-based musculoskeletal model). Jump performance was greater in CMJ_Arms with the increased ground contact time resulting in higher external (p = 0.012), hip (p < 0.001) and ankle (p = 0.009) vertical impulses, and slower hip extension enhancing the proximal-to-distal joint extension strategy. This allowed the hip muscles to generate higher forces and greater time-normalized hip vertical impulse (p = 0.006). Three fDOF were found for the muscle forces and 3-dimensional joint contact forces during CMJ_NoArms, while four fDOF were present for CMJ_Arms. This suggests that the underlying anatomy provides mechanical constraints during a CMJ, reducing the demand on the control system. The additional fDOF present in CMJ_Arms suggests that the arms are not mechanically coupled with the lower extremity, resulting in additional variation within individual motor strategies.