Three-dimensional upper limb joint kinetics during the release phase of the shot put and their relevance to...

Shot put exhibits an upper limb coordinated "pushing", which is a common motor task with the lower limb. Proximal muscle function is recognised to be related to motor performance more than distal muscle function, but this has been confirmed directly only in the lower limb and the upper limb may exhibit different developmental aspects and mechanical demands. Here we show the strong correlation of the distal joint kinetics with the flight distance by analysing the motion of 13 male shot putters. The flight distance was correlated with both peak torque and peak power at the wrist joint (r or ρ > 0.70) and only peak torque at the humerothoracic joint (r = 0.75). Meanwhile, the elbow joint exerted flexion torque and neither torque nor power were correlated with the flight distance (|r| or |ρ| < 0.55). We provide the practical implications for shot putters regarding the association of both torque and power exertion at the wrist and only torque exertion at the shoulder to the shot-put performance. Our findings differ from the current recognition based on previous lower-limb studies which did not indicate the distal joint importance. We open new perspectives on training strategies to maximise upper limb motor performance.