Effect of initial posture on biomechanical adjustments associated with a voluntary leg movement in rock climbers

This study compares the biomechanical adjustments following a leg displacement in vertical and horizontal position on expert rock climbers. The results show a non-diagonal pattern in the vertical condition and a diagonal one in the horizontal condition. A multi-link analysis shows that the non-diagonal pattern displayed by expert climbers in the vertical condition resulted in a new distribution of body weight to preserve the possibility of moving any limb from the three legged stance. Conversely, in the horizontal condition, the diagonal pattern appears to be strongly dominated by mechanical and anthropometric factors.