The Performance of Standing Long Jump - Case Study Example

August 4, 2008 A KINESIOLOGIAL ANALYSIS OF A STANDING LONG JUMP The standing long jump is an athletic s event. It was an Olympic event until 1912. When an athlete performs a standing long jump, He stands at a line marked on the ground with his feet slightly apart. He takes off and lands on both feet, swinging his arms and bending his knees to provide forward drive. In Olympic rules, the athlete makes three tries, and the longest measured distance is the one that is recorded. The jump must be repeated if the athletes falls back or uses a step at take off. A standing long jump is being used as a functional test to assess leg power, but the test may underestimate the athlete's true potential if the athlete does not use the best possible technique. The most important technique variable is the selection of takeoff angle. A japanese athlete studied the effects of changes in takeoff angle on performance in the standing long jump. The aim was to identify the "optimum take off angle" and to explain the underlying biomechanics of the standing long jump. When indoor arenas were built, the standing long jump began to disappear as an event. Today, the only country where the standing long jump is a national championship event is Norway. The Norwegian Championships in Standing Jumps (long jumps and high jumps) has been held in Stage every winter since 1995. The performance of standing long jump was often used or adopted to examine the fitness of school children, but the tests had frequently underestimated the subject's true potential when the subject did not use the best possible technique. The most important methods that promote the jumping performance is the selection of optimum take off angle and technical use of the arms. In previous researches, many researchers used the force plates to study the long jump and suggested the technique of long jumps. They later concluded that increasing the take off velocity of the jumper's supporting leg would increase the jumping distance. Numerical models were used by other researchers and found there were no significant inclination angles in the magnitude of the peak ground reaction force. Previous standing long jump study, compared body configuration and joint moment analysis in children and adult males. They suggested that skilled 6 year old children have not developed either hip negative work during preparatory movement or body configuration in the flight phase. The difference in body configuration showed the jumping performance and cross-sectional of the skeletal muscle correlate positively. They also verified that standing long jump performance improved when arm movement was employed. In recent studies, researchers investigated the explosive movements concerned mainly with vertical jump. Although jumping for distance received a lot of attention, most of these works were centered on long or triple jump in athletics. There were no attempts to relate the coordination of hands swing and starting knee angles in standing jumping distance. The difference in initial knee angle in the study has not been investigated in other studies. The performance of standing long jump and its relationship to the body configurations as well as the possible other reasons for the difference are still not so clear. Furthermore, there are no information about trajectory of body center of mass in the standing long jump, but other basic motor skills like walking, running , kicking, and vertical jump had been investigated by using the center of mass analysis. The study efforts were directed towards the investigation of the effects on the arm movement and initial knee joint angle employed in standing long jump by the ground reaction force analysis, three dimensional motion analysis, and analyzing changes in the force-time characteristics, magnitude of peak ground reaction forces, impulses generated in preparing phase and mass center's pathway characteristic during standing long jump and investigating how the jump performance is related to the body configuration. In the study and analysis of standing long jump, "kinesiology" comes into the picture. Kinesiology, also known as Human Kinetics. is defined as the science of human movement. It is focused on how the body functions and moves. A kinesiological approach applies to scientific and evidence based medical principles towards the analysis, preservation and enhancement of human movement in all setting and population. Kinesiologists work in research. The fitness industry, clinically, and in industrial invironment. This is not to be confused with Applied kinesiology, an alternative medicine technique. It is an assessment of human movement, performance, and function by applying the sciences of biomechanics, anatomy, physiology and motor learning. Kinesiologist are involved in the rehabilitation, prevention, and management of disorders to maintain, rehabilitate, or enhance movement, function or performance in the areas of sport, recreation, work and exercise. In performing the standing long jump, it is evaluated by the total jump distance, which is the horizontal distance, take off line to the mark made by the heels at landing. The total jump distance is the sum of three component distances: take off distance, flight distance, and landing distance (figure 1) Figure 1. The three component distances that make up the total jump distance The flight distance is the largest component of the total jump distance in the standing long jump. The take off and landing distances makes a significant contributions also. Both of them decrease with increasing take off angle. And reduces the optimum take off angle. In the take off phase, the objective of which is to create a vertical impulse through the athlete's center of gravity while maintaining balance and control. The next phase is the action in the air, or flight. After the take off phase the jumper immediately lifts the legs into a toe-touching position. The final phase is the landing. This is when the jump is measured from the location in which the body contacts the sand closest to the take off point. Figure 2: Body configuration from the initial bend knee position to touch down. In these Figures, four activities were obtained by using the traits performed by one person. (A) (top left panel),description of the kinematics of the mass center of the body in Jumping with restricted arm motion and bending angles of the knee joint of 45 and (B) 90 (top right panel) and two conditions with instruction to make a free motion with (C) bending angles of the knee joint of 45 (bottom left panel) and (D) 90 (bottom right panel). The description of the body center of mass relative to the body configuration at the instant of starting position, preparing phase, push off phase, toe-off phase and touch down. In this figure, four activities were obtained by using the trails performed by one person. Knee joint angles at the preparing phase were 43.18 3.03, 89.22 4.66 in the trials with knee 45 flexion and 90 flexion. Respectively. The difference in joint angles was not obvious between the actual value and estimated value. JOINT ANALYSIS ( before take off) JOINT STARTING POSITION JOINT ACTION OUTSIDE FORCE MUSCLE INVOLVED TYPE OF CONTRACTION ANKLE Slight dorsiflexion Dorsiflexion Sagital/ Bilateral Soleus Concentric KNEE Flexed Flexion Sagital/ Bilateral Rectum/ Femoris Eccentric HIP Flexed Flexion Sagital/ Bilateral Tibialis Anterior Eccentric PELVIS --------------- --------------- ---------------- --------------------- JOINT ANALYSIS (During take off) JOINT JOINT ACTION OUTSIDE FORCE MUSCLE INVOLVED TYPE OF CONTRACTION ANKLE Plantarflexion Sagital/ Bilateral Flexor Digitoruim longus Eccentric KNEE Extension Sagital/ Bilateral Peronous longus Eccentric HIP Extension Sagital/ Bilateral Tibialis Posterior Eccentric Pelvis ------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------------- JOINT ANALYSIS (during flight) JOINT JOINT ACTION OUTSIDE FORCE MUSCLE INVOLVED TYPE OF CONTRACTION ANKLE Dorsiflexon Sagital/ Bilateral Peroneus longus Concentric KNEE Flexion Sagital/ Bilateral Vastus intermedius Concentric HIP Flexion Sagital/ Bilateral Rectus Femoris Concentric PELVIS ------------------ Sagital/ Bilateral ------------------ ---------------------- JOINT ACTION (During landing) JOINT JOINT ACTION OUTSIDE FORCE MUSCLE INVOLVED TYPE OF CONTRACTION KNEE Dorsiflexion Sagital/ Bilateral Soleus Concentric KNEE Flexion Sagital/ Bilateral Rectum femoris Eccentric HIP Flexion Sagital/ Bilateral Tibialis Posterior Eccentric PELVIS ------------------ Sagital/ Bilateral ------------------- ------------------- CONCLUSION In the very fundamental premise of kinesiology, the body has innate healing energy . It is at all times doing its best to care for it self, but that it needs to be helped into a better position to achieve this care. More so, it also recognizes that there are flows of energy within the body that releases not only the muscles but to every tissue and organ that go to make the body a living , feeling well being. It is concerned with the embalances in the body's energy. In this respect kinesiology has close links with the acupuncture concept of energy flow. Studies in the field of kinesiology suggests that working with individuals with disabling conditions helps them in regaining their optimal physical function. Having physiotherapist alongside, kinesiologists work in fitness facilities, rehabilitation clinics. They recommend and provide action plans to return an injured individual to their optimal function in all aspects of life. Therefore, kinesiology may be understood as a system or a way of natural health care which allow the monitoring of the muscles, combining with the principle of the Chinese medicines to assess energy and body function, with the application of a range of gentle yet powerful healing techniques to improve health, wellbeing and vitality. REFERENCES 1. Wakai M. and Linthorne N>P> "optimum take off angle in the standing long Jump" Human Movement Science 24(1) 81-96 (2005 2. Falk B. Cohen Y, Lustig G. LanderY. Yaaron M. and Ayanon J; Tacking of Physical fitness components in boys and girls from the second to sixth grades American Journal of Human Biology 2001; 13 (!) 65 -67. 3. SEyfarth A. Blickhan R. and Van Lecuwen, L. Optimum take-off technique And muscle design for ling jump, Jpurnal of Experimental Biology 2000.; 203 p.4: 741-50 4. Ashby BM and Heegard, H. Role of Arm Motion in the Standing long jump, Journal of Biomechanics 2002; 35;1631-7 5. Miller DI. And Nelson RC; Biomechanics of Sport: A Research Approach Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, 1973. Read More