THREE-DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF ARM IMPACT DURING GYMNASTIC BACK HANDSPRINGS IN CHILDREN

Abstract

Many gymnastic activities involve weight-bearing impacts onto the hands, and these repetitive compressive forces have been found to lead to both acute and chronic injuries to the wrists (Howse, 1994). In an earlier study, we modelled saggittal motion of arm impacts for children performing gymnastic handsprings and dive rolls using a rheological model (Davidson et al, 2005). We are in the process of conducting a 3-dimensional analysis of impact to further refine our model.