Effects of String Stiffness on Muscle Fatigue After a Simulated Tennis Match

• Autores: Jean Bernard Fabre, Vincent Martin, Gil Borelli, Laurent Grelot, Jean Theurel
• Localización: Journal of applied biomechanics, ISSN-e 1543-2688, ISSN 1065-8483, Vol. 30, Nº. 3, 2014, págs. 401-406
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • We tested the influence of string stiffness on the occurrence of forearm muscle fatigue during a tennis match. Sixteen tennis players performed two prolonged simulated tennis matches with low-stiffness or high-stiffness string. Before and immediately after exercise, muscle fatigability was evaluated on the forearm muscles during a maximal intermittent gripping task. Groundstroke ball speeds and the profile of acceleration of the racquet frame at collision were recorded during each match. The peak-to-peak amplitude of acceleration and the resonant frequency of the frame were significantly greater with high- (5060 ± 1892 m/s2 and 204 ± 29 Hz, respectively) than with low-stiffness string (4704 ± 1671 m/s2 and 191 ± 16 Hz, respectively). The maximal and the averaged gripping forces developed during the gripping task were significantly reduced after the tennis match with high- (–15 ± 14%, and –22 ± 14%, respectively), but not with low-stiffness string. The decrease of ball speed during the simulated matches tended to be greater with high- than with low-stiffness string (P = .06). Hence, playing tennis with high-stiffness string promotes forearm muscle fatigue development, which could partly contribute to the groundstroke ball speed decrement during the game.

    Keywords: sport engineering, electromyography, gripping force, impact, racquet Authors: