Measuring the Impact of Limb Asymmetry on Movement Irregularity and Complexity Changes During an Incremental Step Test in Para-Swimmers Using Inertial Measurement Units
Wearable technology can nowadays be used to improve para-swimming coaching; however, the extent to which individual anatomy affects features of swimming variability is unclear. Six paralympic swimmers were recruited, their upper-limb segment lengths were measured, and their absolute bilateral limb a...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/11/3297 |
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| Summary: | Wearable technology can nowadays be used to improve para-swimming coaching; however, the extent to which individual anatomy affects features of swimming variability is unclear. Six paralympic swimmers were recruited, their upper-limb segment lengths were measured, and their absolute bilateral limb asymmetry indices (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>A</mi><mi>b</mi><mi>s</mi><mi>L</mi><mi>A</mi><mi>I</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>U</mi><mi>L</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) were calculated. They were instrumented with a sacrum-worn inertial measurement unit and performed an in-water, fatiguing, freestyle aerobic test at incrementally faster paces. Stroke-to-stroke outcome and execution variability were calculated, respectively, using sample entropy (SampEn) and fractal dimension (FD) on forward and mediolateral linear acceleration signals. Significantly increased perceived exertion scores (F(4,28) = 154.1, <i>p</i> < 0.001) were observed. Execution and outcome variability increased in the forward (SampEn = F(4,25) = 11.86, <i>p</i> < 0.001; FD = F(4,24) = 6.17, <i>p</i> = 0.001) and mediolateral (SampEn = F(4,25) = 9.46, <i>p</i> < 0.001; FD = F(4,24) = 27.64, <i>p</i> < 0.001) directions. Modelling of FD (only) improved with <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>A</mi><mi>b</mi><mi>s</mi><mi>L</mi><mi>A</mi><mi>I</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>U</mi><mi>L</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> as a covariate (forward = F(1,24) = 9.68, <i>p</i> = 0.005; mediolateral = F(1,24) = 8.57, <i>p</i> = 0.021), suggesting that <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>A</mi><mi>b</mi><mi>s</mi><mi>L</mi><mi>A</mi><mi>I</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>U</mi><mi>L</mi></mrow></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> affects only execution, but not outcome, variability. This information could help coaches determine which coordination indices should be personalized when monitoring variability during para-swimming training. |
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| ISSN: | 1424-8220 |