Haugen T, et al. – The multi–fold intention of this paper was to (a) quantify the magnitude of kinematic stride cycle asymmetry in high–level athletic sprinters, (b) analyze the link between kinematic asymmetry and maximal sprint running performance, and (c) determine the probable correlation between kinematic asymmetry and injury prevalence. The results brought to light the fact that kinematic asymmetries in the stride cycle did not exhibit any relationship with maximal sprint running performance and the prevalence of injury among high–level athletic sprinters.

Methods

• 22 competitive sprinters (age 23 ± 3 year, height 1.81 ± 0.06 m, body mass 75.5 ± 5.6 kg, personal best 100 m 10.86 ± 0.22 seconds) performed 2-3 flying sprints over 20 m.
• Kinematics were recorded in 3D through a motion tracking system with 21 cameras at a 250 Hz sampling rate, permiting the analysis of six consecutive steps for each athlete.
• Information about injuries sustained 1 year before and after the experiment was continuously registered (type, location, severity/duration, and time of year occurrence).

Results

• ≥11 of the 22 enrolled athletes reported large or very large asymmetry for at least 11 of 14 variables.
• All of the athletes exhibited large or very large asymmetry for at least three variables.
• There were no prominent link between individual magnitudes of asymmetry and sprint performance (trivial to moderate).
• There were no notable variations in asymmetry between best and worst trial were observed for any of the analyzed variables.
• The injured and non-injured athletes did not vary in asymmetry, neither for the time period 1 year prior to nor after the test.