SHOULDER MUSCLE USE IN CRAWL STROKE DIFFERS BETWEEN EACH SWIMMER

Monteil, K. M., Rouard, A. H., Dufour, A.B., Cappaert, J. M., & Troup, J. P. (1996). Swimmers' shoulder: EMG of the rotators during a flume test. In J. P. Troup, A. P. Hollander, D. Strasse, S. W. Trappe, J. M. Cappaert, & T. A. Trappe (Eds.), Biomechanics and medicine in swimming VII (pp. 83-89). London: E & FN Spon.

Male swimmers (N = 9) performed a 400 yd crawl-stroke swim in a flume at maximal intensity. Six shoulder rotator muscles were measured with an EMG. Data were analyzed using standardized principal component analysis.

Results showed a great discrepancy between Ss. No predominance of internal or external rotator groups was observed. The relationships between the muscles were different at the beginning and end of the stroke.

Implication. This investigation was not able to delimit muscle use, activation, or functions in phases in crawl-stroke swimming. This highlights the individual nature of the techniques of swimming and indicates that attempting to represent all swimmers with one model is a dubious pursuit.

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