Effect of Central Motor and Neuromuscular Impairments on Front Crawl Body Roll Characteristics of Para Swimmers

Yu-Hsien Lee; Dawn Nicola O’Dowd; Luke Hogarth; Brendan Burkett; Carl Payton

doi:10.1186/s40798-025-00885-y

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Effect of Central Motor and Neuromuscular Impairments on Front Crawl Body Roll Characteristics of Para Swimmers

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Effect of Central Motor and Neuromuscular Impairments on Front Crawl Body Roll Characteristics of Para Swimmers

Yu-Hsien Lee, Dawn Nicola O’Dowd, Luke Hogarth, Brendan Burkett and Carl Payton

Sports Medicine - Open, Vol.11(1), pp.1-12

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-025-00885-y

PMCID: PMC12316653

PMID: 40750703

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Abstract

para swimming

biomechanics

classification

motor impairment

trunk rotation

Background Rotation of the trunk about its long axis or ‘body roll’ is essential for maximising front crawl swimming performance yet research on how physical impairment affects body roll is extremely limited. This study quantifies body roll kinematics in swimmers with and without central motor and neuromuscular impairments (CMNI). It was hypothesised that body roll kinematics differ between CMNI and non-disabled swimmers, are associated with sport class (level of impairment) and are influenced by upper and lower-limb functional levels. Methods Three-dimensional motion analysis of 27 CMNI (sport classes 2–9) and 13 non-disabled competitive swimmers at 100–200 m race pace provided body roll kinematics, including shoulder and hip roll ranges and torso twist. Health conditions of the CMNI group were cerebral palsy (n = 12), spinal cord injury (n = 10) and neuromuscular disorders (n = 5). CMNI swimmers were divided into three upper-limb [mild (n = 9), moderate (n = 9), severe (n = 9)] and three lower-limb function subgroups [bilateral (n = 2), unilateral (n = 6), without kick (n = 19)] based on their Froude efficiency (a measure of how effectively upper limbs contribute to propulsion) and the number of lower limbs actively kicking during trials, respectively. Results The CMNI group exhibited lower shoulder roll range (104 ± 11° vs. 88 ± 21°, p < 0.05) and torso twist (58 ± 13° vs. 48 ± 22°, p < 0.05) but greater hip roll range (62 ± 10° vs. 75 ± 29°, p < 0.05) than the non-disabled group. Statistical non-parametric mapping revealed less shoulder roll from 0 to 28%, less hip roll from 0 to 10%, greater hip roll from 91 to 100%, and less torso twist from 15 to 32% and from 75 to 81% of the cycle, in the CMNI than the non-disabled group (p < 0.05). CMNI body roll patterns varied widely, but discrete and continuous variables did not differ between upper-limb subgroups or between lower-limb subgroups. Conclusions CMNI swimmers exhibit different body roll patterns to non-disabled swimmers. The study findings can be used to inform Para swimming coaches and improve the sport-specificity of land-based and water-based assessments currently used to classify CMNI swimmers.

Details

Title: Effect of Central Motor and Neuromuscular Impairments on Front Crawl Body Roll Characteristics of Para Swimmers
Authors: Yu-Hsien Lee (Corresponding Author) - Manchester Metropolitan University
Dawn Nicola O’Dowd - Manchester Metropolitan University
Luke Hogarth - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Sports & Exercise Science
Brendan Burkett - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Sports & Exercise Science
Carl Payton - Manchester Metropolitan University
Publication details: Sports Medicine - Open, Vol.11(1), pp.1-12
Publisher: SpringerOpen
Date published: 2025
DOI: 10.1186/s40798-025-00885-y
ISSN: 2198-9761
PMID: 40750703; PMC12316653
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Data Availability: The data that support the findings of this study can be accessible from the corresponding author upon request.
Grant note: This work was supported by funding from World Para Swimming, UK Sport and Aquatics GB.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Sports & Exercise Science; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991149481702621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Sport Sciences