Noninvasive Method of Force Estimation of Lower Limb Muscles in Cricket Fast Bowlers: Can This be an Application to Minimize Potential Injury?

JOURNAL TITLE: Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, Education and Research

Author
1. Sivaraman Arumugam
2. Abhishek K Tiwari
3. Subham Badhyal
4. Mandeep Dhillon
5. Sidak Dhillon
6. Keddin Alwar Thiagarajan
ISSN
2277-8969
DOI
10.5005/jp-journals-10028-1410
Volume
54
Issue
4
Publishing Year
2020
Pages
5
Author Affiliations
    1. TOPS, Sports Authority of India, New Delhi, India
    1. Department of Applied Mechanics, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
    1. Department of Orthopaedics, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India
    1. Department of Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
    1. Department of Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
    1. Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Chandigarh, India
    2. PGIMER, Chandigarh, India
    3. Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India
  • Article keywords

    Abstract

    Background: Musculoskeletal modeling uses experimental data (motion capture data, both kinematics and kinetics) as an input to estimate the internal loading conditions; this noninvasive method is being validated by the research community for various activities and sports. With the heightened interest in Cricket in the Indian subcontinent, lower limb injuries are being increasingly documented in fast bowlers in cricket. The knowledge of muscular loading in lower limb during fast bowling has the potential to provide more insight into the mechanism of injury and help in prevention and management of the injury. Aims: We aimed to document the muscle and joint contact forces in lower limbs of fast bowlers to see if these could act as indirect determinants to prognosticate injury potential. Materials and methods: Experimental gait data from four Indian male state-level fast bowlers with no musculoskeletal injury in the past 6 months were collected in a gait laboratory. Both kinematic and kinetic data were collected using Plug-in Gait marker protocol. Inverse kinematics and inverse dynamics were used on the processed data to predict the internal joint loads. Static optimization was then used to estimate the muscle loading in the lower limb using OpenSim. Results and discussion: Peak front foot vertical ground reaction forces were between 5.86 and 9.10 BW (body weight). Based on the kinematic and kinetic input, the forces induced in the muscles and their loading pattern for front lower limb were determined. This loading information (muscle force pattern) could act as an input for subject-specific interventions. Conclusion: This study provides an insight to understand the lower limb muscular loading in fast bowlers. This information can be utilized by the sport scientists and medical professionals to access the injury in a more subject-specific manner. This quantitative information on lower limb loading at various joints will help in designing efficient strengthening and rehabilitation protocol for individual fast bowler.

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