High vibration transfer from a tennis racquet to the player may cause discomfort,and is hypothesized to influence performance and the onset of muscle fatigue.This study examined a racquet with a novel vibration dampin...High vibration transfer from a tennis racquet to the player may cause discomfort,and is hypothesized to influence performance and the onset of muscle fatigue.This study examined a racquet with a novel vibration damping technology(VDT)designed to mitigate frame vibration.Racquet vibration,post-impact vibration transfer to the player,arm electromyographic activity and tennis performance were compared to a non-VDT racquet.Nineteen young adult,competitive tennis players hit forehands and serves until near exhaustion on two days;using one of the two racquets each day.Tri-axial accelerometers mounted to racquet shaft,hand and forearm recorded vibration behaviour.Surface electromyography recorded activity of five arm muscles.In comparison to the non-VDT racquet,the VDT design showed:1)A significantly lower mean normalised acceleration signal energy at the racquet during unfatigued play(-40%)and at near exhaustion(-34%),which corresponded to a 20–25%lower signal energy at the hand.2)Reduced signs of arm muscle fatigue at near exhaustion,which was most pronounced in biceps and wrist extensors.3)Players hit 11%more forehands and placed 40%more hits in the target area at near exhaustion.Conclusion:VDT effectively reduces racquet vibration.Initial evidence indicates that it may delay muscle fatigue,which was associated with increased ball placement accuracy.展开更多
文摘High vibration transfer from a tennis racquet to the player may cause discomfort,and is hypothesized to influence performance and the onset of muscle fatigue.This study examined a racquet with a novel vibration damping technology(VDT)designed to mitigate frame vibration.Racquet vibration,post-impact vibration transfer to the player,arm electromyographic activity and tennis performance were compared to a non-VDT racquet.Nineteen young adult,competitive tennis players hit forehands and serves until near exhaustion on two days;using one of the two racquets each day.Tri-axial accelerometers mounted to racquet shaft,hand and forearm recorded vibration behaviour.Surface electromyography recorded activity of five arm muscles.In comparison to the non-VDT racquet,the VDT design showed:1)A significantly lower mean normalised acceleration signal energy at the racquet during unfatigued play(-40%)and at near exhaustion(-34%),which corresponded to a 20–25%lower signal energy at the hand.2)Reduced signs of arm muscle fatigue at near exhaustion,which was most pronounced in biceps and wrist extensors.3)Players hit 11%more forehands and placed 40%more hits in the target area at near exhaustion.Conclusion:VDT effectively reduces racquet vibration.Initial evidence indicates that it may delay muscle fatigue,which was associated with increased ball placement accuracy.
