Comparison of Kicking Speeds Between Competitive Swimmers with Flat and Normal Feet in Selangor, Malaysia
-
Anita Yeoh Balakrishnan
,
Viswanath Sundar
,
Sharmila Gopala Krishna Pillai
,
Sumedha Singh
,
Vinodhkumar Ramalingam
Abstract
Introduction: Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports. Although studies indicate that explored flat feet improved running performance, research on foot types and their impact on swimming is scarce and unexplored. This study investigates the difference between flutter kicking speed among competitive swimmers with flat and standard feet.
Materials and Methods: A total of 78 competitive swimmers in the age range of 13 to 19 years were recruited from Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan swimming training using a purposive sampling method and a cross-sectional study design. Based on their navicular drop test scores, the participants were categorized as flat-footed (group A) and normal-footed (group B). An independent t-test was applied to compare the kicking speeds between flat-footed and normal-footed swimmers. The swimmers in group A and group B were instructed to perform a standard 50-m kicking front crawl performance with the upper limb placed over the sliding board individually in a swimming pool, and their reaching time was recorded using a stopwatch.
Results: The results indicated flat-foot swimmers’ front crawl kicking performance was faster than normal-foot swimmers’ (P=0.03) with a medium effect size (d=0.50).
Conclusion: This study concludes that flat-footed competitive swimmers have an advantage in reaching 50 m in less time than normal-footed swimmers.
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27. Bordin D, De Giorgi G, Mazzocco G, Rigon F. Flat and cavus foot, indexes of obesity and overweight in a population of primary-school children. Minerva Pediatrica. 2001; 53(1):7-13. [PMID]
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29. Marinho DA, Oliveira R, Garrido ND, Barbosa TM, Costa MJ, Silva AJ, et al. The relationship between front crawl performance and hydrodynamics in young female swimmers. Biomechanics in Sports. 2011; 11 (Suppl. 2):323-6. [Link]
30. Nasirzade A, Ehsanbakhsh A, Argavani H, Sobhkhiz A, Aliakbari M. Selected anthropometrical, muscular architecture, and biomechanical variables as predictors of 50-m performance of front crawl swimming in young male swimmers. Science & Sports. 2014; 29(5):e75-81. [DOI:10.1016/j.scispo.2013.09.008]
31. Peter M, Martina M, Romana P. The impact of special strength intervention in water on the flutter kicking performance in swimming. Journal of Physical Education and Sport. 2020; 20(02):774-82. [Link]
32. Watkins J. The effects of leg action on performance in the sprint front crawl stroke. Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming. 1983; 310-4. [Link]
33. Takabayashi T, Edama M, Inai T, Kubo M. Shank and rearfoot coordination and its variability during running in flatfoot. Journal of Biomechanics. 2021; 115:110119. [DOI:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.110119] [PMID]
2. Hulteen RM, Smith JJ, Morgan PJ, Barnett LM, Hallal PC, Colyvas K, et al. Global participation in sport and leisure-time physical activities: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Preventive Medicine. 2017; 95:14-25. [DOI:10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.11.027] [PMID]
3. Aspenes ST, Karlsen T. Exercise-training intervention studies in competitive swimming. Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). 2012; 42(6):527-43. [DOI:10.2165/11630760-000000000-00000] [PMID]
4. Del Castillo JA, González-Ravé JM, Perona FH, Del Cerro JS, Pyne DB. The importance of the previous season performance on world-class 200-and 400-m individual medley swimming. Biology of Sport. 2022; 39(1):45-51. [DOI:10.5114/biolsport.2022.103573] [PMID]
5. Trewin CB, Hopkins WG, Pyne DB. Relationship between world-ranking and Olympic performance of swimmers. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2004; 22(4):339-45. [DOI:10.1080/02640410310001641610] [PMID]
6. Morouço PG, Marinho DA, Izquierdo M, Neiva H, Marques MC. Relative contribution of arms and legs in 30 s fully tethered front crawl swimming. BioMed Research International. 2015; 2015:563206. [DOI:10.1155/2015/563206] [PMID]
7. Mason P. Swim better, swim faster. London: Bloomsbury Publishing; 2014. [Link]
8. Swaine IL, Hunter AM, Carlton KJ, Wiles JD, Coleman D. Reproducibility of limb power outputs and cardiopulmonary responses to exercise using a novel swimming training machine. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 2010; 31(12):854-9. [DOI:10.1055/s-0030-1265175] [PMID]
9. McCullough AS, Kraemer WJ, Volek JS, Solomon-Hill GF Jr, Hatfield DL, Vingren JL, et al. Factors affecting flutter kicking speed in women who are competitive and recreational swimmers. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2009; 23(7):2130-6. [DOI:10.1519/JSC.0b013e31819ab977] [PMID]
10. Williams DS, McClay IS. Measurements used to characterize the foot and the medial longitudinal arch: Reliability and validity. Physical Therapy. 2000; 80(9):864-71. [DOI:10.1093/ptj/80.9.864]
11. Kolasinski SL, Neogi T, Hochberg MC, Oatis C, Guyatt G, Block J, et al. 2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation guideline for the management of osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee. Arthritis & Rheumatology. 2020; 72(2):220-33. [DOI:10.1002/art.41142] [PMID]
12. Bates KT, Collins D, Savage R, McClymont J, Webster E, Pataky TC, et al. The evolution of compliance in the human lateral mid-foot. Proceedings. Biological Sciences. 2013; 280(1769):20131818. [DOI:10.1098/rspb.2013.1818] [PMID]
13. Parash MTH, Naushaba H, Rahman MA, Shimmi SC. Types of foot arch of adult Bangladeshi male. American Journal of Medical Sciences and Medicine. 2013; 1(4):52-4. [DOI:10.12691/ajmsm-1-4-1]
14. Knapik JJ, Trone DW, Tchandja J, Jones BH. Injury-reduction effectiveness of prescribing running shoes on the basis of foot arch height: Summary of military investigations.The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. 2014; 44(10):805-12. [DOI:10.2519/jospt.2014.5342] [PMID]
15. Butler RJ, Davis IS, Hamill J. Interaction of arch type and footwear on running mechanics. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2006; 34(12):1998-2005. [DOI:10.1177/0363546506290401] [PMID]
16. Roohi BN, Hedayati S, Aghayari A. The effect of flexible flat-footedness on selected physical fitness factors in female students aged 14 to 17 years. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise. 2013; 8(3):788-96. [DOI:10.4100/jhse.2013.83.03]
17. Zivkovic M, Zivkovic D, Bubanj S, Milenkovic S, Karaleic S, Bogdanovic З. The dependence of explosive strength and speed on feet posture. Journal of Society for development in new net environment in B&H. 2014; 8(2):246-52. [Link]
18. Petrović M, Obradović B, Golik-Perić D, Bubanj S. Jumping abilities are not related to foot shape. Facta universitatis-series: Physical Education and Sport. 2013; 11(3):299-305. [Link]
19. Zhao X, Tsujimoto T, Kim B, Tanaka K. Association of arch height with ankle muscle strength and physical performance in adult men. Biology of Sport. 2017; 34(2):119-26. [DOI:10.5114/biolsport.2017.64585] [PMID]
20. Brody DM. Techniques in the evaluation and treatment of the injured runner. The Orthopedic Clinics of North America. 1982; 13(3):541-58. [DOI:10.1016/S0030-5898(20)30252-2] [PMID]
21. McPoil TG, Cornwall MW, Medoff L, Vicenzino B, Forsberg K, Hilz D. Arch height change during sit-to-stand: An alternative for the navicular drop test. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research. 2008; 1(1):3. [DOI:10.1186/1757-1146-1-3] [PMID]
22. Deng J, Joseph R, Wong CK. Reliability and validity of the sit-to-stand navicular drop test: Do static measures of navicular height relate to the dynamic navicular motion during gait. Journal of Student Physical Therapy Research. 2010; 2(1):21-8. [Link]
23. Cohen J. Statistical power analysis. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 1992; 1(3):98-101. [DOI:10.1111/1467-8721.ep10768783]
24. Fritz CO, Morris PE, Richler JJ. Effect size estimates: Current use, calculations, and interpretation. Journal of Experimental Psychology. General. 2012; 141(1):2-18. [DOI:10.1037/a0024338] [PMID]
25. Tomczak M, Tomczak E, Kleka P, Lew R. Using power analysis to estimate appropriate sample size. Trends in Sport Sciences. 2014; 21(4):195-206. [Link]
26. Pourghasem M, Kamali N, Farsi M, Soltanpour N. Prevalence of flatfoot among school students and its relationship with BMI. Acta Orthopaedica et Traumatologica Turcica. 2016; 50(5):554-7. [DOI:10.1016/j.aott.2016.03.002] [PMID]
27. Bordin D, De Giorgi G, Mazzocco G, Rigon F. Flat and cavus foot, indexes of obesity and overweight in a population of primary-school children. Minerva Pediatrica. 2001; 53(1):7-13. [PMID]
28. Strzała M, Stanula A, Krężałek P, Rejdych W, Karpiński J, Maciejczyk M, et al. Specific and holistic predictors of sprint front crawl swimming performance.Journal of Human Kinetics. 2021; 78:197-207. [DOI:10.2478/hukin-2021-0058] [PMID]
29. Marinho DA, Oliveira R, Garrido ND, Barbosa TM, Costa MJ, Silva AJ, et al. The relationship between front crawl performance and hydrodynamics in young female swimmers. Biomechanics in Sports. 2011; 11 (Suppl. 2):323-6. [Link]
30. Nasirzade A, Ehsanbakhsh A, Argavani H, Sobhkhiz A, Aliakbari M. Selected anthropometrical, muscular architecture, and biomechanical variables as predictors of 50-m performance of front crawl swimming in young male swimmers. Science & Sports. 2014; 29(5):e75-81. [DOI:10.1016/j.scispo.2013.09.008]
31. Peter M, Martina M, Romana P. The impact of special strength intervention in water on the flutter kicking performance in swimming. Journal of Physical Education and Sport. 2020; 20(02):774-82. [Link]
32. Watkins J. The effects of leg action on performance in the sprint front crawl stroke. Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming. 1983; 310-4. [Link]
33. Takabayashi T, Edama M, Inai T, Kubo M. Shank and rearfoot coordination and its variability during running in flatfoot. Journal of Biomechanics. 2021; 115:110119. [DOI:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.110119] [PMID]
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 18 No 1 (2024) | |
| Section | Research Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/jmr.v18i1.14725 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Swimming Flat foot Medial longitudinal arch Kicking performance | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Balakrishnan AY, Sundar V, Krishna Pillai SG, Singh S, Ramalingam V. Comparison of Kicking Speeds Between Competitive Swimmers with Flat and Normal Feet in Selangor, Malaysia. jmr. 2023;18(1):15-22.
