A biomechanical analysis of the wrist joint in kayak paddling

A dynamic model

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify alterations in wrist joint movement during kayak paddling that may lead to local structural injuries or damage to the wrist flexor muscles. Kayak paddling scenes were filmed with a three-dimensional videography system and wrist flexion angle and hand angular acceleration were measured. Using this as a basis, a dynamical model was proposed that could distinguish potential mechanism of hand injury. Differences between starboard and port movements show that force supported by the flexor tendons during the aquatic phase in an abnormal movement can be 3.4 times greater than the force supported by the homologous tendons in the extremity that performs the reference movement. This abnormal flexion of the wrist joint produced overuse tendinopathy in our reported case. The movement measurement technique used has shown sufficient diagnostic precision to detect abnormal movements that may produce injury so that it can be used preventively.