Biomechanical Analysis of a Tennis Backhand Stroke - Term Paper Example

? Biomechanical analysis of a tennis backhand stroke Introduction Indeed tennis is a healthy game and when played, various body muscles come into play and the movement of the body itself could be analysed scientifically. Interestingly, even the heart muscles are involved in the process. Much research has been done into finding out what kind of motions is involved when one is making tennis short. One of the researches has dealt with the muscular movement that takes place when the backhand action of the tennis shot is made. This paper addresses the analysis of muscles that take part in the carrying out of the execution of a tennis backhand by use of the right hand when making a shot. The movement also involves the very action of the backhand of the tennis, movement of the leg muscles and the other parts of the body (Goktepe 2491-2496). Tennis backhand motion This is the motion that goes in the opposite direction to the forehead of the tennis. In this kind of motion, there is a reflex action experienced by the forearm around the elbow and its biceps. Flex is actually the folding and the unfolding of the right arm. To have the best backhand motion, one need to move a combination of the horizontal abduction and the external rotation of that arm which is bent, the right arm. Arms are normally bent crossing the abdominal area. The arms then have to flex laterally over the elbow and then there is folding of the arm across the player’s body. This is usually below the muscles of the chest. The movement involved here entails the backswing and the subsequent unfolding of these muscles making a forward swing. Research has shown that in this process, the upper, medial and the lower arm perform a very crucial role during this backhand motion of the right hand. This motion helps in the increment realized in the force and full power seen while hitting the tennis ball. However, this is not the only source that provides this force and power. The support received from the feet and other parts of the body play a crucial role in the whole process. At this juncture, a very symmetrical footwork is quite necessary for the sole purpose of strengthening and empowering the backhand. While doing this, causing movement to the right hand side means that there must be a step made by the right foot followed by the left and the reverse is also true (Bahamonde, 42-63). The important role played by the legs could be explained from the point of view of the early movement of the back foot in a forward direction so as to help fix the person playing in a position of balance, mitigating against any form of side steps making him or her reach the ball, and then pushing the momentum of the body to give an impact into the power of the ball’s shot. For this purpose, it has been established that the back foot dominates in the initiating the motion of the backhand by enabling the movement of the other foot backwards to create a source of shot power. When we get away from the foot and the arm, we establish the support given by the power generated from the torso. This comprises of the balance, weight movement, and angular turn of the torso to the right so as to generate a more powerful form of force. This shifting of the torso leading to the shift of the entire body weight to give a needed power to the stroke made by the backhand entails a linear shift in the weight towards the ball (Ivythesis). In the process the hips and body rotation also gives more power to the shot. With the swing of the back leg, rotation of the body is usually tolerated. To wrap up the movement discussion, it has been noted that the right arm’s muscles together with those of the arms are normally put in a flex position whenever a backhand short is to be executed. The body weight, torso, hips and legs all play a vital role as has been explained above in giving power to the shot by the right hand (Ivythesis). Muscles that take part in the backhand motion of the right hand When we look at the actions undertaken by the right hand while performing a backhand shot, we realize that the various muscles are involved in the process. One of such muscles is the epicondyle, which functions in extension of the fingers, the wrist and helps in the upward turn of the palm. This muscle is found on the lateral side of the upper arm closer to the bone area and is also at the humorous where we have the elbow (Ivythesis). This muscle is simply a prominence that is bony which can be felt or even seen when well observed. This has been identified as the major origin of those muscles that have the function of causing the movement of the wrist together with the fore arm. This muscle helps in stabilization and subsequent rotation of the racket and assists in the backhand shot (Girard, Lattier and Maffiuletti 2-23). On the lateral epicondyle are found other muscles called the extensor digitorum, extensor carpi ulnaris, extensor carpi radialis brevis, and the extensor digiti minimi. Also, the extensor muscles of the forearm get into motion when we have the extensions of the wrist and initiation of the backhand shot on the ball. At this point, continuous gripping and also twisting motions are experienced in the process of working up the extensor muscles (States and Pappa 11-16). The calf muscles also known as the gastrocnemius, the plantaris, Achilles tendon and hamstring muscles all come into support of the epicondyle muscles during such movement. For the flexion of the knee, ankle stability, and the plantar-flexing of muscles of the ankle, gastrocnemius muscles assist in this movement (Ivythesis). When doing the backhand strike, the calf muscle normally stretches and is flexed repeatedly when the player moves and effort is exerted towards striking the ball. The attachment of the plantar muscle to the Achilles tendon makes it possible for it to stretch and cause the player to move. The hamstring muscles on the other hand do the pulling of the leg to the back side and also do bend the knee. Coordination of these muscles bring about movement, balance, force and power to strike the ball with the right hand while doing a backhand shot at the tennis ball (Richards 589-602). The torso muscles made up of the rectus abdominis and oblique muscles also work as explained above under torso motion and rotation. Muscles Origin insertion extensor digitorum, extensor carpi ulnaris, extensor carpi radialis brevis Arm or hand Metacarpal extensor digiti minimi Pisiform Proximal phalanx of little finger Hamstring muscles Thigh Gastrocnemius Lower part of the leg (knee joint) adductor tubercle Conclusion Indeed, it can be seen that the backhand shot could appear as easy as it seems but the biomechanical processes involved in the backhand shot made by the right arm are quite complex and all inclusive. Further studies into the field aimed at exploring functions and ways of using this scientific phenomenon could help solve many issues in the biomechanical field. Works Cited Bahamonde, R.,. "Review of the biomechanical function of the elbow joint during tennis strokes." Int. SportMed. J (2005): 42-63. Girard, O., et al. "Neuromuscular fatigue during a prolonged intermittent exercise: Application to tennis." J Electromyogr Kinesiol (2008): 2-23. Goktepe, Ayhan,. "A study on the calibration of stereo photogrammetric systems used in motion analysis." Scientific Research and Essays Vol. 5(17) (2010): 2491-2496. Ivythesis. "Muscular analysis of a tennis backhand ." 2010. Thinking made easy. 01 09 2011 . Richards, J.,. "The measurement of human motion: A comparison of commercially available systems ." Human Movement Sci. (1999): 589-602. States, RA and SE, Pappa. "Precision and repeatability of the Optotrak 3020 motion measurement system." J. Med. Eng. Technol., 30(1) (2006): 11-16. Read More