Efficacy of hand-mounted pressure sensors for in-water force analysis in high performance swimmers

Abstract

Introduction: Kinetic analysis in swimming is the quantification of propulsive force output which has potential to improve swimming efficiency and overall swimming performance. While the kinetic analysis of the start, turn, and finish phases of swimming performance are recognised and established in the literature, kinetic analysis of the free swim phase has previously been limited due to technological constraints. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of the Smart Paddle™ for in-water, free swim force analysis across strokes in high performance swimmers by: 1) determining intra-day absolute and relative reliability of the Smart Paddle™, 2) determining validity by objective comparison between Smart Paddle™ and manual stroke rate testing and 3) determining the sensitivity of the Smart Paddle™ to discriminate between varied intensities of swimming. Results: No significant difference in kinetic variables between T1 and T2 was determined between for any intensity or any stroke. ICC scores for all strokes were good-excellent for all intensities, CV% was <5%, and effect size was small between trials 1 and 2. No significant difference in stroke rate was observed between manual stroke count and the Smart Paddle™. Swim performance at 90% of maximum produced significantly higher results than at low work intensity (50%) for average force, impulse, and efficiency for all strokes between low and high intensities. Conclusion: The Smart Paddle™ appears to demonstrate sufficient reliability, validity, and sensitivity making it a potentially useful tool for the determination of kinetic variables in free swim performance. The Smart Paddle™ can be used in applied environments for kinetic analysis across multiple days, various strokes, and over a range of training intensities.