I have learned a great deal from the article Biomechanical analyses of the performance of Paralympians: from foundation to elite level.
Respond to the 5 post below. (100 WORDS for each response)
Do not have to have a title page.
Due Saturday August 17, 2019
Response 1: Todor P.
I have learned a great deal from the article Biomechanical analyses of the performance of Paralympians: from foundation to elite level. I have never been around Paralympic sports, so this text was very educational for me. I learned about the great deal of detail that biomechanist can go into to support a Paralympic athlete and the challenges that may come with it. Curran & Frossard, (2012) suggest that “biomechanical analyses are critical to coaches and athletes because they provide comprehensive description and eventually, explanation of the performance.” These principles are applicable to Paralympians just like able-bodied athletes. The information obtained from biomechanical analyses is essential to guide the decisions that coaches need to make on day to day basis. I like how the article explains the quantitative and qualitative analysis. The deeper I got into the article the more I realized that the principles of training and coaching Paralympic athletes are just the same as abled-bodied athletes. However, according to (Curran & Frossard, 2012) “biomechanical analysis of the performance is far more critical to Paralympians on two accounts
Response 2: Adam J
While reading the assigned article for this week, I began thinking about the sports I enjoy participating in and how participation can be limited for those with a disability. First, I began considering sports like disc golf that are played on a variety of playing surfaces that include drastically changing landscape over long distances. For someone who is confined to a wheelchair, the necessary motions for completing a throw of substantial distance can be difficult. For these athletes, equipment such as the “Folf Club” can eliminate this challenge by extending the throwing “arm”. By extending the lever in this manner, a disabled person can enjoy the ability of throwing further while requiring less strength and mobility (Yakos, 2013). Through the use of these types of equipment, disabled athletes can better compete in sports like disc golf. Having found a way to overcome this limitation, the next obstacle is designing courses that are more easily accessible for those with disabilities as describe above. By creating better paths and considering possible limitations and exclusions created in the course design, we can better address ways to enable disabled athletes to continue to participate in the future.
Response 3: Scott W
The first part of the article that jumped out at me, was right at the beginning of the article. “Paralympic sports are designed for individuals with amputation, spinal cord injury as well as visual impairment, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and other forms of impairments.” I will admit that I have not thought about individuals with a visual impairment and learning disabilities can be a part of Paralympic sports. I typically think of individuals who have a missing limb or are in a wheel chair as a Paralympic athlete. I’m glad that I have this information and have become informed for future conversations. The part about playing with a visual impairment really stuck out to me because I have definitely gone to running events and have witnessed individuals with a sign that have said “Visually Impaired Runner.” I was rummaging around the internet and found an article about individuals who are visually impaired and play ping pong. The name of the game is called “show-down.” So, what is showdown? “Showdown is a fast-moving sport originally designed for people with a visual impairment, but you don´t have to be blind to play! Sometimes it is mistakenly referred to as table tennis for the blind because it is a table game.
Response 4: Delania A
After reading the article, “Biomechanical analyses of the performance of Paralympians: from foundation to elite level, I was exposed to a much greater understanding of paralympian athletes”. The first thing that caught my eye was when the question was asked, “How can biomechanics and performance analysis aid in reducing the perceived risk of injury in paralympians”? Using biomechanical analysis will allow you to see the potential reduction in intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors that are injury related factors that affect loads being applied to the body (Curran & Frossard, 2012). It is very important that paralympians are cautious of their body techniques as well as movement technique as that can cause further injury to them. Biomechanics aids in the assessments of range of movement, this can determine whether their technique promotes excessive joint constrains that are acceptable and sustainable limits of the athlete’s physiological abilities (Curran & Frossard, 2012). Another things that caught my interest was the new emerging technologies in the field of biomechanical analyses of sports performance for athletes with a disability.
Response 5: Timothy K
I found this article to be very interesting because I had never heard the overall thoughts of someone involved with Paralympians. The first half of the article was a little confusing for me to read because it almost did not seem like it was directed specifically towards Paralympians. Some of the early questions, such as how new technology can impact evidence-based training analyses and the various approaches for athletes of different levels, seemed more generalized to all athletes to me and could have been answered in this way. For example, newer technology which allows the collection of data during practice is seen in all sports with all types of athletes. Technology is ultimately used to predict and improve performance in athletes and its uses are not discriminant towards able or disabled athletes.