Proprioceptive Control of Upper Limb Muscles in Sambo Athletes

Abstract

High proprioceptive sensitivity is an important factor in the efficiency of technical elements and athletic performance in many sports. However, proprioceptive control of the positions of upper limb segments and muscle effort in wrestlers has hardly been investigated. The purpose of this article was to study the reproduction accuracy of hand position and muscle effort during discrete contraction and relaxation of the forearm muscles in sambo athletes. Materials and methods. The research involved young sambo wrestlers (n = 10) and nonathletes (control, n = 15). We evaluated the reproduction accuracy of forearm pronation/supination angles (20, 50 and 80°) using a PABLO Handsensor (Tyromotion, Austria) and the accuracy of isometric muscle contraction during static pronation/supination, using a stationary hand joystick, in the ascending and descending directions of effort development (0, 20, 50 and 80 % of the maximum effort) according to the level of electromyographic activity of forearm pronators and supinators (Trust-M functional electrical stimulation system, Neurocore, Russia). Results. We found that proprioceptive control of forearm position accuracy and static effort during the contraction of forearm pronators and supinators did not differ between wrestlers and non-athletes. However, the absolute reproducibility error of 50 and 80 % of muscle effort during discrete relaxation of the pronators was lower (p < 0.01) in wrestlers than in non-athletes. Moreover, in the general sample, effort reproduction accuracy at pronators’ discrete contraction was higher than at discrete relaxation, which indicates a deficit of proprioceptive control of muscle effort during relaxation. Thus, exercising upper limb muscles in sambo improves proprioceptive control of discrete muscle relaxation. Further studies should determine the role of the established phenomenon in the effectiveness of wrestling skills and sports results.

Keywords

• force proprioception
• proprioceptive control
• discrete relaxation
• force generation
• sambo athletes
• muscles of the upper extremities