Differences in inter-joint coordination between high- and low-calibre ice hockey players during forward skating

This study’s objective was to compare lower extremity joint coordination between high-calibre (HC) and low-calibre (LC) ice hockey players during forward stride skating. A 10-camera Vicon motion capture system collected kinematic data on 8 HC and 8 LC players. Continuous relative phase (CRP) was calculated for three segment pairs: shank-sagittal & thigh-sagittal, shank-sagittal & thigh-frontal, and foot-sagittal & shank-sagittal. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract the features of greatest variability of CRP. HC players demonstrated more out-of-phase coordination of the shank-sagittal & thigh-frontal (p=0.046) throughout the entire skating stride than LC. In the sagittal plane, HC players demonstrated more out-of-phase coordination of the thigh & shank (p=0.004) and the of foot & shank (p=0.038) during glide phase.