Impact of Bilateral Training on Overhand Throwing Performance: Speed, Accuracy, Technique, and Upper-body Kinematics
Date
2021-01
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Abstract
Manuscript 1: The Sport Technology Research Lab developed an overhand throwing, eight task-component rubric designed to be used in multiple populations. This study assessed its inter-rater and intra-rater reliability. Three groups of raters, two individuals and one panel of three (consensus panel), assessed 480 video recorded overhand throws conducted by healthy adults. Individual raters assessed all videos twice with two weeks between the sessions. The consensus panel assessed all throws once. An ICC 2,k from aggregated data, independent t-tests, KR-20 and percentage agreements were conducted to assess reliability. Independent t-tests showed a significant difference between individual raters and the consensus panel, where the consensus panel scored performance significantly lower. KR-20 and percentage agreements demonstrated high reliability total scores, and moderate-high reliability for the eight task components. ICC 2,k showed high total reliability, suggesting the rubric is a reliable scale when evaluating the overhand throw in adults. However, inconsistencies in individual task components need to be addressed before the scale is used. Manuscript 2: The overhand throw is a complex whole-body motor skill that is fundamental to many sports and activities. The primary outcomes of the overhand throw are ball speed and accuracy. The momentum generated to complete the movement begins in the lower body and transfers through the trunk to the throwing arm. This study’s primary purpose was to evaluate the impact of the non-throwing arm on the ball speed during an overhand throw with both the dominant and non-dominant arms. Eighteen participants (age: 20.20±2.90 yrs., nine females) were divided into two intervention groups: a pulling group taught to engage the non-throwing arm through a pull towards the body, and a non-pulling group taught the overhand throw using a component-based physical education curriculum. Each participant completed 24 total throws, twelve for each side (dominant and non-dominant arm). Ball speed and kinematic data were collected using an eight-camera motion analysis system and were assessed using a pre-post study design. Throwing with both the dominant and non-dominant arms resulted in improvement in both training groups, but there was a much higher Cohen’s D effect size for increased ball velocity when the non-throwing arm was engaged.
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Keywords
Kinematics, Overhand Throw, Fundamental Movement Skills, Bilaterality
Citation
Weisberg, A. D. (2021). Impact of Bilateral Training on Overhand Throwing Performance: Speed, Accuracy, Technique, and Upper-body Kinematics (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.