Integration protocol of different measurement methods for the analysis of the physiological and biomechanical efficiency of a professional athlete

The paper focuses on the methodology for the analysis of the physiological and biomechanical efficiency of a professional athlete for integrating the standard preparation routine. The proposed methodology combines an in-house developed prototype of multiple uniaxial force plates for the measurement of the vertical component of ground reaction forces during movement and an infrared motion capture technique is adopted for measuring accurately the body motion. The procedure is applied on a top level professional volley player and integrates the working routines used for the training over an entire season. The dynamic performance of the athlete is measured in terms of fatigue threshold and the aerobic workload. The proposed methodology demonstrates to be an accurate and reliable instrument for quantifying, for both slow and fast movements, the efficiency with which the athlete reaches the defined training targets and the precision achieved in developing an exercises’ routine. Furthermore, the dynamic response of the athlete is also measured by evaluating the position of the body during the workload as well as the speed of the movements and the corresponding interaction with the ground. This analysis verifies if an asymmetrical loading of the lower limbs and the power exerted during the impulsive contact phase with the ground. The measurements carried out during the analysis provide a map of the athlete performances during an entire season training and the mono- and bi-podalic movements could be associated with the time evolution of the athletic results, such as jumping length and height, speed, precision. Therefore, inefficiencies in the postural and technical aspects during the training can be measured and thus corrected leading to an improvement of the performance and to a reduction of the possibility for injuries onset.