Figure 4 | Scientific Reports

Figure 4

From: Elite long jumpers with below the knee prostheses approach the board slower, but take-off more effectively than non-amputee athletes

Figure 4

Take-off step mechanics. Vertical and horizontal ground-reaction forces (GRFs) for non-amputee athletes (a) and athletes with below the knee amputation (BKA) (b) in units of bodyweight (BW) for the take-off step of the long jump. Athletes with BKA lacked the initial vertical and horizontal (braking) peaks in their GRF curves. Note the simultaneous presence of the vertical and braking force peaks in non-amputee athletes. In athletes with BKA, GRF dynamics are qualitatively similar to the dynamics of an ideal spring-mass model20,21. Athletes with BKA generate a similarly large vertical impulse while generating a reduced net horizontal braking impulse compared to non-amputees, which results in higher ratios of vertical to net horizontal impulse (c), and a more effective take-off mechanism.

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