Could Proprioceptive Stimuli Change Saddle Pressure on Male Cyclists during Different Hand Positions? An Exploratory Study of the Effect of the Equistasi<sup>®</sup> Device
When pedaling, the excessive pressure on the seat has the potential to produce injuries and this can strongly affect sport performance. Recently, a large effort has been dedicated to the reduction of the pressure occurring at the saddle region. Our work aims to verify the possibility of modifying cy...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Sports |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/10/6/88 |
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| author | Annamaria Guiotto Fabiola Spolaor Giovanni Albani Zimi Sawacha |
| author_facet | Annamaria Guiotto Fabiola Spolaor Giovanni Albani Zimi Sawacha |
| author_sort | Annamaria Guiotto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | When pedaling, the excessive pressure on the seat has the potential to produce injuries and this can strongly affect sport performance. Recently, a large effort has been dedicated to the reduction of the pressure occurring at the saddle region. Our work aims to verify the possibility of modifying cyclists’ pedaling posture, and consequently the pressure on the saddle, by applying a proprioceptive stimulus. Equistasi<sup>®</sup> (Equistasi srl, Milano, Italy) is a wearable device that emits focal mechanical vibrations able to transform the body temperature into mechanical vibratory energy via the embedded nanotechnology. The data acquired through a pressure mapping system (GebioMized<sup>®</sup>) on 70 cyclists, with and without Equistasi<sup>®</sup>, were analyzed. Pedaling in three positions was recorded on a spin trainer: with hands on the top, hands on the drop handlebar, and hands on the lever. Average force, contact surface, and average and maximum pressure each in different regions of the saddle were analyzed, as well as integral pressure time and center of pressure. In the comparisons between hands positions, overall pressure and force variables were significantly lower in the drop-handlebar position at the rear saddle (<i>p</i> < 0.03) and higher in hand-on-lever and drop-handlebar positions at the front saddle (<i>p</i> < 0.01). When applying the Equistasi device, the contact surface was significantly larger in all hand positions (<i>p</i> < 0.05), suggesting that focal stimulation of the lumbar proprioceptive system can change cyclists’ posture. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:29:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cc5f2c093b6b4d2eb90f85188472cb17 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4663 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:29:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sports |
| spelling | doaj.art-cc5f2c093b6b4d2eb90f85188472cb172023-11-23T18:59:59ZengMDPI AGSports2075-46632022-06-011068810.3390/sports10060088Could Proprioceptive Stimuli Change Saddle Pressure on Male Cyclists during Different Hand Positions? An Exploratory Study of the Effect of the Equistasi<sup>®</sup> DeviceAnnamaria Guiotto0Fabiola Spolaor1Giovanni Albani2Zimi Sawacha3Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, ItalyDepartment of Information Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, ItalyIstituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, 28921 Verbania, ItalyDepartment of Information Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, ItalyWhen pedaling, the excessive pressure on the seat has the potential to produce injuries and this can strongly affect sport performance. Recently, a large effort has been dedicated to the reduction of the pressure occurring at the saddle region. Our work aims to verify the possibility of modifying cyclists’ pedaling posture, and consequently the pressure on the saddle, by applying a proprioceptive stimulus. Equistasi<sup>®</sup> (Equistasi srl, Milano, Italy) is a wearable device that emits focal mechanical vibrations able to transform the body temperature into mechanical vibratory energy via the embedded nanotechnology. The data acquired through a pressure mapping system (GebioMized<sup>®</sup>) on 70 cyclists, with and without Equistasi<sup>®</sup>, were analyzed. Pedaling in three positions was recorded on a spin trainer: with hands on the top, hands on the drop handlebar, and hands on the lever. Average force, contact surface, and average and maximum pressure each in different regions of the saddle were analyzed, as well as integral pressure time and center of pressure. In the comparisons between hands positions, overall pressure and force variables were significantly lower in the drop-handlebar position at the rear saddle (<i>p</i> < 0.03) and higher in hand-on-lever and drop-handlebar positions at the front saddle (<i>p</i> < 0.01). When applying the Equistasi device, the contact surface was significantly larger in all hand positions (<i>p</i> < 0.05), suggesting that focal stimulation of the lumbar proprioceptive system can change cyclists’ posture.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/10/6/88pressure saddlecycling posturehand positionproprioceptionEquistasi<sup>®</sup> device |
| spellingShingle | Annamaria Guiotto Fabiola Spolaor Giovanni Albani Zimi Sawacha Could Proprioceptive Stimuli Change Saddle Pressure on Male Cyclists during Different Hand Positions? An Exploratory Study of the Effect of the Equistasi<sup>®</sup> Device Sports pressure saddle cycling posture hand position proprioception Equistasi<sup>®</sup> device |
| title | Could Proprioceptive Stimuli Change Saddle Pressure on Male Cyclists during Different Hand Positions? An Exploratory Study of the Effect of the Equistasi<sup>®</sup> Device |
| title_full | Could Proprioceptive Stimuli Change Saddle Pressure on Male Cyclists during Different Hand Positions? An Exploratory Study of the Effect of the Equistasi<sup>®</sup> Device |
| title_fullStr | Could Proprioceptive Stimuli Change Saddle Pressure on Male Cyclists during Different Hand Positions? An Exploratory Study of the Effect of the Equistasi<sup>®</sup> Device |
| title_full_unstemmed | Could Proprioceptive Stimuli Change Saddle Pressure on Male Cyclists during Different Hand Positions? An Exploratory Study of the Effect of the Equistasi<sup>®</sup> Device |
| title_short | Could Proprioceptive Stimuli Change Saddle Pressure on Male Cyclists during Different Hand Positions? An Exploratory Study of the Effect of the Equistasi<sup>®</sup> Device |
| title_sort | could proprioceptive stimuli change saddle pressure on male cyclists during different hand positions an exploratory study of the effect of the equistasi sup r sup device |
| topic | pressure saddle cycling posture hand position proprioception Equistasi<sup>®</sup> device |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/10/6/88 |
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