A pilot study on electromyographic analysis of single and double revolution jumps in figure skating

The purpose of this study was to examine the muscle activation patterns during the take off and landing phases of single and double revolution jumps in figure skating. One professional male figure skater performed the following jumps: a single and double toe-loop and; a single and double flip. Using electromyography (EMG) the integrated rectified value (iEMG) was calculated for the following muscles of the take off and landing legs: gastrocnemius medialis, rectus femoris, biceps femoris and adductors. For the take off phase all values were clearly higher in the double revolution jumps for all muscles, while a similar pattern in the landing phase was observed for the adductors only. The activation of each muscle varied with the type of jump and the number of revolutions, suggesting that figure skaters might alter the muscles’ EMG activity and, thus, the technique of the jump according to the number of revolutions required.