Why would a Dual Force Plate make more sense to analyse a swing?
Smart2Move has developed a dual Force plate, in order to give you more useful information than a single Force plate, and here’s why.
The Total CoP (Center of Pressure) Trace and vertical Force are important to analyse the motion in its entire sequence.
The total CoP trace gives you on the general pattern of the pressure distribution regarding lateral transfer and antero-front displacement. The global vertical Force also informs when the player creates vertical Force from the address to the finish.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to have the ability to analyse CoP trace and vertical Force more closely and accurately under each foot?
In fact, measuring separately left foot and right foot CoP and GRF (Ground Reaction Force) in vertical indicates the balance and motor strategy under each foot:
- The CoP trace indicates if you’re having lateral shift under each foot, and if you’re applying pressure more under front foot or back foot (lateral and heel / toes traces), which is related to the muscular chains you can recruit.
- The Vertical Force under each foot indicates when you’re applying Force to the ground, and when you are not! Thanks to the addition of the Smart2Move dual Force plate, you can now identify the patterns of motion.
If you measure only the global vertical Force, you will never discover if the player is generating his or her power by one load under one leg or by successive and alternated vertical peak under lead foot / trail foot / lead foot around impact as the below example shows.
You could miss valuable information by measuring only the total vertical Force.
Jean-Paul Fernandez
With the use of 3d Force plates, it’s even more important to analyse the horizontal Forces. As you may know, 2 Forces with the same magnitude and opposite direction cancel each other out, leaving the net total Force as null…
From the graph below (data from two 3d Force plates taken from our research Lab Partner at University), you can see in yellow the total Force in antero/front plane during a swing, in red the lead foot and in blue the trail foot antero/front Forces.
Once again, the total Force indicates the general motion, but knowing how your feet are working with opposed Forces is what allows your body to create rotation, with certain amplitude / resistance / and velocity… This is impossible to see if you only have the total measurement.
To analyse and use the ground effectively and with true accuracy, get the right technology.
Measuring ground reaction Forces with the player is now becoming more common place in the teaching process these days, and thankfully so.
Our Smart2Move dual Force plates allows the coach and the player to functionally analyse the balance and interaction of Forces between the player and the ground… and more importantly, separately under each foot. This provides a complete understanding of how the player is generating his or her motion/Force and with what efficacy throughout the entire swing.