Kinematic Analysis of Water Polo Player in the Vertical Thrust Performance to Determine the Force-Velocity and Power-Velocity Relationships in Water: A Preliminary Study

Background: To date, studies on muscle force and power-velocity (F-v and P-v) relationships performed in water are absent. Aim: The goal of this study is to derive the F-v and P-v regression models of water polo players in water vertical thrust performance at increasing load. Methods: After use of a control object for direct linear transformation, displacement over the water and elapsed time was measured, by using a high-speed 2D-videoanalysis system, on 14 players involved in the study. Results: Intra-operator and player’s performance interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) reliability showed an excellent level of reproducibility for all kinematic and dynamic measurements considered in this study with a coefficient of variation (CV) of less than 4.5%. Results of this study have shown that an exponential force-velocity relationship seems to explain better the propulsive force exerted in the water in lifting increasing loads compared to the linear one, while the power and velocity have been shown to follow a second-order polynomial regression model. Conclusion: Given the accuracy of the video analysis, the high reliability and the specificity of the results, it is pointed out that video analysis can be a valid method to determine force-velocity and power-velocity curves in a specific environment to evaluate the neuromuscular profile of each water polo player.