Estimation of Inertia Properties of the Body Segments in Japanese Athletes

Inertia properties of the body segments such as segment mass, location of the center of mass, and moment of inertia can be measured and predicted in a number of ingenious approaches. They can be classified into a) direct measurements on cadavers, b) indirect measurements on living subjects, and c) mathematical modelling. However, there is little information upon which complete inertial estimates for Japanese people, especially male and female athletes, can be based. The purposes of this study were to determine the mass, center of mass location, and moments of inertia of the body segments for Japanese male and female athletes using a mathematical modelling approach, and to develop a set of regression equations to estimate inertia properties of body segments using simple anthropometric measurements as predictors. Subjects were 215 male and 80 female athletes belonging to various college sport clubs. Each subject, wearing swimming suit and cap, was stereo-photographed in a standing position. Ten body segments including the upper and lower torso were modelled to be a system of elliptical zones 2cm thick based on Jensen and Yokoi et al. Significant prediction equations based on body height, body weight, and segment lengths were then sought, and some prediction strategies were examined. The results obtained were summarized as follows: 1) Table 2 provides a summary of mass ratios, center of mass location ratios and radius of gyration ratios for males and females. There were many significant differences in body segment parameters between the two sexes. This suggests the need to develop different prediction equations for males and females. 2) Close relationships were noted between segment masses and segment lengths and body weight as predictors for all body segments. Table 5 provides coefficients of multiple regression equations to predict segment masses. 3) No close relationship was noted between independent variables and estimates of the center of mass location. This indicates that the variance in the center of mass location in proportion to the segment length was very small, and that location of centers of mass could be estimated by the mean ratio provided in Table 2. 4) Close relationships were noted between segment moments of inertia and segment lengths (except hand and foot), and body weight as predictors. Tables 6 and 7 provide coefficients of multiple regression equations to predict segment moments of inertia from segment lengths and body weight.