Nicolas Houel

Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne | URCA · UFR Sciences et Techniques des Activités Physiques et Sportives

Measuring breathing rates without a mouthpiece is of interest in clinical settings. Electrocardiogram devices and, more recently, optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) methods can estimate breathing rates with only a few electrodes or motion-capture markers placed on the patient. This study estimated and compared the accuracy and reliability of thre...

This study aimed to measure the contribution of each body segment to the production of total body kinetic energy (KE) during a 40-m sprint. Nine recreational sprinters performed two 40-m sprints wearing a MVN Biomech suit (Xsens). Data recorded were used to calculate total body KE, and the KE of each segment. The KE of each segment was then express...

Measuring breathing rates without a mouthpiece is of interest in clinical settings. Electrocardiogram devices and, more recently, optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) methods can estimate breathing rates with only a few electrodes or motion-capture markers placed on the patient. This study estimated and compared the accuracy and reliability of thre...

Various spatiotemporal parameters alterations are observed in obese subjects. Principal component analysis (PCA) could improve subject’s classification reducing optimal set of variables. Kinematics of fourteen subjects (with and without obesity) during walking was recorded. PCA showed that the two main principal components included the same variabl...

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a three-month non-invasive weekly Mixed Reality (MR) activity on the gait of people with mental disabilities. Gait and cognition were analyzed before (T0) and after (T3) training. At T3, the subjects' walking speed, Walk Ratio, Functional Ambulation Performance Score and stride length had significan...

The maximal total power (Pmax) is one of the major determinants of sprint performance. It can be calculated using a simple model based on the runner's velocity. This velocity has already been measured with force plates, video cameras or a radar system, but not with an inertial system. The purpose of this study was to compare Pmax measured with a ra...

Background: Performance in the discus throw requires high forces and torques generated from the shoulder of the throwing arm, making shoulder muscles at risk of overuse injury. Little is known on muscle activation patterns in elite discus throw. Hypothesis/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the body kinematics and muscle activation p...

Background: Scar formation is influenced by mechanical forces and may generate mechanical tension. Scars induce a temperature difference in the body objectified by thermal imaging camera. The osteopath's task is to ensure the tissue good mobility in the body. The aim of this study was to measure the influence of osteopathic treatment on a scar by...

Background: Congenitally blind subjects developed postural adaptations improving somatosensory and vestibular systems to maintain upright stability and auditory skills to orient them in environment. However, the influence of auditory cues on upright stability in congenitally blind subjects stays unknown. Research question: The aim of this study is...

Introduction. The effect of the osteopathic treatment in the postpartum period has not been adequately studied in Western countries. The most part of the studies are focused on postpartum pain, whereas there is not enough information on the effect of osteopathic treatment on the recovery of perineal muscles.Goal of research - to study the effect of...

Balance control in upright position has direct impact on shooting performance in various competitive activities like archery, rifle shooting, etc. Feet positions and global posture of the athlete change between each shooting activities. Information and short time feedback about the variation of the centre of mass of the athlete during the time befo...

Introduction Quatre-vingt-quinze pour cent des patients souffrant de la maladie de Lyme présentent une arthrite du genou. L’objet de cette préétude est de présenter l’influence de l’arthrite du genou issue de la maladie de Lyme sur la marche. Matériel et méthodes Un sujet (âge = 17 ans, taille = 1,64 m, masse = 60 kg) présentant une mono-arthrite...

The aim of this study was to compare the kinetic and kinematic parameters of standing and crouch sprint starts. Parallel starts (PS), false starts (FS), jump starts (JS) and crouch starts (3PS) were compared. Eighteen participants performed each start on a force plate and six infrared cameras captured the three-dimensional coordinates of 36 retro-r...

Every human injury leads to a scar formation. The healing process leads to the formation of new tissue: the scar, which is different from the original tissue. This process is influenced by mechanical strength and the local vasculature is modified. The purpose of this study is to show that there are various temperatures between the scar and the peri...

article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Centre for Sports Abstract The aim of this study is to analyse the influence of the weight mass (6 vs 7.26 kg) in kinematics parameters on an expert throwing shot put in rotation, in order to estimate the...

Falls among elderly people have massive social and economic impact. Gait impairments correlated with loss of physical functions are the primary common causes. Today, even if gait deviations between healthy young individuals and elderly ones have been deeply investigated, no standardize fall risk classification have been really established to facili...

The underwater phase of starts represents an important part of the performance in sprint swimming's events. Kinematics variables that swimmers have to take into account to improve their underwater phase of starts are unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the kinematics variables that improve performance during the underwater phase of grab...

The aims of this study were to compare the validity of two accelerometers with a force plate and to determine the influence of the sensor's point of attachment on the assessment of squat jump performances. Nine male subjects performed a number of squat jumps (n = 38) on a force plate, either with a Myotest or Mensense system attached to their hips...

The purpose of this study was to validate a new motion analysis system which uses the technology of inertial sensors (Moven system). This innovative system is composed of 17 miniature inertial sensors attached to the body. The validation procedure consisted in comparing the data of the right hand trajectory collected by the Moven system with those...

The purpose of this preliminary study was to compare the maximal velocity of two fencing movements currently used by elite Paralympic fencers. Three elite fencers in wheelchair selected on the national team voluntary participated to this study. Each subject was asked to performe three “touches” and three “touches after dodges”. The “touche” is assi...

During the past five years, systems with small accelerometers have been increasingly used to measure human sport motion. Few studies have defined the measurement error and limit of agreement of those systems in the particular case of squat jump when the sensor is directly fixed to the athlete. The aim of this study is to define the measurement accu...

L’objectif de la présente étude est de quantifier l’influence entre deux modèles d’arcs et de flèches, sur la précision du tir d’un unique athlète expert (3ème mon - dial, de ce fait avec un geste très reproductible dans des conditions identiques).

To determine whether HR variability (HRV), an indirect measure of autonomic control, is associated with upper respiratory tract and pulmonary infections, muscular affections, and all-type pathologies in elite swimmers. For this study, 7 elite international and 11 national swimmers were observed weekly for 2 yr. The indexes of cardiac autonomic regu...

The purpose of the present work was to study swimmers' efficiency during the underwater phase of the grab start. Eight high-level swimmers participated in this study. They performed two types of start: a regular grab start (with underwater leg propulsion after the glide) and a grab start with no underwater movement (swimmers had to remain in a stre...

The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of swimmer specialty on energy cost and motor organization. The stroking parameters (velocity, stroke rate, stroke length, stroke index) and the index of coordination (IdC) of 6 elite sprinters were compared with those of 6 elite long-distance swimmers during an incremental swimming exercise test...

In sprint swimming races, performance has been strongly linked to start performance. The Start is defined as three phases: the impulse phase on the starting block (including reaction time), the flight phase, and the underwater phase. Results of studies conducted since the 70’s defined that velocity, as well as minimized hydrodynamic resistances whe...

Since a few years, performance analysis during a sport event became a key point to understand and improve athletes’ performance. Nevertheless, as during football and basketball games, these analyses are often statistical analysis. No kinematic data are collected. Performance analysis during swimming races also follows this trend. The most widely us...

The aim of the present study was to identify the main motor coordination involved during the underwater undulatory swimming phase of the start. Twelve French high-level swimmers took part in this study. Swimmers were filmed during the entire underwater phase of the start (i.e. fifteen meters from the start platform). Specific anatomical landmarks w...

Skill in archery directly depends on the interaction between the subject, the bow and the arrow when shooting. Researches in biomechanics of archery have frequently described the different coordination and muscular activation during the shoot of the subject. Few of them describe the influence of the bow (mechanical characteristics, stabilizers, etc...

During these last five years, devices with small accelerometer have been increasingly used to measure human sport motion. Few studies have defined the measurement errors and limits of agreement of those sensors in the particular case of squat jumps when the accelerometer was attached on the athlete. The aim of this study is to define the accuracy a...

The purpose of this study was to determine the swimmers' loss of speed during the underwater gliding motion of a grab start. This study also set out to determine the kinematical variables influencing this loss of speed. Eight French national-level swimmers participated in this study. The swimmers were filmed using 4 mini-DV cameras during the entir...

The main aim of the study is to propose an approach for 3D modeling and simulation of swimmers impulse during a grab start. Four national level sw immers were investigated. For every swimmer, D model was generated in BRG.LifeMOD TM on the base of individual morphologic parameters and kinematic data obtained by high speed video camera and passive ma...

Under race conditions, the start directly influences an athlete’s performance. Taking into account the difficulties coming from the specific parameters relative to the start, comparing the swimmer’s movement with the kinematic data stays the best approach to understand the motion. The model of the present work was developed through this approach al...

Aims – Investigate the influence of exercise training on the aerobic and anaerobic capacities of young swimmers.Methods – Ten male swimmers aged 15.2 ± 3.8 years participated: five sprint specialists and five middle-distance specialists. Each subject performed, an arm ergocycle, two laboratory tests, a maximal incremental exercise test and a force–...

INTRODUCTION: Motion analysis is a common technique in biomechanics and sport studies. Since Abdel-Aziz and Karara (1971), the direct linear transformation (DLT) is the most widely used method to analyse human movements. More recently, Drenk et al. (1999) proposed a modified DLT method, called DLT double-plane method (DLT DP), which involves two pa...