Gender-Specific Kinematics for Rotational Coordination Between Hips and Lumbar Spine During Downswing

The purpose of this study was to compare and evaluate the inter-joint coordination between the hips and lumbar spine in both male and female skilled golfers during the downswing phase. Six infrared MCAM2 cameras were used for capturing each participant’s swing motion. In order to evaluate the inter-joint coordination, kinematic data and continuous relative phase (CRP) were obtained during downswing phase. The lead hip-lumbar spine CRP in male golfers showed a typical parabola pattern with a minimum value at around 60% of the downswing phase. On the other hand, the CRP between the lead hip and lumbar spine of female golfers barely changed from the initial to middle downswing stages, and increased at the later stage. Male golfers typically used their lead hip more than their lumbar spine during the early downswing, while the rotational contribution of the lumbar spine and lead hip in female golfers were comparable until the middle of the downswing phase. These findings result from the opposite rotation of the lumbar spine for even the early downswing phase due to the muscular and articular flexibility of female golfers. This study has the potential to help develop gender-specific coaching materials for the improvement of swing skills.