Abstract:
Purpose : The purpose of this research was to study and compare the primary muscles utilized in each phase of puck hitting in woman field hockey players. Methods : Twelve women field hockey players from Chulalongkorn University team and seventeen women field hockey players from Thai national team were purposively sampled to compare their muscle activities using surface electromyography during four phases of hitting a hockey puck. Four upper body muscle sites and four lower body muscle sites were assessed for their Maximum Voluntary Contraction (MVC) as baseline for comparisons for each subject before measuring each muscle activity as percentage of MVC (%MVC) during various phases of hitting. Differences in muscle utilization in field hockey hit between two teams were compared with .05 level of statistical significance Results : During back swing phase, Thai national team players utilized Latissimus Dorsi, Pectoralis Major, Tensor Fascia Latae and Rectus Femoris whereas Chulalongkorn University team players utilized Middle Deltoid and Gluteus Maximus. During forward swing phase, Thai national team players utilized Pectoralis Major, External Abdominal Obliques, Gluteus Maximus and Tensor Fascia Latae whereas Chulalongkorn University team players utilized Latissimus Dorsi and Adductor Magnus. During ball impact phase, Thai national team players utilized Pectoralis Major, External Abdominal Obliques, Gluteus Maximus and Tensor Fascia Latae whereas Chulalongkorn University team players utilized Middle Deltoid and Adductor Magnus. During follow-through phase, Thai national team players utilized Pectoralis Major, Middle Deltoid, Tensor Fascia Latae and Gluteus Maximus whereas Chulalongkorn University team players utilized Latissimus Dorsi and Adductor Magnus. Conclusions : The Chulalongkorn University team player did not utilize proper muscle groups with less effectiveness in various phases of puck hitting compared to the performance of Thai national team players.