THE STUDY

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Overview

The purpose of this study is to compare the socket reaction forces between a conventional golf stance and a modified golf stance for unilateral (single leg, below the knee / BK) amputees while swinging the golf club.

 

The golf stance is one of the most important components of the sport and can be detrimental to players of all ages, abilities, and gender. Being able to rotate around the knees, hips, and back during the traditional golf swing is vital to generating the momentum “in the swing” to hit the ball effectively.

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Pretest -Observations

Those rotational moments in the body and at the socket interface may cause damages, injuries, and affect the game of BK amputees. By modifying the stance of the subjects, the rotational reaction forces within the socket may change throughout the swing.

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Study Intent & Method

We would intend to investigate if those (rotational) moments change between the two stances and if there are any significant changes in the distance that the ball travels when the golfer’s stance is altered in this manner.

 

The study will commence with a series of survey questions that ask demographic questions such as age and experience golfing as a prosthetic user. The subjects will also answer survey questions that pertain to the pain and socket comfort scales which are validated measures and are commonly used in the field of prosthetics. Other questions will include the accuracy, ability to learn and adjust to the modified stance, as well as questions about the feel of the stance throughout the trials.

 

The measures of socket reaction moments included in the study will be collected via the Intelligent Prosthetic Endoskeleton Component System (IPecs) for each stance. Also, the distance of the shots being compared will be measured via the Trackman Golf radar system. The same instruments will be used for all data collection of all subjects. All data will be collected at Miles of Golf driving range on grass tees to ensure a realistic environment when hitting a golf ball.  

 

The subjects will arrive for visit number 1 which will be the data collection of the socket reaction moments and distance of the conventional swing. The subjects will be asked to fill out the first part of the participation survey before beginning data collection and then will be asked to fill out the remainder of the survey during and after the completion of the data collection. Each subject will be allowed to warm up and give their notification when they are ready to be tested.

 

Using randomization the subjects will be assigned to hit in a random order and each be hitting 3 different clubs throughout the trial to compare different shots. Each subject will hit each club a total of 8-10 shots and we will randomly collect 4-5 data points per club for each subject. This will ensure that the subjects have room for error and will not have any idea when they are actually being tested. After a subject hits one club for the 8-10 shots, a new subject will come in and hit that same club. Each subject will rest between each club and have the opportunity to rest or stop from participation at any point.

 

After the initial data collection of the conventional stance, the subjects will be taking lessons with Colin Maclean who developed the modified stance (over 4 training sessions). No data or any formal measures will be taken for the purpose of the study during the training sessions. The sessions are to merely teach the stance and allow for muscle memory development.

 

Following the completion of the training sessions the subjects will arrive for visit number 2 for the data collection of the modified stance. The same tools, measurements, and assessments will be used for this part of data collection. The subjects will fill out the same survey, as well as hit the same clubs from the initial assessment. Randomization will be used once again to determine the order of participation and which shots will actually be used for data collection. Nothing will change for this assessment except for the stance. After this data collection, the study will be concluded for the subjects.

           

Clubs chosen for the study were the Driver, Six Iron and Pitching Wedge.

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