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The effect of muscle fatigue on instep kicking kinetics

and kinematics in association football
a b b c
Tommy Apriantono , Hiroyuki Nunome , Yasuo Ikegami & Shinya Sano
a
Graduate School of Medicine,
b
Research Centre of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports,
c
Graduate School of Human Informatics, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
Published online: 18 Feb 2007.

To cite this article: Tommy Apriantono , Hiroyuki Nunome , Yasuo Ikegami & Shinya Sano (2006) The effect of muscle
fatigue on instep kicking kinetics and kinematics in association football, Journal of Sports Sciences, 24:9, 951-960, DOI:
10.1080/02640410500386050

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 Journal of Sports Sciences, September 2006; 24(9): 951 – 960

The effect of muscle fatigue on instep kicking kinetics and kinematics

in association football

TOMMY APRIANTONO1, HIROYUKI NUNOME2, YASUO IKEGAMI2, & SHINYA SANO3

1
Graduate School of Medicine, 2Research Centre of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, and 3Graduate School of Human
Informatics, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

(Accepted 3 October 2005)

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Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the effect of leg muscle fatigue on the kinetics and kinematics of the instep football kick.
Fatigue was induced by repeated, loaded knee extension (40% body weight) and flexion (50% body weight) motions on a
weight-training machine until exhaustion. The kicking motions of seven male players were captured three-dimensionally at
500 Hz before and immediately after the fatigue protocol. The significantly slower ball velocity observed in the fatigue
condition was due to both reduced lower leg swing speed and poorer ball contact. The reduced leg swing speed, represented
by a slower toe linear velocity immediately before ball impact and slower peak lower leg angular velocity, was most likely due
to a significantly reduced resultant joint moment and motion-dependent interactive moment during kicking. These results
suggest that the specific muscle fatigue induced in the present study not only diminished the ability to generate force, but also
disturbed the effective action of the interactive moment leading to poorer inter-segmental coordination during kicking.
Moreover, fatigue obscured the eccentric action of the knee flexors immediately before ball impact. This might increase the
susceptibility to injury.

Keywords: Artificial fatigue, resultant joint moment, motion-dependent interaction

football-specific intermittent exercise bout. Typi-

Introduction
In association football, the ability to produce a fast
ball velocity when kicking represents a distinct
advantage for players. When shooting at goal, a fast
ball velocity allows defenders and goalkeepers less
time to react, thereby enhancing the shooter’s chance
of scoring a goal. Muscle strength is important for
a faster leg swing speed and higher ball velocity to
be generated. Several authors have reported a
strong relationship between leg muscle strength and
the resultant ball velocity during kicking (Narici,
Sirtori, & Mognoni, 1988; Poulmedis, Rondoyannis,
Mitsou, & Tsarouchas, 1988). However, during the
course of a football match, especially towards the end
of the match, players suffer from muscle fatigue due
to the repeated bursts of intensive game activities.
Even in elite football players, the effect of fatigue is
noticeable and is reflected in a decline in perfor-
mance (Reilly, 1994; Mohr, Krustrup, & Bangsbo,
2003; Taylor, Butler, & Gandevia, 2000). Rahnama,
Reilly, Lees and Graham-Smith (2003) demon-
strated that leg muscle fatigue increases and
strength declines towards the end of a 90-min
cally, players find it difficult to retain leg muscle
strength during a game due to muscle fatigue. It can
be assumed that an induced leg muscle fatigue
somehow disturbs maximal kicking performance and
also leads to a less coordinated kicking motion,
thereby making players more susceptible to injury
(Davis and Bailey, 1997; Lieber & Friden, 1988;
Rahnama et al., 2003). To date, the effect of fatigue
on the kicking action has received scant attention and
only one study has focused on the influence of
fatigue on kinematics (Lees & Davies, 1988).
The pattern of the kicking motion is generally
accepted as a proximal-to-distal sequence of seg-
mental motion, which has been described and
analysed from a kinetic perspective (Dörge, Andersen,
Sørensen, & Simonsen, 2002; Luhtanen, 1988;
Nunome, Asai, Ikegami, & Sakurai, 2002; Putnam,
1991). An open kinetic chain model, generally used
for detailed biomechanical analysis, allows the mo-
ment due to muscle forces and other sources to be
computed separately. The former is an approximate
reflection of the input of muscle forces about the
particular joints (Luhtanen, 1988; Nunome et al.,

Correspondence: H. Nunome, Research Centre of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
E-mail: nunome@htc.nagoya-u.ac.jp
ISSN 0264-0414 print/ISSN 1466-447X online Ó 2006 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/02640410500386050
 952 T. Apriantono et al.

2002; Robertson & Mosher, 1985), and the latter is

generally accepted as an index of segmental coordi-
nation (Putnam, 1991; Dörge et al., 2002; Nunome
et al., 2004). Recent studies (Dörge et al., 2002;
Nunome, Ikegami, Apriantono, & Sano, 2004; Put-
nam, 1991) have revealed that a coordinated kicking
action is executed by the controlled application of
muscle forces and segmental interactions. However,
the effect of muscle fatigue on kicking kinetics and
kinematics has never been systematically examined. In
contrast, the effect of fatigue on the physical perfor-
mance of footballers (Bangsbo, 1994; Drust, Reilly, &
Cable, 2000; Gleeson, Mercer, & Campbell, 1995;
Mohr et al., 2003; Rahnama et al., 2003) and on other
sports actions such as sprint running and vertical
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jumping (Pinniger, Steele, & Groeller, 2000; Rodacki,

Fowler, & Bennett, 2002) has been extensively
investigated.
It has been suggested that a decreased leg muscle
strength and a reduced segmental coordination will
lead to distinct changes in kicking kinetics and
kinematics. The purpose of the present study,
therefore, was to determine the effects of induced
leg muscle fatigue on the leg swing mechanics of
instep football kicking kinetics and kinematics based
on a detailed analysis of the muscle moment and
motion-dependent interaction.
Methods
Participants
Seven adult male football players (height: mean
169.6, s ¼ 4.3 cm; mass: mean 60.5, s ¼ 3.4 kg; age:
mean 20.0, s ¼ 2.1 years) from the Nagoya University
football team, who had no history of major lower
limb injury or disease, volunteered to participate in
this study after providing their informed consent. All
participants were playing regularly for the university
team and each had more than 10 years of football
practice (mean 10.6, s ¼ 2.1 years). The study was
approved by the Human Research Committee of the
Research Centre of Health, Physical Fitness and
Sports of Nagoya University.
Outline of experiment
The experimental procedure is summarized in
Figure 1. First, each participant performed an
adequate warm-up that was similar to their usual
preparation for a game, including stretching, jogging,
sprinting and ball kicking, for 15 min. An experi-
enced coach who belonged to the university team
conducted the warm-up exercises. After the warm-
up, the participants were requested to perform five
maximal instep kicks towards a handball goal
(3.0 6 2.0 m) that was located 11 m in front of them.
Figure 1. Outline of the experimental procedure.
Their kicking motions were captured three-dimen-
sionally by two high-speed video cameras. After the
kicking trials, isokinetic strength of the knee ex-
tensors and flexors was assessed, followed by the
muscle fatigue protocol. Immediately after leg
muscle fatigue had been induced, knee extensor
and flexor strength was again assessed isokinetically.
Finally, the participants performed another five
maximal instep kicks and the three-dimensional
kinematics was recorded once again. Each partici-
pant was scheduled to separately start the fatigue
exercise session every 30 min, and was not allowed
rest between the protocols, to minimize the differ-
ence in recovery time between participants after the
fatigue protocol. The intervals between the muscle
fatigue protocol, the isokinetic muscle strength
measurement and the kicking trials were less than
1 min for each participant.
To familiarize the participants with the isokinetic
strength measurement apparatus, they each under-
went a pre-test isokinetic muscle strength measure-
ment 2 days before the main experiment using the
same protocol but with submaximal efforts.
Strength measurement
To obtain baseline strength data and quantify
decrements in muscle strength resulting from a
subsequent specific fatigue task, the isokinetic peak
torques of the knee extensors and flexors were
measured before and immediately after the fatigue
protocol. Peak torques for both muscle groups were

assessed at three angular velocities [0.52, 3.14 and
5.23 rad  s71 (30, 180 and 3008  s71)] in ran-
domized order without any rest between velocity
conditions using a Cybex dynamometer. The peak
values of the five trails were averaged for each
velocity.
Leg muscle fatigue protocol
To induce fatigue of the knee extensors and flexors,
the participants were asked to repeat symmetrical
(using both sides of legs) knee extension and flexion
motions on a weight-training machine (Nautilus
strength machine), at a self-chosen pace. According
to the procedure of Rodacki et al. (2002), the loads
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were set at 50% body weight for the knee extensors
and 40% body weight for the knee flexors. Partici-
pants were requested to perform three sets of knee
extension and flexion bouts without rest. In each
bout, they were instructed to repeat the task as many
times as possible until exhaustion. The average
numbers of repetitions for the knee extension and
flexion tasks decreased from the first to the second
and third sets, respectively. For the knee extension
motion, the average numbers of repetitions for the
first, second and third sets were 41.0, 30.0 and 23.0,
respectively. Those for the knee flexion motions were
35.0, 25.0 and 20.0, respectively.
Kicking trial
In the kicking trial, all participants performed five
maximal instep kicks before (non-fatigue condition)
and immediately after (fatigue condition) fatigue
had been induced. A FIFA approved size 5 football
(mass ¼ 435 g) was used for each kicking session and
its inflation was controlled throughout the trials at
700 hPa. To maintain a straight ball trajectory, they
were instructed to kick the ball as hard as possible
into the centre of the handball goal with the instep of
their foot. Before the trials, half spherical markers
(30 mm diameter) were fixed securely onto the
lateral side of the bony anatomical landmarks of the
right and left legs, including the fifth metatarsal head
(toe), calcaneus (heel), malleolus (ankle), epicondyle
of the femur (knee) and the greater trochanter (hip).
Kicks were repeated until five successful shots with a
good foot–ball impact and adequate centre of goal
targeting were recorded. The quality of ball impact
and straight ball trajectory were judged by both the
participant and the investigator.
Kinematic and kinetic procedures
Two electrically synchronized high-speed video
cameras (NAC Inc., Tokyo, Japan) were used to
capture the lower limb motion at 500 Hz (exposure
Muscle fatigue in instep kicking 953
time was 1/2000 s). These cameras were positioned
at the rear and on the kicking leg (right) side. To
calibrate the performance area, a calibration frame
(1.8 6 1.8 6 1.8 m) with 16 control points was
videotaped before the trials. A digitizing system
(Frame DIAS II, DKH Inc., Tokyo, Japan) was used
to manually digitize the anatomical body landmarks.
For each participant, five non-fatigue trials and five
fatigue trials were analysed. Each trial was digitized
from the toe-off of the kicking leg to ball impact. Ten
additional frames before the toe-off and after ball
impact were also digitized. The direct linear trans-
formation (DLT) method (Abdel-Aziz & Karara,
1971) was used to obtain the three-dimensional
coordinates of each landmark. The performance area
(1.8 6 1.8 6 1.8 m) was calibrated with a net root
mean square error of 3 mm. The three-dimensional
coordinates were expressed as a right-handed ortho-
gonal reference frame fixed on the ground (the Z axis
was vertical and pointed upwards, the Y axis was
horizontal and pointed to the centre of the target, and
the X axis was perpendicular to the Z and Y axes).
The horizontal component of the initial ball
velocity was calculated as the first derivative of linear
regression lines fitted to their non-filtered displace-
ments (ten airborne frames after the end of ball
impact), and the vertical component of ball velocity
was calculated as the first derivative of a quadratic
regression line with its second derivative set equal to
79.81 m  s72 fitted to its non-filtered displacement
in the available airborne frames. The absolute
magnitude of the ball velocity was calculated from
the value of its components.
The toe linear velocity immediately before ball
impact was computed for each component as the first
derivative of linear regression lines fitted to their
non-filtered displacements (seven frames before ball
impact). The absolute magnitude of the toe velocity
was calculated from the value of its components.
From the results of a previous study (Nunome
et al., 2002), the foot joint motion was assumed not
to have a substantial effect on the leg swing motion
during kicking. Thus, the shank and foot segment
were combined and defined as one segment (lower
leg), then the kicking leg was modelled as a two link
kinetic chain composed of the thigh and lower leg.
For calculating absolute angular velocity and angular
acceleration of the thigh and lower leg segment, local
reference frames (RT and RL) were defined at the
centre of thigh and lower leg segments, respectively
(Figure 2a). ZT was the vector from the right hip to
the right knee and ZL was the vector from the knee to
ankle. XT was the vector product of ZL and ZT. XL
was the vector product of ZL and a vector from the
ankle to toe. YT and YL were the vector products of
ZT and ZL and XT and XL, respectively. All reference
frame vectors were normalized to unit length.
 954 T. Apriantono et al.
Figure 2. (a) Reference frames fixed to the thigh (RT) and lower leg (RL ). (b) The magnitude of both the moment and angular velocity
vectors was calculated as a parallel component to the unit vector (EK ) defined by the vector ZL and ZT.
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According to the procedure described by Feltner
and Dapena (1986), the resultant joint moment
(hereafter referred to as the muscle moment) and
the moment due to the joint reaction force (hereafter
referred to as the interactive moment) were com-
puted. Segment mass, centre of the mass location
and moment of inertial values were derived from the
data of young living Japanese athletes (Ae, Tang, &
Yokoi, 1992) using a similar procedure first de-
scribed by Jensen (1978), which was considered
more appropriate for the participants in the present
study. The mass of the shoe was 350 g, which was
added to the foot mass. Using methods similar to
those reported by Sprigings, Marshall, Elliot and
Jennings (1994), the absolute angular velocity vector
was calculated for the thigh and lower leg. As shown
in Figure 2b, a unit vector EK which is perpendicular
to the plane defined by the vectors ZL and ZT was
calculated. The magnitudes of both moment and
angular velocity vectors were calculated as a parallel
component to the unit vector. The positive (þ) and
negative (7) values corresponded to forward and
backward rotations of the lower leg and the thigh,
respectively. Note that the angular velocity of each
segment does not fully represent the nature of the
anatomical joint angular velocity defined by the
relative position to the adjacent segment.
The impact of the foot with the ball has been
known to produce a sudden deceleration of the
kicking leg, which causes a serious distortion of the
kinetic data near ball impact when the data are
filtered. Nunome et al. (2002) used forward pass
(towards the impact) filtering to exclude this type of
error. However, as the reverse order filtering was
cancelled, the data were prone to phase distortion. In
the present study, to overcome this issue, the
moments were first computed from unsmoothed
coordinates until three frames before ball impact,
by which appropriate second derivatives can be
obtained without any influence of ball impact using
central differentiation. Then, the non-smoothed
moment data were extrapolated for 15 points,
including the final 3 data points, using a polynomial
regression. The additional 12 data points avoided the
end-point distortion produced by filtering artifacts.
Giakas, Baltzopoulos and Bartlett (1998) highlighted
the sensitivity of the order of polynomial extrapola-
tion for fitting to the raw coordinates (the final 10
data points). They showed that the fitting (evaluated
by the coefficient of determination) was not sub-
stantially improved after the third order. This
suggests that a higher-order polynomial was unne-
cessary to adequately extrapolate the raw coordinates
for short duration. Therefore, the first- and second-
order polynomials were considered suitable to
resemble the final change of the second and first
derivative data, respectively. The moments were
extrapolated using the first-order polynomial regres-
sion and angular velocities were extrapolated in the
same manner using the second-order polynomial
regression. The polynomial regressions were care-
fully defined for each single data set to resemble its
final change. The final 25 – 35 data points were used
to determine each polynomial regression after
extensive experimentation with all the signals avail-
able in this study. After these extrapolations, all
parameters were digitally smoothed by a fourth-order
Butterworth filter at 12.5 Hz, and then the extra-
polated region after the moment of ball impact was
removed.
Statistical analysis
Comparisons between the non-fatigue and fatigue
conditions were made using paired two-tailed
Student’s t-tests. Pearson correlation was also used
to estimate the relationship between the final toe
linear velocity and ball velocity using all trails

(5 trials 6 7 participants) in each condition. The toe
linear velocity was treated as an independent
variable.
Results
Figure 3 shows mean peak isokinetic knee extensor
and flexor strength in the non-fatigue and fatigue
conditions. Significant differences (P 5 0.01) were
observed between the two conditions for mean peak
knee extensor strength at 0.52 rad  s71 (mean 220.5,
s ¼ 25.8 N  m vs. mean 177.9, s ¼ 23.1 N  m), at 3.14
rad  s71 (mean 111.1, s ¼ 13.6 N  m vs. mean 85.8,
s ¼ 6.5 N  m) and at 5.23 rad  s71 (mean 64.9,
s ¼ 13.1 N  m vs. mean 46.4, s ¼ 10.9 N  m).
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Significant differences (P 5 0.01) were also found for
knee flexor strength at 0.52 rad  s71 (mean 145.3,
s ¼ 16.0 N  m vs. mean 104.9, s ¼ 12.0 N  m), at 3.14
rad  s71 (mean 81.8, s ¼ 7.8 N  m vs. mean 55.8,
s ¼ 8.2 N  m) and at 5.23 rad  s71 (mean 52.0,
s ¼ 4.1 N  m vs. mean 32.3, s ¼ 7.4 N  m).
Table I shows the mean values of the initial ball
velocity and selected kinematic variables related to the
leg swing motion in both conditions. All participants
consistently produced a lower ball velocity after fatigue
had been induced. A significant difference was
observed for the initial ball velocity between the two
conditions (P 5 0.05). The toe linear velocity imme-
diately before ball impact (P 5 0.01) and the maximal
lower leg angular velocity (P 5 0.05) were significantly
decreased in the fatigue condition, while no substantial
differences were observed for peak thigh angular
velocity.
Figure 4 shows the relationship between the toe
linear velocity and initial ball velocity in both
conditions. A higher correlation coefficient was
Figure 3. Comparison of mean isokinetic strength of the knee extensors and flexors between the non-fatigue (solid bars) and fatigue (stippled
bars) conditions. The average decline rates in the fatigue condition are shown at the top of bars. **Significant difference (P 5 0.01).
Muscle fatigue in instep kicking 955
obtained in the non-fatigue condition (r ¼ 0.572)
than in the fatigue condition (r ¼ 0.314). The
correlation coefficient was significant (P 5 0.01)
only in the non-fatigue condition.
Figure 5 shows the the mean changes in lower leg
angular velocity, net moment of the lower leg,
muscle moment and interactive moment in both
conditions. For most aspects of the kick, those
changes were similar between the two conditions.
However, significant differences were found between
the two conditions for the peak net moment of
the lower leg (P 5 0.05), peak muscle moment
(P 5 0.01) and maximal interactive moment during
kicking (P 5 0.01). Table II summarizes the selected
kinetic variables.
Discussion
Muscle fatigue protocol
To date, the effect of muscle fatigue has never been
examined during match-play because of practical
difficulties. In most previous studies, muscle fatigue
was induced by maximal voluntary contractions of
specific muscle groups and its effect was evaluated by
measuring the isokinetic strength before and im-
mediately after the artificial fatigue has been induced.
Despite there being large differences between the
fatigue protocol and strength profiling adapted in
previous studies, they consistently proved to induce
muscle fatigue. Gleeson et al. (1995) reported a 33%
(knee extensors) and 20% (knee flexors) reduction in
peak torque at an angular velocity of 3.14 rad  s71
after 30 reciprocal maximal voluntary actions of
both muscle groups. In a study of elbow extension
and flexion, Kawakami, Kanehisa, Ikegawa and
 956 T. Apriantono et al.
Fukunaga (1993) reported a decline in muscle
strength of 27 – 40% at a wide range of angular
velocities (0.21 – 1.05 rad  s71) after 50 consecutive
trials of maximal concentric and eccentric muscle
actions. Rodacki et al. (2002) also successfully reduced
the isokinetic peak torque (1.05 rad  s71) of the knee
extensors and flexors to 14% and 13%, respectively.
Interestingly, an attempt was made to induce
fatigue similar to that experienced in a football
match. Rahnama et al. (2003) actualized a football-
specific intermittent protocol including walking,
jogging, cruising and sprinting using a programma-
ble motorized treadmill and reported somewhat
smaller reductions, especially for the knee extensors
(8 – 16%). This suggests that the protocol used in the
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present study may have caused more serious fatigue
in the leg muscles than competitive match-play.
However, in the protocol used by Rahnama et al.
(2003), several essential football actions, such as
cutting, stopping, jumping, dribbling and ball
kicking, were excluded because of technical imprac-
ticalities. Thus, there is a possibility that their
protocol did not fully reflect the condition of leg
Table I. Resultant ball velocity and kinematic parameters
(mean + s).
Non-fatigue Fatigue
Resultant ball velocity (m  s71) 28.4 + 1.6 26.8 + 1.1*
Maximal toe linear velocity 27.1 + 1.2 26.0 + 1.3**
(m  s71)
Peak lower leg angular velocity 37.1 + 3.4 35.7 + 2.4*
(rad  s71)
Peak thigh angular velocity 16.6 + 1.4 16.5 + 1.5
(rad  s71)
Significant difference between pre- and post-fatigue: *P 5 0.05,
**P 5 0.01.
Figure 4. Relationship between toe velocity immediately before ball impact and the resultant ball velocity in the non-fatigue (left) and fatigue
(right) conditions.
muscle fatigue accumulated in competitive match-
play. Consequently, it is unclear which procedure
best reflects maximal kicking towards the end of a
match.
In the present study, the fatigue protocol designed
to induce muscle fatigue succeeded in significantly
reducing the capacity of the knee extensor and flexor
muscles to generate force. Moreover, the reduced
ability was evident from slow (0.52 rad  s71) to fast
(5.23 rad  s71) angular velocities and the reductions
(19.3–38.0%) were within the range of previously
reported values.
Ball velocity
The instep kicking motion for a maximal football
kick has been described and analysed from a
biomechanical perspective. Several studies have
reported average ball velocities of the instep football
kick, and the range in ball velocities of the instep kick
measured in the present study was within the range
of average values (24.7–29.9 m  s71) reported pre-
viously (Asami & Nolte, 1983; Dörge et al., 2002;
Levanon & Dapena, 1998; Nunome et al., 2002). As
expected, we found that the initial ball velocity of the
instep kick was consistently and significantly de-
creased after the specific leg muscle fatigue had been
induced (mean 28.4, s ¼ 1.6 m  s71 vs. mean 26.8,
s ¼ 1.1 m  s71).
The foot velocity immediately before ball impact
has been considered as a strong determinant of the
initial ball velocity (Asami & Nolte, 1983). In a
comparison of the instep and side-foot kicks,
Levanon and Dapena (1998) concluded that the
lower ball velocity of the side-foot kick was due
exclusively to the slower final speed of the foot in
that kick. Nunome et al. (2002) provided support for
their results by showing similar lower ball and foot
 Muscle fatigue in instep kicking 957
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Figure 5. Changes in angular velocity, net moment, muscle moment and interactive moment of the lower leg, throughout the kicking
motion. In all graphs, time from toe-off until ball impact was normalized to 100%.

velocities of the side-foot kick than those of the instep lower in the fatigue condition than in the non-fatigue
kick. In this study, we used toe velocity as an index condition (mean 26.0, s ¼ 1.3 m  s71 vs. mean 27.1,
of foot velocity and found that the toe velocity s ¼ 1.2 m  s71). Thus it is reasonable to suggest that
immediately before ball impact was significantly the induced specific muscle fatigue decreased the
 958 T. Apriantono et al.
Table II. Selected kinetic parameters (mean + s).
Non-fatigue Fatigue
Peak net moment of lower leg 89.4 + 15.6 83.7 + 14.7*
(N  m)
Peak muscle moment of knee 127.8 + 20.2 108.4 + 17.1**
joint (N  m)
Maximal interaction moment 57.5 + 25.3 29.8 + 12.1**
of knee joint (N  m)
Significant difference between pre- and post-fatigue: *P 5 0.05,
**P 5 0.01.
foot velocity immediately before ball impact and this
most likely led to the reduced initial ball velocity.
The mechanics of collision between the foot and
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ball has been identified by Lees (2003). By consider-
ing the mechanics, the resultant ball velocity can be
stated as:
½ M   ½ 1 þ e
Vball ¼ Vfoot 
½ M þ m
where Vball and Vfoot are the velocity of ball and foot
respectively, [M] is the effective striking mass of the
leg, m is mass of the ball and e is the coefficient of
restitution. The term e relates to the quality of ball
impact. This index can have a functional effect on
the resultant ball velocity produced by kicking.
However, estimated values of the effective striking
mass, M, have been reported to vary considerably
(from 1 to 4 kg) in the literature (Asami & Nolte,
1983; Plagenhof, 1971; Togari, 1972). This makes it
difficult to directly estimate the ball impact quality
from the above formula. Thus, in the present study,
the quality of ball impact was indirectly evaluated by
estimating the relationship between the toe linear
velocity immediately before ball impact and the
initial ball velocity. Although a significant correlation
(r ¼ 0.572, P 5 0.01) between the ball and toe
velocities was found in the non-fatigue condition,
there was a poor correlation (r ¼ 0.314) in the fatigue
condition. In the fatigue condition, a systematic
relationship–the faster toe velocity corresponding to
the faster ball velocity–seemed to be obscured. This
may suggest that the quality of foot–ball impact
varied widely after muscle fatigue had been induced.
Lees and Davies (1988) are the only researchers to
have reported the effect of fatigue on the resultant
ball velocity in maximal football kicking. They
reported that the ball velocity in the fatigue condition
was reduced due to poorer ball impact position,
while the foot velocity at ball impact was comparable
to that of the non-fatigue condition. In the present
study, muscle fatigue probably somehow disturbed
the accurate repetitions of the kicking motion,
thereby forcing the participants to fail to produce
a constant quality of ball impact. This also could
partially explain the reduced ball velocity observed in
the fatigue condition.
Kinematics and kinetics
The effect of fatigue has received little attention in
the literature. Lees and Davies (1988) reported the
effect of fatigue on kicking kinematics. In their study,
even though fatigue reduced the coordination of the
lower leg, foot velocity at ball impact did not change
after fatigue had been induced. This finding is not in
line with the results of the present study, in particular
for the influence of fatigue on the resultant leg swing
speed. In the study of Lees and Davies (1988),
fatigue was induced by performing a step exercise for
6 min. In contrast, in the present study, fatigue was
induced through repeated loaded knee extension and
flexion motions on a weight-training machine until
exhaustion. The fatigue induced in the present study
is likely to have been greater than that induced in the
study of Lees and Davies (1988).
The present study is the first to systematically
examine the effect of leg muscle fatigue on kinetic
and kinematic parameters simultaneously during
instep football kicking. We found that the exercise
protocol significantly reduced maximal lower leg
angular velocity as fatigue took effect, while no
substantial influence was observed on peak thigh
angular velocity (see Table I). This meant that the
difference in the foot (toe) velocity immediately
before ball impact between the fatigue and non-
fatigue conditions was most likely the result of the
difference in lower leg angular velocity. Lower leg
motion during kicking is known to be executed by
the controlled application of the resultant joint
moment and moment due to segmental interactions
(Dörge et al., 2002; Nunome et al., 2004; Putnam,
1991). Thus it can be expected that reduced leg
muscle strength and a less coordinated segmental
motion are responsible for the reduced angular
velocity of the lower leg.
The general patterns of muscle moment and
interactive moment change in the present study were
similar to those reported by Nunome et al. (2004).
As shown in Figure 5, the positive muscle moment
dominated lower leg motion when positive rotation
of the lower leg was initiated and the peak net
moment was achieved. Then, in contrast to a rapid
inhibition of the muscle moment, the interactive
moment generated the positive moment, thus dom-
inating lower leg motion during the final phase of
kicking. Contrary to our expectations, for most of the
kicking action the general patterns of these moments
appeared not to be substantially changed after fatigue
had been induced. The peak value of the muscle
moment was, however, significantly decreased in the
fatigue condition (see Table II). This directly reflects

the reduced ability of the knee extensors to generate
force as measured by the isokinetic dynamometer.
Since the muscle moment dominated lower leg
motion when its net moment showed the largest
positive value, the reduced magnitude of the muscle
moment was most likely responsible for the slower
lower leg angular velocity observed in the fatigue
condition.
Muscle fatigue also had a significant negative effect
on the magnitude of the interactive moment (see
Table II and Figure 5). This moment is widely
accepted as an index of segmental coordination,
which forms a typical ‘‘whiplash’’ motion included in
kicking (Dörge et al., 2002; Nunome et al., 2004;
Putnam, 1991). Dörge et al. (2002) reported that a
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faster swing of the preferred leg can most likely be
attributed to a greater amount of positive work done
on the lower leg due to the interactive moment. Thus,
they concluded that the preferred leg possesses a
better inter-segmental pattern. As shown in Figure 5,
it is assumed that the interactive moment in the
non-fatigue condition helps to increase and/or main-
tain the lower leg angular velocity during the final
phase of kicking. One interpretation is that fatigue
interfered with the effective action of the interactive
moment during lower leg extension due to a poorer
segmental coordination. This factor also helped to
reduce final lower leg angular velocity. Consequently,
it could be suggested that fatigue not only reduces the
muscle’s ability to generate force but also led to a
worsening of the segmental coordination pattern
during kicking.
Although the changes in lower leg angular
velocity and net moment of the lower leg were
not appreciably different between the fatigue and
non-fatigue conditions, a distinct change in their
source was observed during the final phase of
kicking. In the non-fatigue condition, a large value
of the negative muscle moment and a large value of
the positive interactive moment were observed
during the final phase of the kick. In contrast, in
the fatigue condition, the magnitude of both muscle
and interactive moments became smaller; in parti-
cular, the negative muscle moment observed
immediately prior to ball impact before fatigue
had been induced, had almost disappeared (see
Figure 5). This unique change of the moments
clearly illustrates the kinetic change induced by
fatigue and suggests the mode of muscle action
about the knee joint was altered after fatigue had
been induced. The isokinetic strength assessment
conducted in the present study showed that the
decline in strength of the knee flexors was most
pronounced as angular velocity increased (Figure 3).
Rahnama et al. (2003) also reported smaller
rates of decline of the knee extensors relative to the
flexors, thus suggesting that the knee extensors
Muscle fatigue in instep kicking 959
become more dominant after football-specific inter-
mitted exercise, particularly at high contracting
speeds. A larger deficit of the knee flexors’ ability
to generate force may account for the altered
aspects of the muscle moment. However, it should
be noted that the muscle moment computed from
the link segment model is a resultant parameter that
was determined by the balance of the relative strength
between moments generated by the agonist and
antagonist muscles. Thus, it is impossible to deter-
mine whether the kinetic alteration was caused by a
relatively larger exhibition of the knee flexors moment
or a relatively smaller exhibition of the knee extensors
moment.
The role of the eccentric action of the knee flexors
immediately before ball impact has been argued in
the literature (De Proft, Clarys, Bollens, Cabri, &
Dufour, 1988; Dörge et al., 2002; Robertson &
Mosher, 1985). A safety mechanism to prevent over-
extension of the knee joint has been proposed as a
possible explanation (Dörge et al., 2002; Robertson
& Mosher, 1985). If the product of the negative
muscle moment works as an inherent safety system,
it could be that the fatigue induced in the present
study obscured its function, thereby increasing the
susceptibility to injury. Moreover, the wide variation
in the quality of ball impact may have led to an
inconsistent force input from ball impact. This
inconsistent and unexpected force input probably
adds to the susceptibility. However, the present study
dealt only with the kicking action before ball impact,
in which the force interactions between ball and leg
systems could not be inferred. Future investigations
should include the kinetics during ball impact to help
determine susceptibility to injury.
Conclusion
In the present study, the effects of fatigue on kicking
kinetics and kinematics were systematically exam-
ined. Fatigue apparently reduced the quality of ball
contact, toe velocity immediately before ball impact
and lower leg angular velocity. Both the poorer ball
contact and slower leg swing speed resulted in
reduced resultant ball velocity after fatigue had been
induced. The slower lower leg swing observed in the
fatigue condition was most likely due to the smaller
muscle moment and interactive moment during the
kick. From these results, it can be considered that leg
muscle fatigue not only decreased the ability of the
muscle to generate force during kicking, but also
disturbed the effective action of the segmental
interaction during the final phase of kick, which led
to a worsening of the inter-segmental coordination.
In particular, the altered aspects of the kinetics
immediately before ball impact might link to the
susceptibility of injury.
 960 T. Apriantono et al.
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