Landing
Viscoelastic materials are used extensively in sports surfaces which are designed to allow elastic deformation that can enhance performance and reduce loading. A variety of surfaces have been developed which are commonly assigned to one of two groups: point-elastic surfaces that distribute forces over a small area, and area-elastic surfaces that react to a local force by deforming over a relatively large area. The surface-athlete interaction has been identified as a possible factor that may affect the risk of injury, since internal structures may become damaged when loading is too large. Landing mats are bulky, have a number of component layers, transmit forces relatively slowly and undergo large area-viscoelastic deformations. This introduces a number of potential problems related to the mat's construction, the dynamics of the mat whilst undergoing impact and the mat / force plate interaction. A significant amount of mat mass may be accelerated during impact and it will take a finite time for the force at the surface of the mat to be detected beneath the mat via a force plate. If detailed analysis of the gymnast-mat interaction during landing is to be investigated, the mechanical response of the area-elastic mat in such loading regimes needs to be determined accurately.
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