Effect of Thrower's Ten Exercises on Flick Movement Kinematics in Underwater Hockey

Underwater hockey is a team game which is played at the bottom of the swimming pool with palettes, a mask, a snorkel, earmuffs, a stick, and a puck. The aim of the game is for one of the teams to try to score goals to the goalpost of the other by using a flicking movement. The players can drag the puck, being a kind of ball, or pass it to a teammate to reach the opponent's goalpost. The puck is passed by way of pushing or flicking.

The Thrower's Ten exercises are used for such sports branches, which involve the upper extremity and particularly the overhead activity and throwing, in order to ensure coordination, proprioception, balance and symmetry in the double upper extremity. The Thrower's Ten exercises are comprised of special exercises selected for the improvement of the flexibility, strength and endurance of the major muscles that are frequently used for throwing and overhead activity such as deltoid muscles, supraspinatus muscles, latissimus dorsi, biceps, triceps and wrist extensors. The Thrower's Ten exercises are an exercise program that focuses on the scapular muscles, particularly on posterior rotator cuff muscles in order to ensure the balance of the anterior and the posterior shoulder muscles.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of The Thrower's Ten exercise program on the flicking movements in underwater hockey players.