Glove effects on forearm muscle activity in a windsurfing-like task

Windsurfers currently do not wear neoprene gloves when sailing in cold temperatures, as discomfort rapidly develops in the forearms when doing so. Lack of good protection against low temperatures means the hands get painfully cold and numb, limiting sailing time and pleasure. ElectroMyoGraphy (EMG) measurements were done on four forearm muscles of 10 healthy, experienced male windsurfers performing a windsurfing-like task, to find differences in muscle activation between the bare hand, two glove types, and a newly developed experimental prototype. Significantly less EMG activity was associated with the prototype condition for three out of four muscles, compared to the bare hand and glove conditions. No significant differences in muscle activation were found between the bare hand and the two glove conditions. Results of a questionnaire revealed that subjects found both glove conditions significantly more tiring than the bare hand and prototype conditions. The EMG measurement results indicate that the experimental prototype allows sailors to transfer forces between arm and boom with less effort than in bare hand or gloved conditions, but a probable cause of the forearm discomfort when wearing gloves was not found.BMDBioMechanical EngineeringMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin