ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomechanics
Methodology for Three-Dimensional Analysis of Asymmetries in Joint Moments in Cycling
Provisionally accepted
- 1Departamento de Ingeniería Minera, Mecánica, Energética y de la Construcción, Universidad de Huelva Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieria, Huelva, Spain
- 2Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica y Fabricación, Universidad de Sevilla Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieria de Sevilla, Seville, Spain
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The assessment of lower-limb joint moment asymmetries during cycling is critical, as inter-limb imbalances may lead to performance decrements, overload, or injury risk. While most investigations have focused on the sagittal plane, asymmetries may also arise in the frontal and transverse planes, with potential implications for both performance and health. The present study performed a three-dimensional analysis of joint moment asymmetries and examined the influence of pedalling power on their magnitude in ten amateur cyclists under three power conditions. Asymmetries were quantified using a modified version of the Normalised Symmetry Index (NSI), the Cross-Correlation Coefficient (CCC), and the newly proposed metric Asymmetries During Cycle (ADC) index. Results indicated that these indices must be applied jointly to identify whether asymmetries arise from magnitude differences, temporal pattern discrepancies, or both. The greatest asymmetries were observed in the frontal and transverse planes, and their magnitude decreased progressively with increasing pedalling power. The novelty of this work resides in the combined application of NSI, CCC, and the ADC index to three-dimensional joint moment analysis, which together provide a comprehensive and mechanistic understanding of asymmetries throughout the pedalling cycle, an approach not previously reported in cycling biomechanics.
Keywords: 3D Asymmetries Analysis, 3D Joint Moment, Cycling, Normalized symmetry index, Workload Effect
Received: 25 Aug 2025; Accepted: 12 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Martín-Sosa, Mayo and Ojeda. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ezequiel Martín-Sosa
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