Changing the Mandibular Position in Rowing: A Brief Report of a World-Class Rower
Filipa Cardoso, Ricardo Cardoso, Pedro Fonseca, Manoel Rios, João Paulo Vilas-Boas, João C. Pinho, David B. Pyne, Ricardo J. Fernandes

TL;DR
A world-class rower showed improved performance and reduced muscle effort when using a mouth splint to adjust jaw position during rowing.
Contribution
This study demonstrates that mandibular repositioning via an intraoral splint can enhance rowing economy and reduce upper body muscle activation.
Findings
Oxygen uptake was lower with the splint at higher exercise intensities.
Rowing technique changed with the splint, including slower frequency and longer propulsive movement.
The splint reduced upper body muscle activation while increasing lower body activity and rowing economy.
Abstract
We investigated the acute biophysical responses of changing the mandibular position during a rowing incremental protocol. A World-class 37-year-old male rower performed two 7 × 3 min ergometer rowing trials, once with no intraoral splint (control) and the other with a mandibular forward repositioning splint (splint condition). Ventilatory, kinematics and body electromyography were evaluated and compared between trials (paired samples t-test, p ≤ 0.05). Under the splint condition, oxygen uptake was lower, particularly at higher exercise intensities (67.3 ± 2.3 vs. 70.9 ± 1.5 mL·kg−1·min−1), and ventilation increased during specific rowing protocol steps (1st–4th and 6th). Wearing the splint condition led to changes in rowing technique, including a slower rowing frequency ([18–30] vs. [19–32] cycles·min−1) and a longer propulsive movement ([1.58–1.52] vs. [1.56–1.50] m) than the control…
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Taxonomy
TopicsSports Performance and Training · Winter Sports Injuries and Performance · Sports Dynamics and Biomechanics
