(21) ANALYSIS OF FOUR DIFFERENT PRONE BODY POSITIONS ON TIME TO STAND AND SPRINT IN MALES

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the time required of an ‘offender’ to stand and sprint when starting from four different prone positions. Methods: Nine male subjects (age: 25 ± 8 years; height: 179.3 ± 5.7 cm; body mass: 91.9 ± 15.02 kg) volunteered to participate in this study. Subjects were allowed 10 minutes to perform a self-selected warm-up, then were asked to complete the trials from four different prone positions. The four positions are listed as follows: Hands Under Chest with Feet Turned Out (HUC, FTO), Hands Out with Feet Turned Out (HO, FTO), Hands Out with Feet Crossed (HO, FC), and Hands Out with Feet Crossed and Knees Bent (HO, FCKB). All positions were performed twice either facing toward or away from the starting line (denoted by t or a, respectively in Table 1) simulating an offender trying to engage or flee from an officer. Once in position, participants were instructed to stand as quickly as possible and sprint a 10-meter distance (16 sprints total). Timing gates were used to measure the time each subject could get up and sprint the 10m distance. The timing gates were arranged at the point of standing, 2.5m, 5m, 7.5m, and 10m. Results: Timing for each position is detailed in Table 1. The fastest overall time to sprint 10m after standing from the prone position was observed with the HO, FTO t position (2.81 ± 0.232s). The slowest overall time was observed from the HO, FCKB a position (3.12 ± 0.212s). Conclusions: This study gives insight of how fast a male offender could potentially react and sprint toward or away from a police officer. The least effective position to stand and sprint is from the Hands Out with Feet Crossed and Knees Bent position. This suggests that this position could give police officers the best advantage of time to react to an offender. Practical Applications: Understanding the time to sprint towards or away from an officer from various prone positions can enhance law enforcement training by improving an officer’s ability to respond to the actions of an offender. This information helps increase the overall level of police officer and public safety in critical situations. Acknowledgements: None