Information about project titled 'Relatonship between lower extremity strength and knee valgus moments in drop jumps'
Relatonship between lower extremity strength and knee valgus moments in drop jumps
| Details about the project - category | Details about the project - value |
|---|---|
| Project status: | Published |
| Project manager: | Kristian Brudeseth Ruud |
| Supervisor(s): | Tron Krosshaug, Eirik Kristianslund, Agnethe Nilstad |
| Coworker(s): | Kathrin Steffen, Oliver Faul |
Description
Non-contact ACL-injuries represent a major problem in athletes playing pivoting sport, such as football and team handball. The incidence among women have shown to be 3-5 times higher than in men. In order to prevent these serious knee injuries a complete understanding of their causations are necessary. There is still a wide lack of knowledge regarding the risk factors and the mechanisms behind an ACL-injury.
Several and recent studies have shown that comprehensive prevention programs, which address aspects, such as balance, strength and nevromuscular training, are able to reduce the incidence of ACL injury. Still, it is not know which component is the principal in preventing injuries, and there is still lack of consensus of the exact injury mechanism. Both quadriceps and hamstring strength, and hip muscle activation are found to influence lower extremity landing kinematics in sagittale and frontal plane.
Few studies have investigated the associations between lower extremity strength and knee valgus moments in a drop jump through three-dimensional motion analysis. Excessive dynamic knee valgus in a drop jump may leave athletes prone to serious knee injuries, and high knee valgus moments are discussed to be an important risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the associations between lower extremity strength and knee valgus moments in landings during maximal drop jumps of female handball- and football players.
Methods
This study includes data from 500 female team handball- and football players from the respectively top leagues in Norway, and the Norwegian national handball team. The players have been tested during the period 2007-2010.
Testing included isokinetic hamstring and quadriceps strength, isometric hip abductor strength, maximum leg press, and three-dimensional motion analysis of drop jumps. Kinematics and kinetics of the knee joint will be estimated with inverse dynamics calculations.