31st Annual Student Research Conference
Drop Landing Modifications as a Result of Directional Context
Emily B. Wright* and Brian Z. Day
Dr. Michael Bird, Faculty Mentor
Drop-landing tasks are often used to evaluate anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk. Hip mechanics may influence knee injury risk. The purpose of this study was to determine if hip mechanics were altered between anticipated and unanticipated drop-landing trials. Thirteen female college-aged basketball, volleyball, or soccer athletes performed a drop-landing task in both anticipated and unanticipated conditions. Hip angular motion in the three orthogonal planes during landing was measured with a Vicon Nexus 3D Motion Analysis System. Force plates were used to determine foot strike, toe off, and peak ground reaction forces. Based on paired t-tests between conditions, there were no differences in hip motion or vertical ground reaction forces. Subjects hip mechanics were similar whether their movement was planned or not. This has potential implications for game situations: unanticipated motion requirements may not increase the risk of knee injury due to radically different hip movements.
Keywords: ACL risk, hip mechanics, biomechanics
Topic(s):Exercise Science
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 106-2
Location: VH 1010
Time: 8:15