Article

Athletes suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury tend to
exhibit similar body postures that in sidestep cutting are associated with
increased knee moments. This relationship, however, has not been investigated in
landing. Catching a ball in different overhead positions may affect landing
postures and knee joint moments. This study investigated these possible
relationships. It was anticipated that some joint postures would be associated
increased knee loads during the landing task. METHODS: Twenty-five healthy male
team sports athletes performed four variations of a landing task. Full body
kinematics were identified at initial contact. Peak flexion, valgus and internal
rotation moments at the knee, measured during early landing, were normalized to
mass and height and statistically compared. Intra-participant correlations were
performed between all kinematics and each moment. Mean slopes for each
correlation were used to identify the existence of relationships between full
body kinematics and knee joint moments. Findings Landing after an overhead catch
when the ball moved towards a player's support leg resulted in increased peak
valgus moments. These increased valgus moments were correlated with increased
knee flexion, hip flexion, and torso lean, as well as torso rotation towards the
support leg, and foot and knee external rotation. Increased internal rotation
moments were correlated with reduced hip abduction and external rotation,
increased ankle inversion, knee external rotation and torso lean away from the
support leg. Interpretation Learning to land with techniques that do not reflect
postures associated with high knee moments may reduce an athlete's risk of
non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injury.
CI - Copyright (c) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS