Drop Jump Experiment

“The analysis of movement provides an athlete with optimal development as well as minimising the risk of developing injuries through the incorrect execution of a movement” (Ackland, Elliott & Bloomfield, 2009, p 301).

Through November 2013-May 2014, scientists collected 25 males (12 football players, 13 non-players) that participated in this experiment. Both of these groups conducted activities and drills through three different sprint starting positions (2-, 3-, and 4-point.) After all the tests, it was declared that the 4-point starting stance is the most risky for football players, due to the position of the head, and the player’s vision of the field being decreased. However, the 2 point stance is the safest due to the better head location which allows better field of vision when participating in football. It was also concluded that regardless of football experience, the results of all the stances remained the same regardless of football or non-football (Bonnechere et al, 2014).

Bonnechere et al. supports their claims by conducting a biomechanical analysis on twenty five males, all young and fit, and recording measurements in different areas (Bonnechere et al., 2014). However, the study exemplified field-of-view (FOV) and kinetic energy, and their relation to sprint starting positions and safety. Field-of-view is “[a] ratio between the height of the head and Verticality [,]” (Bonnechere et al., 2014). An increase in FOV will lower the injury risk, because players are more alert of their environment. Ergo, they can avoid injury. According to the averages of each stance and the categories, initial position and motion, “[t]he FOV is increased when adopting a 2-point starting position because the trunk is more vertical,” (Bonnechere et al., 2014). Simply, when the angle between the body’s trunk and head is approximately straight, the FOV is high.

Each year, approximately a quarter of a million physically active young people experience an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and seventy percent of these ACL injuries will be sustained while engaging in non-contact activities such as sudden deceleration while landing (Begalle et al., 2012). This type of injury is grossly detrimental not only on the occasion in which it occurs but also for the subsequent years to come. The majority of individuals who injure their ACL also go on to either, re-injure that same ACL, or injure the opposite knee. Furthermore, our bodies are put in tremendously vulnerable planes of motion during sporting events, especially during activities such as, basketball, football, or soccer. In this day

MCL injuries can be seen in both contact and noncontact sports when valgus stress is applied to a flexed uknee. ( 27 )

There have been higher incidences of serious knee injuries among female sports, especially those that include jumping and pivoting. In particular, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury rates are more commonly found in female sports. Previous research has shown ACL injuries are primarily due to noncontact mechanisms that include sudden deceleration, landing, and pivoting maneuvers (Mihata, Beutler, & Boden, 2006; Yu & Garrett, 2007). High-risk sports such as basketball and soccer expose athletes to these potential injuring forces. Despite the many similarities between male and female sports, females often have a higher rate of ACL injures (Mihata et al., 2006).

Football and track and field involve repetitive bouts of quick acceleration for short and long periods, sudden changes in direction of maximum force may contribute to the high rate of hamstring strain commonly found amongst these sports. (Ropiak & Bosco, 2012). Regardless of all the aforementioned studies, there is not one exact cause of injury during high speed, kicking sports (Lees, Asai, Andersen, Nunome, & Sterzing,

This study included 28 patients who underwent ACL surgery performed by the same 2 surgeons and standard rehab protocol was done in the same physical therapy clinic, with all the same exercises and progressions. The Battery Test uses exercise analysis to grade the participants. The exercises include measurement of isokinetic strength, single hop for distance, triple hop, side hop, and a jump-landing assessment. There were also patient surveys that asses their feelings about the overall health of their knee. The participants completed this testing 6 months after surgery, which is the average RTP time frame for basic ACL rehab protocol. Out of all 28 patients, only 2 individuals passed this test and can be considered safe for RTP. This information is extremely important for anyone who has the authority to grant RTP to any athlete. Allowing patients back to play too soon is extremely dangerous and can cause further injury. Using this specific test to determine RTP decisions is a great technique to utilize in athletic

The participants then completed the functional evaluation by completing three one-leg hop tests on each limb. The longest distance was recorded and calculated as the percentage of the performance of the ACL reconstructed leg over the uninvolved leg, the scores were calculated as the limb symmetric index (LSI). The authors of this study defined the ceiling effect as the percent of participants who received the maximum score of 100 points. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlation between both scales and the limb symmetric index and was interpreted as r > 0.5 which indicated a strong association. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was then used to examine the distribution

In the final analysis, ACL tears are more commonly found in females because of the anatomical structure of women, improper body mechanics, and the differences in female’s circulating hormones. The human female structure has many differences to the male structure, such as muscle stiffness, stronger quadriceps than hamstrings, a wider pelvis bone, and smaller intercondylar notches. These differences in male and female structure can lead to why ACL tears are more frequent in females. Another reason as to why females are more prone to knee ligament tears is because of of the improper body mechanics performed by women. During sports, contact or noncontact studies show that women perform cutting movements that are more erect rather than a crouched

Ankle injuries are on the most common injuries that most athletes have to deal with throughout their playing career, some research has shown that an ankle sprain is seven times more like to occur than other injuries. With this being said a lot of coaches require their athletes to either tape or have a brace on the ankle to prevent the injury from occurring in the first place, however evidence has shown that the use of an ankle brace does not always prevent the injury from happening. So the question becomes does the brace impair the athlete to perform at their highest level. In this study they took ten healthy D-3 male athletes, and ten female athletes. They used video analysis to record the kinematics of the lower extremities during a countermovement

For shoulder flexion 61% of the variance could be accounted for by the sit-and-reach. A correlation was also found between the modified sit-and-reach test and both the shoulder extension and hip flexion tests. For shoulder extension 33% of the variance was accounted for by the modified sit-and-reach and for hip flexion 22% of the variance was accounted for by the modified sit-and-reach.

Functional braces reduced the abduction angle in the knee when forces were applied at 0 degrees of flexion, while prophylactic knee braces had no effect on joint movement. In functional bracing conditions at a knee flexion of 30 degrees, the abduction angle reduced from 0 percent to 22 percent. When prophylactic braces were applied, there was no change in the angle, suggesting that there was no effect between the non-braced and prophylactic braces conditions.(4/568) When the MCL was intact, neither condition of braces had an effect on the ACL load when force was applied. The MCL load was decreased by functional braces but not by prophylactic braces when force was applied.(4/570) While the force conditions in this study did not exactly simulate the contact received during athletic competition, they were accurate representations of the minimal force applied during these events.(4/569)

There are many types of cutting maneuvers involved in sports. Potter et al (12) exemplified a crossover cut as crossing one leg over the planted leg and accelerating in the same direction of the push off leg. From the agility test conducted by Potter et al (12), performing a crossover movement after prolonged activity resulted in less hip and knee flexion than the baseline. It has been shown that when the knee is in a less flexed position with angles ranging from 0° to 40°, the ACL may be subjected to larger anterior shear forces than at a more flexed position potentially increasing the risk of a ligament tear (11).

It appeared that time based protocols were based on averages of clinician research; subsequently time was frequently combined with strength due to the ease of its measurability. Some clinicians strictly used isokinetic testing, while others measured a combination of the other muscle groups that affect the knee joint. Subsequently, clinicians identified weak muscle above or below the knee joint that negatively impacted the knee joint. The high incident of ACL re-injury with time and strength measurements alone, may be the reason that functional tests became necessary. Functional tests allowed the clinician to identify movements the athlete will encounter upon release. Stability, agility, and jump tests are examples of functional tests that clinicians use to analyze the accuracy of movement. Some examples of hops test were side to side, vertical jumps, and long jump. They all analyze different movements that were specific to the