The effect of landing type on kinematics and kinetics during single-leg landings

ABSTRACT

Landing research attempts to simulate sport activities; however, movements performed pre- or post-landing may alter landing mechanics and injury risk. Therefore, this study compared lower extremity biomechanics of single-leg drop landings, drop jump (DJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) landings as well as sex-related differences. A total of 25 recreational athletes (11 females) performed landings from 80% maximum jump height with impact forces, kinematics and joint moments measured during each landing. Altered kinematic and kinetic variables were revealed when a jump was performed pre- or post-landing. CMJ landings were generally performed with a more extended lower extremity at ground contact, less hip and knee motion in the frontal and transverse planes and larger joint moments compared to other landings (p < 0.01). The DJ landings demonstrated greater joint flexion and large frontal and transverse plane motion, paired with decreased impact forces and joint moments (p < 0.05). Across all landings, males displayed larger impact forces and joint moments (p < 0.01), and females demonstrated frontal plane kinematics associated with increased injury risk (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that activities surrounding the landing directly impact landing mechanics and overall risk. Therefore, matching landing type to sport-specific activities increases the efficacy of assessing injury risk during training or rehabilitation programmes.

KEYWORDS:

• Ground reaction force
• ACL
• knee abduction
• unilateral leg
• jumping

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Nathan Edwards for assisting in the review of the manuscript and final editing. We also thank all of the volunteers for their participation in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was partially supported by a grant from Ball State University – ASPiRE.