No abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if a sports-specific training program could improve neuromuscular and performance indices in female high school basketball players. We combined components from a published anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention program for jump and strength training with other exercises and drills to improve speed, agility, overall strength, and aerobic conditioning. We hypothesized that this sports-specific training program would lead to significant improvements in neuromuscular and performance indices in high school female basketball players. Fifty-seven female athletes aged 14-17 years participated in the supervised 6-week program, 3 d·wk(-1) for approximately 90-120 minutes per session. The program was conducted on the basketball court and in weight room facilities in high schools. The athletes underwent a video drop-jump test, multistage fitness test, vertical jump test, and an 18-m sprint test before and upon completion of the training program. All the subjects attended at least 14 training sessions. After training, a significant increase was found in the mean estimated VO2max (p < 0.001), with 89% of the athletes improving this score. In the drop-jump video test, significant increases were found in the mean absolute knee separation distance (p < 0.0001) and in the mean normalized knee separation distance (p < 0.0001), indicating a more neutral lower limb alignment on landing. A significant improvement was found in the vertical jump test (p < 0.0001); however, the effect size was small (0.09). No improvement was noted in the sprint test. This program significantly improved lower limb alignment on a drop-jump test and estimated maximal aerobic power and may be implemented preseason or off-season in high school female basketball players.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a sports-specific anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention training program could improve neuromuscular and performance indices in female high school soccer players. We combined components from a published knee ligament intervention program for jump and strength training with other exercises and drills to improve speed, agility, overall strength, and aerobic fitness. We hypothesized that this program would significantly improve neuromuscular and athletic performance indices in high school female soccer players. The supervised 6-week program was done 3 d·wk(-1) for 90-120 minutes per session on the soccer fields and weight room facilities in area high schools. In phase 1, 62 athletes underwent a video drop-jump test, t-test, 2 vertical jump tests, and a 37-m sprint test before and upon completion of the training program. In phase 2, 62 other athletes underwent a multistage fitness test before and after training. There were significant improvements in the mean absolute knee separation distance (p < 0.0001), mean absolute ankle separation distance (p < 0.0001), and mean normalized knee separation distance (p < 0.0001) on the drop-jump, indicating a more neutral lower limb alignment on landing. Significant improvements were found in the t-test (p < 0.0001), estimated maximal aerobic power (p < 0.0001), 37-m sprint test (p = 0.02), and in the 2-step approach vertical jump test (p = 0.04). This is the first study we are aware of that demonstrated the effectiveness of a knee ligament injury prevention training program in improving athletic performance indices in high school female soccer players. Future studies will determine if these findings improve athlete compliance and team participation in knee ligament injury intervention training.

High school and collegiate female athletes have a significantly increased risk of sustaining a noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury compared with male athletes participating in the same sport. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the risk factors hypothesized to influence this problem, and the neuromuscular training programs designed to correct certain biomechanical problems noted in female athletes. The risk factors include a genetic predisposition for sustaining a knee ligament injury, environmental factors, anatomical indices, hormonal influences, and neuromuscular factors. The greatest amount of research in this area has studied differences between female and male athletes in movement patterns during athletic tasks; muscle strength, activation, and recruitment patterns; and knee joint stiffness under controlled, preplanned, and reactive conditions in the laboratory. Neuromuscular retraining programs have been developed in an attempt to reduce these differences. The successful programs teach athletes to control the upper body, trunk, and lower body position; lower the center of gravity by increasing hip and knee flexion during activities; and develop muscular strength and techniques to land with decreased ground reaction forces. In addition, athletes are taught to preposition the body and lower extremity prior to initial ground contact to obtain the position of greatest knee joint stability and stiffness. Two published programs have significantly reduced the incidence of noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female athletes participating in basketball, soccer, and volleyball. Other programs were ineffective, had a poor study design, or had an insufficient number of participants, which precluded a true reduction in the risk of this injury. In order to determine which risk factors for noncontact anterior cruciate ligament ruptures are significant, future investigations should include larger cohorts of athletes in multiple sports, analyze factors from all of the major risk categories, and follow athletes for at least one full athletic season. Future risk assessment studies should incorporate reactive tasks under more realistic sports conditions.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a sports-specific training program could improve neuromuscular indices in female high school volleyball players. We combined components from a previously published knee ligament injury prevention intervention program for jump and strength training with additional exercises and drills to improve speed, agility, overall strength, and aerobic conditioning. We hypothesized that this sports-specific training program would lead to significant improvements in neuromuscular indices in high school female volleyball players. Thirty-four athletes (age 14.5 years ± 1.0) participated in the supervised 6-week program, 3 d·wk(-1) for approximately 90-120 minutes per session. The program was conducted on the school's volleyball court and weight room facilities. The athletes underwent a video drop-jump test, multistage fitness test, vertical jump test, and sit-up test before and after training. A significant increase was found in the mean VO2max score (p < 0.001), where 73% of the athletes improved this score. A significant improvement was found in the sit-up test (p = 0.03) and in the vertical jump test (p = 0.05), where 68% of the athletes increased their scores. In the drop-jump video test, significant increases were found in both the mean absolute knee separation distance (p = 0.002) and in the mean normalized knee separation distance (p = 0.04), indicating improved lower limb alignment on landing. No athlete sustained an injury or developed an overuse syndrome during training. This program significantly improved lower limb alignment on a drop-jump test, abdominal strength, estimated maximal aerobic power, and vertical jump height and may be implemented in high school female volleyball programs.