Dynamic knee valgus alignment influences impact attenuation in the lower extremity during the deceleration phase of a single-leg landing

Abstract

Dynamic knee valgus during landings is associated with an increased risk of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. In addition, the impact on the body during landings must be attenuated in the lower extremity joints. The purpose of this study was to investigate landing biomechanics during landing with dynamic knee valgus by measuring the vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) and angular impulses in the lower extremity during a single-leg landing. The study included 34 female college students, who performed the single-leg drop vertical jump. Lower extremity kinetic and kinematic data were obtained from a 3D motion analysis system. Participants were divided into valgus (N = 19) and varus (N = 15) groups according to the knee angular displacement during landings. The vGRF and angular impulses of the hip, knee, and ankle were calculated by integrating the vGRF-time curve and each joint’s moment-time curve. vGRF impulses did not differ between two groups. Hip angular impulse in the valgus group was significantly smaller than that in the varus group (0.019 ± 0.033 vs. 0.067 ± 0.029 Nms/kgm, p<0.01), whereas knee angular impulse was significantly greater (0.093 ± 0.032 vs. 0.045 ± 0.040 Nms/kgm, p<0.01). There was no difference in ankle angular impulse between the groups. Our results indicate that dynamic knee valgus increases the impact the knee joint needs to attenuate during landing; conversely, the knee varus participants were able to absorb more of the landing impact with the hip joint.

Knee joint coordination during single-leg landing in different directions

“…This supports the use of unilateral jump-landing test as an appropriate assessment of the risk of lower extremity landing injuries (Sinsurin et al, 2013;Sinsurin et al, 2017;Tamura, Akasaka, Otsudo, Schiozawa, Toda, & Yamada, 2017). Therefore, this study examined jump-landing test with one leg.…”

Alinhamento dinâmico do joelho e equilíbrio pélvico: Comparação entre os sexos em atletas de futebol de base

“…7,25 In decelerating sport movements, women have lower knee flexion angles during the initial contact with the ground, because they present a biomechanical decrease in hip-flexion angles. 3 The muscles surrounding the hip joint play a key role in stabilization during movement, especially in the dynamic frontal knee alignment; 26 as such, weakened hip muscles can render women more susceptible to sports injuries, especially those with increased severity, including to the knee ligaments. 10,12,14,27,28 Strengthening the trunk, pelvis and hip muscles can increase stability and decrease knee misalignment during the step-down test, 6 and this generally involves all lowerlimb kinematics.…”

“…As such, health professionals must identify and minimize this risk factors in soccer athletes. 3,4 Excessive valgus during running subjects the knee to chronic tension on medial ligament structures, and results in an abnormal rigidity in the iliotibial tract; in contrast, the varus increases the load imposed on the lateral ligament complex of the knee. 5 The kinematics of the lower limbs is directly related to the pelvic girdle, and the weakening of the pelvic muscles, such as the abductors and external rotators of the hip, in addition to the delayed activation time of the hip musculature, can reflect in a dynamic knee misalignment.…”

The association between specific sports activities and sport performance following hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome: A secondary analysis of a cross-sectional cohort study including 184 athletes

“…However, 1–2 years following hip arthroscopy for intra-articular hip pathology subjects demonstrate increased hip adduction and knee valgus angle during single-leg squatting [31]. Interestingly, such movement pattern is associated with less hip joint loading [32], indicating a compensatory movement pattern. Supporting this, patients with FAIS show reduced hip joint contact forces during walking indicative of a protective mechanism [26].…”