Effect of Injury Prevention Training on Knee Mechanics in Female Adolescents During Puberty

Abstract

Purpose/Background: Female adolescents change their landing mechanics during puberty. It is unknown whether implementation of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention training reduces the loss of knee control in female athletes during puberty. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of injury prevention training on dynamic knee alignment in female basketball players specifically when the knee mechanics were changing during puberty.Methods: Sixty female junior high school basketball players participated and were divided into two groups: a training group (n = 32) and a control group (n = 28). The training group underwent an injury prevention program for 6 months, whereas the control group maintained a regular training routine. The knee valgus motion and knee flexion range of motion during a drop vertical jump were measured before and after the training period. The probability of a high knee abduction moment (pKAM) was also evaluated using an ACL injury prediction algorithm. Results:The knee valgus motion was significantly increased in the control group (p < 0.001), whereas it did not change in the training group (p = 0.64). Similarly, the knee flexion range of motion was significantly decreased in the control group (p < 0.001), whereas it was not changed in the training group (p = 0.55). The pKAM was significantly increased in the control group (p < 0.001), but not in the training group (p = 0.06).Conclusions: Implementation of injury prevention training was effective in limiting the loss of knee control in female athletes during puberty. Lowering the risk of ACL injury might be possible in this population. Level of Evidence: 2b

Effects of an 8-week strength training intervention on tibiofemoral joint loading during landing: a cohort study

“… 1–4 Consequently, there has been great interest in finding ways to modify internal joint loading in order to prevent these injuries. However, the outcome measures of such studies have generally been the calculation of external kinematics and kinetics or intersegmental mechanics (ie, joint angles, intersegmental forces and moments calculated by inverse dynamics analysis, or ground reaction forces; GRF 5–7 ). Although useful, these calculations do not indicate the actual loading experienced by the internal structures of the knee (ie, the forces experienced by muscle–tendon units, ligaments and bones).…”

The effects of a four week jump-training program on frontal plane projection angle in female gymnasts

“…Video analysis of injury situations reveals that excessive loading at the knee joint results in high valgus (abduction) angles at the knee, which is reported to be a primary predictor of knee injuries in female athletes (Hewett et al, 2010;Hewett et al, 2005;Marinsek, 2010;Otsuki, Kuramochi, & Fukubayashi, 2014). Research has widely used the "gold standard" three dimensional (3D) motion analysis of lower limb kinematics for the measurement of knee valgus due to its accurate and reliable nature (Ford, Myer, & Hewett, 2003;McLean et al, 2005).…”

“…Some programs may last up to 6 months; involve 6 days per week, for a duration of 90 minutes per day (Chappell & Limpisvasti, 2008;Myer, Ford, Palumbo, & Hewett, 2005;Otsuki et al, 2014), although these are less likely to be implemented successfully in most sports due to the constraints of training time. More recently, warm-up style jump training programs of 10-15 minutes have become popular among sports practitioners for their practicality and minimal time commitments (Herrington, 2010;Herrington et al, 2015;Herrington, Myer, & Horsley, 2013;Kato et al, 2008).…”

Eccentric Resistance Training in Youth: Perspectives for Long-Term Athletic Development

“…Differences in landing mechanics in youth are also influenced by sex and maturation with females displaying more aberrant landing kinematics compared to males throughout all stages of maturation [ 176 , 178 , 180 , 181 , 182 , 183 , 184 , 185 , 186 , 187 ]. These differences between young females and male can also be explained by anatomical aspects including an increase in both Q-angle and joint laxity as well as a decrease in notch width [ 169 ].…”