Utility of Kinetic and Kinematic Jumping and Landing Variables as Predictors of Injury Risk: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Purpose Jump-landing assessments provide a means to quantify an individual’s ability to attenuate ground reaction forces, generate lower limb explosive power and maintain joint alignment. In order to identify risk factors that can be targeted through appropriate training interventions, it is necessary to establish which (scalar) objective kinetic, kinematic, and performance measures are most associated with lower-extremity injury. Methods Online searches of MEDLINE, SCOPUS, EBSCOHost, SPORTDiscus and PubMed databases were completed for all articles published before March 2020 in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Results 40 articles investigating nine jump-landing assessments were included in this review. The 79% of studies using drop jump (n = 14) observed an association with future injury, while only 8% of countermovement jump studies (n = 13) observed an association with injury risk. The 57% of studies using unilateral assessments found associations with risk of injury (n = 14). Studies using performance measures (jump height/distance) as outcome measure were only associated with injury risk in 30% of cases. However, those using kinetic and/or kinematic analyses (knee abduction moment, knee valgus angle, knee separation distance, peak ground reaction force) found associations with injury in 89% of studies. Conclusion The landing element of jump-landing assessments appears to be superior for identifying individuals at greater risk of injury; likely due to a closer representation of the injury mechanism. Consequently, jump-landing assessments that involve attenuation of impact forces such as the drop jump appear most suited for this purpose but should involve assessment of frontal plane knee motion and ground reaction forces.

Maturity alters drop vertical jump landing force‐time profiles but not performance outcomes in adolescent females

“…These movement patterns are also associated with the etiology of severe non‐contact lower‐extremity knee injuries, such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture, injuries that have significantly greater incidence rates in adolescent female athletes in comparison with their male counterparts 2 . The drop vertical jump (DVJ) is a commonly utilized screening assessment that is employed both to determine an athlete's competence at rebound activities and to identify aberrant movement patterns that may reflect a heightened risk of severe knee injury 3 …”

“…2 The drop vertical jump (DVJ) is a commonly utilized screening assessment that is employed both to determine an athlete's competence at rebound activities and to identify aberrant movement patterns that may reflect a heightened risk of severe knee injury. 3 Existing evidence indicates that individuals who go on to sustain an ACL injury have significantly greater peak vertical ground reaction forces during a DVJ than those who remain uninjured. 4,5 A high peak vertical ground reaction force has also been demonstrated to be a contributing factor to a high-risk profile for ACL injury.…”

Unsupervised Clustering Techniques Identify Movement Strategies in the Countermovement Jump Associated With Musculoskeletal Injury Risk During US Marine Corps Officer Candidates School

“…The high-risk cluster had a relative risk (RR) 2.2 times higher risk for developing an MSKI compared to the low-risk cluster when grouping dependent variables in the CMJ for both male and female MOCs. In a recent systematic review, Pedley et al (2020) , reported that 11/14 = 78.6% of articles reviewed reported MSKI associations with drop-jump, while only 1/12 = 8.3% articles reviewed reported MSKI associations with CMJ. Interestingly, many of these articles in the review by Pedley et al solely evaluated CMJ jump height.…”

Contribution of Plantar Fascia and Intrinsic Foot Muscles in a Single-Leg Drop Landing and Repetitive Rebound Jumps: An Ultrasound-Based Study

“…In sports activities, force attenuation while landing is necessary to prevent injury [ 5 ]; meanwhile, lower-limb stiffness at the time of jumping contributes to the ability to jump higher with minimal ground contact time [ 6 ]. Indeed, athletes land and jump during training and competition [ 7 ], acting on the plantar fascia and IFM to attenuate and activate different types of force, as required.…”