Information about project titled 'Correlation between lower extremity kinetics in drop jumps and anatomical factors'
Correlation between lower extremity kinetics in drop jumps and anatomical factors
| Details about the project - category | Details about the project - value |
|---|---|
| Project status: | Ongoing |
| Project manager: | Arnlaug Wangensteen |
| Supervisor(s): | Kathrin Steffen, Tron Krosshaug |
| Coworker(s): | Agnethe Nilstad, Eirik Kristianslund |
Description
Non-contact ACL-injuries represent a major problem in ball/team sports, where specifically women seem to be in a high-risk situation. In order to prevent these serious knee injuries a complete understanding of their causations are necessary. There is still a wide lack of knowledge regarding the risk factors and the mechanisms behind an ACL-injury.
Previous studies have investigated different anatomical risk factors which can influence knee loading patterns, but the effect of one single anatomical risk factor can hardly be identified without considering the others. Few studies have investigated the associations between several anatomical risk factors and the biodynamics of the knee joint during exposed movements for an ACL-injury. High knee valgus moments in a drop jump are shown to be an important risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
This master thesis is part of a larger 5-year cohortstudy “Risk factors for non-contact ACL injuries in elite female team handball- and footballplayers”, where the main purpose is to investigate whether different biomechanical, neuromuscular and anatomical factors can predict the risk of future ACL rupture.
Thus, the purpose of this presenting study is to investigate the associations between several anatomical risk factors and knee valgus moments in landings during maximal drop jumps of female handball- and football players.
Methods
This study will include data of approximal 500 female team handball- and football players from the respectively top leagues in Norway, and the Norwegian national handballteam, tested during the period 2007-2010. Testing will include anatomical variables and three-dimensional motion analysis which will give us the knee valgus moments in drop jumps. Kinematics and kinetics of the knee joint will then be estimated using the method inverse dynamics.