Information about project titled 'Screening of knee valgus motion during a vertical drop jump'
Screening of knee valgus motion during a vertical drop jump
| Details about the project - category | Details about the project - value |
|---|---|
| Project status: | Published |
| Project manager: | Agnethe Nilstad |
| Supervisor(s): | Tron Krosshaug |
| Coworker(s): | Thor Einar Andersen, Kathrin Steffen, Roald Bahr, Eirik Kristianslund, Grethe Myklebust |
Description
Excessive knee valgus motion has been identified as being contributory to non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and is visually associated with a medial collapse of the knee during dynamic tasks. Furthermore, a link has been suggested between high knee valgus angles and abduction moments and ACL injury in female athletes.
However, these findings are based on complex and time-consuming 3D motion analyses. To identify athletes at potentially increased risk for injury there is a need for standardized and time-efficient low-cost assessment tools. Such a tool should be easy to use and implement for large scale screening, and at the same time provide valid and reliable data.
Objectives
To assess the relationship between real-time observational screening of frontal plane knee valgus and actual knee valgus angles and abduction moments calculated from three-dimensional (3D) motion analysis during a vertical drop jump landing task. A second purpose was to investigate the inter-rater agreement for 3 independent physiotherapists using the real-time observational screening test.
Methods
The current study is part of a larger cohort study aiming to investigate risk factors for ACL injuries in elite female football players (ACL risk factor study). Players who were expected to play in the elite league during the 2009 season were eligible for participation. For the current study, we used 2 of the screening tests; real time observational screening of knee control and 3D motion analysis of a vertical drop jump task. A total of 77 players were included and 60 provided complete data from all phases of the data collection.
Using real-time observational screening, the players frontal plane knee control during a vertical drop jump landing was scored as being “good”, “reduced” or “poor”. Three physiotherapists independently scored the players based on specific criteria. The players also performed a drop jump task under similar conditions in a biomechanics lab, where 3D motion analysis was used to calculate knee kinematics (peak valgus angles) and kinetics (peak abduction moments).
The study will describe the relationship between real-time observational screening test scores and objectively measured knee valgus and abduction moments. These findings may help us develop screening tools that are simple and easy to use and implement for large-scale screening of athletes.