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During a landing impact, the human body is exposed to large forces and moments that create the potential for injury. To determine the effect of impact velocity and landing experience on the strategy selected, the preferred landing strategies used by male collegiate gymnasts and recreational athletes from three drop heights were characterized using mechanical descriptors. Kinematic and reaction force data were acquired simultaneously using highspeed film and a force plate. Reaction forces and lower extremity joint motion were used to characterize the strategies. Results indicated that statistically significant increases in joint flexion (with the exception of ankle joint flexion), angular velocity, and impact force resulted as impact velocity increased. Gymnasts and recreational athletes demonstrated similar adjustment patterns to increases in landing impact velocities; however, significant differences in degree of joint flexion, total landing phase time, and relative adjustments over impact velocity conditions were found.

In this study, drop height and landing mat composition were hypothesized to influence the landing strategies preferred by female gymnasts. Adjustments in strategy in response to changes in drop height and mat composition were identified by comparison of mechanical variables characterizing two-foot competition-style drop landings from three heights onto two different mats varying in composition (i.e., soft vs. stiff). Force-time characteristics of the landings were quantified (1000 Hz) by a force plate fully supporting the mat. Segment kinematics were recorded simultaneously with shuttered video (60 Hz). Significant differences (ANOVA; p < .05) in peak vertical force, landing phase time, time to peak vertical force, and lower extremity kinematics were found across drop heights. Only time to vertical impact peak and minimum knee angular position produced significant differences between the soft and stiff mats. These results indicate changes in drop height and mat composition may elicit changes in landing strategies of female gymnasts.

In this study, landing strategies of gymnasts were hypothesized to change with different landing surfaces. This hypothesis was tested by comparing the kinematics and reaction force-time characteristics of two-foot competition-style drop landings performed by male and female collegiate gymnasts onto three surfaces (soft mat, stiff mat, no mat). Significantly lower peak vertical forces, longer landing phase times, and greater knee and hip flexion were observed between the no mat condition and the mat conditions. Knee flexion and peak knee flexion velocities were also observed to be significantly greater for landings on the stiff mat than those on the soft mat. These results indicate that the gymnasts in this study modulated total body stiffness in response to changes in landing surface conditions by using a multi joint solution. In addition, the presence of a mat may reduce the need for joint flexion and may alter the vertical impulse characteristics experienced during landing.