Lower limb kinematic alterations during drop vertical jumps in female athletes who have undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine if anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed (ACL-R) female athletes exhibit altered lower limb kinematic profiles during jump landing when compared to a non-injured age, sex, and activity matched control group. Fourteen ACL-R and 14 non-injured control subjects performed 3 vertical drop jump (DVJ) trials. Lower limb kinematics were recorded at 200 Hz. Peak and time-averaged angular displacements were quantified and utilized for between-group analysis. The ACL-R group displayed altered hip joint frontal and transverse plane kinematic alterations, and knee joint frontal and sagittal plane kinematic alterations. Specifically the ACL-R group displayed an increased adducted (p < 0.05) and internally rotated (p < 0.05) hip joint position, both peak and time-averaged, following landing. The ACL-R group also displayed a decreased adducted (p < 0.05) and flexed (p < 0.05) position of the knee joint following landing. The observed aberrant lower limb kinematics could pre-dispose ACL-R athletes to potential future knee joint injuries. Further studies are required to determine in a prospective manner whether such deficits increase the incidence of recurrent ACL injury, and whether specific sensorimotor protocols following ACL reconstruction can minimize these kinematic deficits. ß

Asymmetries in Functional Hop Tests, Lower Extremity Kinematics, and Isokinetic Strength Persist 6 to 9 Months Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

“…22 Although ACLR is considered a relatively successful procedure that results in return to premorbid activity levels in a majority of patients, 39 it has been reported that muscle strength deficits, as well as kinematic and kinetic deficits, persist even after a patient's successful return to sport. 14,15,17,26,38,46 This is particularly concerning given the high demands placed on the knee joint during high-intensity sports and may explain the high reinjury rates that have been widely observed among athletes who have undergone ACLR. 7 Among the many assessment tools commonly used to determine returnto-sport status in this population, the U U STUDY DESIGN: Within-subject and betweensubject cross-sectional study.…”

What the Brain can Tell us in Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation

“…There had been extensive research to highlight the deficits like muscle strength [3], postural control [4] and coordination patterns in functional performance [5][6][7] which occur after ACL injury and/or reconstruction. These deficiencies are thought to be related to the disturbance of the sensorimotor control process [8,9].…”

One Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury is enough!: Focus on female football players

“…Other common symptoms and problems are decreased strength in hip muscles and hamstrings, altered movement pattern, impaired postural control and functional performance [30,40,48,145,201]. There may also be long-term consequences of ACL injury.…”

“…At the time of RTS [40,145] and up to 7 years after ACLR [201], side-to-side differences in postural control [40], differences in muscle activation patterns of the hamstrings [30], altered movement patterns in the knee and hip, and deficits in force development in the vertical jump [48,145,201] persist in ACLR athletes compared with uninjured controls. These may be factors that could contribute to increasing the risk for new ACL injury.…”

“…Previous studies have often used sophisticated laboratory equipment such as the Biodex balance system [167], force plates [48,145,201] and 3D motion analysis [48,57,111]. The tests used in study II may not have been sensitive enough to detect existing between-group differences.…”