Manipulation of task constraints is the most effective motor learning method for reducing risk factors for ACL injury during side-step cutting in both male and female athletes

Development of a Cutting Technique Modification Training Program and Evaluation of its Effects on Movement Quality and Cutting Performance in Male Adolescent American Football Players

“…Since the conducted training intervention differs from previous cutting technique modification strategies, a comprehensive description and rationale of the approach are provided. Recent findings suggest that motor learning methods of nonlinear pedagogy are superior to linear pedagogy approaches in modifying kinematic factors related to noncontact ACL injuries [ 80 , 81 ]. However, in the present study, because of the performance–injury conflict of certain sidestep kinematics, a linear pedagogy approach with the provision of a targeted technique was pursued, as athletes could otherwise acquire a cutting technique that is safer regarding ACL injury risk but, on the other hand, detrimental to performance.…”

Action-oriented theories of cognition: definitions, debates, and implications for human movement science

“…Ecological Dynamics is therefore a framework for using concepts and tools of dynamical systems (e.g., non-linear systems, attractors states, control parameters) to understand the performer-environment relationship. It has been proposed as a way to account for a range of phenomena in motor control and sport (Araújo & Kirlik, 2008;Davids & Araújo, 2016) and there is growing evidence (e.g., Gray, 2020;Orangi et al, 2023;Valença et al, 2022) for the effectiveness of coaching approaches based on an Ecological Dynamics framework (e.g., differential learning and the constraints-led approach; (Renshaw et al, 2019;Schöllhorn et al, 2010)). While there is a range of evidence for Ecological Psychology and Dynamical Systems perspectives in other domains (Stoffregen, 1985;Warren & Whang, 1987;Wilson et al, 2016), there is little empirical work directly testing hypotheses about human movement derived from the coalesced Ecological Dynamics framework.…”

“…For more applied practitioners, such as those in the coaching domain, this range of theoretical accounts can be challenging and perplexing when trying to adopt a clear 'coaching philosophy' (Cushion & Partington, 2016), particularly as there is also a range of evidence for and against intervention approaches with a more ecological basis (Deuker et al, 2023;Hambrick et al, 2020;Orangi et al, 2023). A full discussion of these issues is beyond the scope of the current paper, but recent work has suggested that there is an appetite to simplify and bring together disparate theoretical ideas.…”