Lower Body Biomechanics of Post-Surgical and Healthy Knees During Single Leg Hops
Additional Funding Sources
This project is supported by a 2021-2022 STEM Undergraduate Research Grant from the SBOE Higher Education Research Council.
Abstract
Knee injuries are one of the most frequently occurring debilitating injuries that affect high school through college-aged athletes and hop testing is commonly used to determine the readiness of an athlete to return to sport after a knee surgery. PURPOSE: To compare the biomechanics of lower body joint (knee, hip, and ankle) angles during single leg hop landings between participants with recent knee surgery (n = 4) who have been cleared for single leg hop tasks and participants with no lower body injuries (n = 4) using 3D motion capture technology. METHODS: Participants were asked a series of questions to verify eligibility to participate in the study. Once cleared, they completed a warm-up, followed by placement of reflective markers on the lower body anatomical landmarks. Participants then completed three single leg hops on each leg. Data were analyzed to determine statistical significance of hip and knee flexion, knee valgus, and ankle dorsiflexion angles between groups. RESULTS: During the single leg hop landing phase, there were no significant differences between the surgical and non-surgical group in hip flexion, knee flexion, knee valgus, or ankle dorsiflexion. CONCLUSIONS: A single leg hop compared between a non-surgical group and a surgical group were found to have similar joint angles in the landing phase. This finding may help confirm the validity of the single leg hop test for distance as a measure of readiness to return to play post knee surgery.
Lower Body Biomechanics of Post-Surgical and Healthy Knees During Single Leg Hops
Knee injuries are one of the most frequently occurring debilitating injuries that affect high school through college-aged athletes and hop testing is commonly used to determine the readiness of an athlete to return to sport after a knee surgery. PURPOSE: To compare the biomechanics of lower body joint (knee, hip, and ankle) angles during single leg hop landings between participants with recent knee surgery (n = 4) who have been cleared for single leg hop tasks and participants with no lower body injuries (n = 4) using 3D motion capture technology. METHODS: Participants were asked a series of questions to verify eligibility to participate in the study. Once cleared, they completed a warm-up, followed by placement of reflective markers on the lower body anatomical landmarks. Participants then completed three single leg hops on each leg. Data were analyzed to determine statistical significance of hip and knee flexion, knee valgus, and ankle dorsiflexion angles between groups. RESULTS: During the single leg hop landing phase, there were no significant differences between the surgical and non-surgical group in hip flexion, knee flexion, knee valgus, or ankle dorsiflexion. CONCLUSIONS: A single leg hop compared between a non-surgical group and a surgical group were found to have similar joint angles in the landing phase. This finding may help confirm the validity of the single leg hop test for distance as a measure of readiness to return to play post knee surgery.