LOWER EXTREMITY COORDINATION VARIABILITY DURING ANTICIPATED AND UNANTICIPATED SIDESTEPPING: IMPLICATIONS FOR ACL INJURY PREVENTION

Authors

Gillian Weir
Carl Jewell
Richard Van Emmerik
Joseph Hamill

Category

Injury prevention

Document Type

Paper

Abstract

Non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries commonly occur during sidestepping, particularly under time constraints. This study investigated the differences in lower limb coordination variability (CV) of five male team sport athletes during anticipated and unanticipated sidestepping. Intra-limb couplings associated with ACL injury mechanisms were investigated. Athletes demonstrated 21% greater thigh rot/leg rot CV; 31% greater thigh abd-add/leg abd-add CV; 22% greater knee flex-ext/hip rot CV and 14% greater hip rot/knee abd-add CV during unanticipated sidestepping. These results suggest that CV increases as a function of task complexity. Consequently, injury prevention programs must incorporate perceptual components in order to optimise planning time and coordinate appropriate postural adjustments to counter external loads.

Recommended Citation

Weir, Gillian; Jewell, Carl; Emmerik, Richard Van; and Hamill, Joseph (2017) "LOWER EXTREMITY COORDINATION VARIABILITY DURING ANTICIPATED AND UNANTICIPATED SIDESTEPPING: IMPLICATIONS FOR ACL INJURY PREVENTION," ISBS Proceedings Archive: Vol. 35: Iss. 1, Article 92.
Available at: https://commons.nmu.edu/isbs/vol35/iss1/92