Gender differences in the kinematics of unanticipated cutting in young athletes

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur at a greater rate in adolescent females compared with males who participate in the same pivoting and jumping sports. The purpose of this study was to compare knee and ankle joint angles between males and females during an unanticipated cutting maneuver...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medicine and science in sports and exercise 2005, Vol.37 (1), p.124-129
Main Authors: FORD, Kevin R, MYER, Gregory D, TOMS, Harrison E, HEWETT, Timothy E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Ankle - physiology
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries
Athletic Injuries - etiology
Athletic Injuries - physiopathology
Basketball
Biological and medical sciences
Biomechanical Phenomena
Child
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Imaging, Three-Dimensional
Knee - physiology
Male
Sex Factors
Space life sciences
Vertebrates: body movement. Posture. Locomotion. Flight. Swimming. Physical exercise. Rest. Sports
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur at a greater rate in adolescent females compared with males who participate in the same pivoting and jumping sports. The purpose of this study was to compare knee and ankle joint angles between males and females during an unanticipated cutting maneuver. The hypotheses were that female athletes would display increased knee abduction, increased ankle eversion and decreased knee flexion during the unanticipated cutting maneuver compared with males. Fifty-four male and 72 adolescent female middle and high school basketball players volunteered to participate in this study. Knee and ankle kinematics were calculated using three-dimensional motion analysis during a jump-stop unanticipated cut (JSUC) maneuver. Females exhibited greater knee abduction (valgus) angles compared with males. Gender differences were also found in maximum ankle eversion and maximum inversion during stance phase. No differences were found in knee flexion angles at initial contact or maximum. Gender differences in knee and ankle kinematics in the frontal plane during cutting may help explain the gender differences in ACL injury rates. Implementation of dynamic neuromuscular training in young athletes with a focus on frontal plane motion may help prevent ACL injuries and their long-term debilitating effects.
ISSN:0195-9131
1530-0315
DOI:10.1249/01.mss.0000150087.95953.c3