title: Biomechanical characteristics of the knee joint in female athletes during tasks associated with anterior cruciate ligament injury.
abstract: This study was designed to compare biomechanical characteristics of the knee joint for several athletic tasks to elucidate their effects and to examine what tasks pose a risk for ACL injury. Three athletic tasks were performed by 24 female athletes: single-limb landing, plant and cutting, and both-limb jump landing. Angular displacements of flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, and external/internal tibial rotation were calculated. Angular excursion and the rate of excursion of abduction and internal tibial rotation were also calculated. During plant and cutting, from foot contact, subjects rotated the tibia more rapidly and to a greater degree toward internal tibial rotation. Moreover, excursion of knee abduction is greater than that during single-limb landing. During both-limb jump landing, the knee flexion at foot contact was greater than for either single-limb landing or plant and cutting; peak knee abduction was greater than for either single-limb landing or plant and cutting. In plant and cutting, the risk of ACL injury is increased by greater excursion and more rapid knee abduction than that which occurs in single-limb landing, in addition to greater internal tibial rotation. Although single-limb tasks apparently pose a greater risk for ACL injury than bilateral landings, both-limb landing with greater knee abduction might also risk ACL injury.
authors.affiliation: Waseda University Graduate School of Sports Sciences, Saitama, Japan. ynema@f2.dion.ne.jp
authors.forename: Yasuharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagano
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ida
authors.forename: Masami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akai
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukubayashi
mesh_terms: D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000502:physiology; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult