title: Knee Control and Jump-Landing Technique in Young Basketball and Floorball Players.
abstract: Poor knee alignment is associated with increased loading of the joints, ligaments and tendons, and may increase the risk of injury. The study purpose was to compare differences in knee kinematics between basketball and floorball players during a vertical drop jump (VDJ) task. We wanted to investigate whether basketball players, whose sport includes frequent jump-landings, exhibited better knee control compared with floorball players, whose sport involves less jumping. Complete data was obtained from 173 basketball and 141 floorball players. Peak knee valgus and flexion angles during the VDJ were analyzed by 3D motion analysis.Larger knee valgus angles were observed among basketball players (- 3.2°, 95%CI -4.5 to - 2.0) compared with floorball players (- 0.9°, 95%CI -2.3 to 0.6) (P=0.022). Basketball players landed with a decreased peak knee flexion angle (83.1°, 95%CI 81.4 to 84.8) compared with floorball players (86.5°, 95%CI 84.6 to 88.4) (P=0.016). There were no significant differences in height, weight or BMI between basketball and floorball players. Female athletes exhibited significantly greater valgus angles than males. This study revealed that proper knee control during jump-landing does not seem to develop in young athletes simply by playing the sport, despite the fact that jump-landings occur frequently in practice and games.
authors.affiliation: Tampere Research Center of Sports Medicine, UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leppänen
authors.affiliation: Tampere Research Center of Sports Medicine, UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pasanen
authors.affiliation: University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Biology of Physical Activity, Jyvaskyla, Finland.
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Kulmala
authors.affiliation: University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Health Sciences, Jyvaskyla, Finland.
authors.forename: U M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Kujala
authors.affiliation: Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Krosshaug
authors.affiliation: Injury and Osteoporosis Research Center, UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kannus
authors.affiliation: Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perttunen
authors.affiliation: Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vasankari
authors.affiliation: Tampere Research Center of Sports Medicine, UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parkkari
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D056352:Athletes; D001490:Basketball; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D013177:Sports; D055815:Young Adult