title: Prospective Study of the Relation between Landing Biomechanics and Jumper's Knee.
abstract: The literature on the relation between jump biomechanics and jumper's knee indicates that a jump with horizontal displacement poses a threat for developing jumper's knee. Subjects with jumper's knee have been shown to display a stiff landing pattern characterized by a small range of motion. However, up to now only cross-sectional studies have been conducted. 6 teams from sports involving repetitive landing were followed prospectively for 2 years. At baseline athletes performed the Landing Error Scoring System jump and 3D kinematics and kinetics were obtained. A comparison was made between subjects who developed jumper's knee and those who did not develop it. 3 subjects developed jumper's knee during the study. Leg stiffness during landing was high compared to the mean of the healthy controls. No common kinematic patterns could be identified in these 3 subjects. The results suggest that athletes with high leg stiffness during landing might have an increased risk for developing jumper's knee, yet this conclusion is based on a very small sample. Subjects who develop jumper's knee do not show a common landing technique. Further research is needed to investigate whether leg stiffness can be used to identify athletes at risk and as a target variable to be used in prevention.
authors.affiliation: Center for Sports Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center, Groningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: H van
authors.initials: Hv
authors.lastname: der Worp
authors.affiliation: School of Sports Studies, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: H T D
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: van der Does
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Movement Sciences, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Brink
authors.affiliation: Center for Sports Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center, Groningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zwerver
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center, Groningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hijmans
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056352:Athletes; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D059385:Plyometric Exercise / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D052256:Tendinopathy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult