Comparison of frontal plane trunk kinematics and hip and knee moments during anticipated and unanticipated walking and side step cutting tasks.

BACKGROUND Frontal plane trunk and lower extremity adjustments during unanticipated tasks are hypothesized to influence hip and knee neuromuscular control, and therefore, contribute to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk. The aims of this study were to examine frontal plane trunk/hip kinematics and hip and knee moments (measures of neuromuscular control) during unanticipated straight and side step cut tasks. METHODS Kinematic and kinetic variables were collected while subjects performed two anticipated tasks, including walking straight (ST) and side step cutting (SS), and two unanticipated tasks (STU and SSU). Foot placement, thorax-pelvis-hip kinematic variables and hip and knee moments were calculated over the first 30% of stance. FINDINGS Hip abduction angles and knee moments were significantly affected by task and anticipation. Hip abduction angles decreased, by 4.0-7.6 degrees , when comparing the SSU task to the ST, STU and SS tasks. The hip abduction angles were associated with foot placement and lateral trunk orientation. INTERPRETATION Hip abduction angles and foot placement, not lateral trunk flexion influence trunk orientation. Anticipation influences hip and knee neuromuscular control and therefore may guide the development of ACL prevention strategies.

[1]  J. Ashton-Miller,et al.  Gender Differences in Muscular Protection of the Knee in Torsion in Size-Matched Athletes , 2003, The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume.

[2]  D. Winter,et al.  Control of whole body balance in the frontal plane during human walking. , 1993, Journal of biomechanics.

[3]  K. Markolf,et al.  Combined knee loading states that generate high anterior cruciate ligament forces , 1995, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[4]  Jeff Houck,et al.  Validity and comparisons of tibiofemoral orientations and displacement using a femoral tracking device during early to mid stance of walking. , 2004, Gait & posture.

[5]  Clancy Wg.  The effect of neuromuscular training on the incidence of knee injury in female athletes: a prospective study. , 2000 .

[6]  A. Patla,et al.  Visual control of locomotion: strategies for changing direction and for going over obstacles. , 1991, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[7]  D G Lloyd,et al.  Anticipatory effects on knee joint loading during running and cutting maneuvers. , 2001, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[8]  David A. Winter,et al.  Human balance and posture control during standing and walking , 1995 .

[9]  M. R. Yeadon,et al.  The appropriate use of regression equations for the estimation of segmental inertia parameters. , 1989, Journal of biomechanics.

[10]  F. Noyes,et al.  The Effect of Neuromuscular Training on the Incidence of Knee Injury in Female Athletes , 1999, The American journal of sports medicine.

[11]  Timothy L. Uhl,et al.  Differences in Kinematics and Electromyographic Activity between Men and Women during the Single-Legged Squat * , 2003, The American journal of sports medicine.

[12]  A. Caraffa,et al.  Prevention of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in soccer , 2005, Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy.

[13]  James A Ashton-Miller,et al.  A Gender-Related Difference in the Contribution of the Knee Musculature to Sagittal-Plane Shear Stiffness in Subjects with Similar Knee Laxity , 2002, The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume.

[14]  Lorenzo Chiari,et al.  Human movement analysis using stereophotogrammetry. Part 4: assessment of anatomical landmark misplacement and its effects on joint kinematics. , 2005, Gait & posture.

[15]  W E Garrett,et al.  A comparison of knee joint motion patterns between men and women in selected athletic tasks. , 2001, Clinical biomechanics.

[16]  J. Steele,et al.  The Effect of Upper-Limb Motion on Lower-Limb Muscle Synchrony: Implications for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury , 2001, The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume.

[17]  L. Engebretsen,et al.  Prevention of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female team handball players: a prospective intervention study over three seasons , 2003, Clinical journal of sport medicine : official journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine.

[18]  T. Hewett,et al.  Biomechanical Measures of Neuromuscular Control and Valgus Loading of the Knee Predict Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk in Female Athletes: A Prospective Study , 2005, The American journal of sports medicine.

[19]  A. E. Patla,et al.  Online steering: coordination and control of body center of mass, head and body reorientation , 1999, Experimental Brain Research.

[20]  D. Lloyd,et al.  Muscle activation strategies at the knee during running and cutting maneuvers. , 2003, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[21]  A. Mak,et al.  Effects of knee bracing on the functional performance of patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. , 2001, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[22]  M L Ireland,et al.  Anterior cruciate ligament injury in female athletes: epidemiology. , 1999, Journal of athletic training.

[23]  Kevin R Ford,et al.  Valgus knee motion during landing in high school female and male basketball players. , 2003, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[24]  E S Grood,et al.  A joint coordinate system for the clinical description of three-dimensional motions: application to the knee. , 1983, Journal of biomechanical engineering.

[25]  A. Cappozzo,et al.  Human movement analysis using stereophotogrammetry. Part 3. Soft tissue artifact assessment and compensation. , 2005, Gait & posture.

[26]  A. Cappozzo,et al.  Human movement analysis using stereophotogrammetry. Part 1: theoretical background. , 2005, Gait & posture.

[27]  Jeff Houck,et al.  Associations of knee angles, moments and function among subjects that are healthy and anterior cruciate ligament deficient (ACLD) during straight ahead and crossover cutting activities. , 2003, Gait & posture.

[28]  T. Hewett,et al.  Noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries: risk factors and prevention strategies. , 2000, The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

[29]  T. Hewett,et al.  USE OF AN OVERHEAD GOAL ALTERS VERTICAL JUMP PERFORMANCE AND BIOMECHANICS , 2005, Journal of strength and conditioning research.

[30]  B. Boden,et al.  Mechanisms of anterior cruciate ligament injury. , 2000, Orthopedics.

[31]  Patrick J McMahon,et al.  A quantitative analysis of valgus torque on the ACL: A human cadaveric study , 2003, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[32]  Jeff Houck,et al.  Muscle activation patterns of selected lower extremity muscles during stepping and cutting tasks. , 2003, Journal of electromyography and kinesiology : official journal of the International Society of Electrophysiological Kinesiology.

[33]  Orit Shechtman,et al.  Foundations of Clinical Research: Applications to Practice, 2nd Edition, Leslie Gross Portney, Mary P. Watkins. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ (2000), 752 pages. $60 , 2001 .

[34]  F Bojsen-Møller,et al.  Anterior cruciate ligament injury in indoor ball games , 2000, Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports.

[35]  Reed Ferber,et al.  Reactive balance adjustments to unexpected perturbations during human walking. , 2002, Gait & posture.

[36]  Li-Qun Zhang,et al.  Modeling of ACL impingement against the intercondylar notch. , 2003, Clinical biomechanics.

[37]  Joseph Hamill,et al.  Influence of gender on hip and knee mechanics during a randomly cued cutting maneuver. , 2004, Clinical biomechanics.

[38]  W E Garrett,et al.  The anterior cruciate ligament enigma. Injury mechanisms and prevention. , 2000, Clinical orthopaedics and related research.

[39]  Antonie J van den Bogert,et al.  Association between lower extremity posture at contact and peak knee valgus moment during sidestepping: implications for ACL injury. , 2005, Clinical biomechanics.

[40]  D A Winter,et al.  An integrated EMG/biomechanical model of upper body balance and posture during human gait. , 1993, Progress in brain research.