Investigation of the Relationship between Lower Extremity Stiffness and Selected Biomechanical Variables Associated with the Risk of Injury in Healthy Physically Active Young Male Adults

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Sport Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Purpose:
Stiffness is one of the characteristic of viscoelastic structures in human body that can theoretically affect the risk of injury. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the lower limb stiffness and selected biomechanical variables related to the risk of injury in healthy physically active young male adults.
Methods:
20 male physical education students participated voluntarily in this study. They performed vertical hopping tests in three styles, bilateral, unilateral on dominant leg and unilateral on non-dominant leg, with three strategies, preferred and control (frequency 2.2 Hz) and the maximal to determine the stiffness of the lower limb and performed one-leg landing to determine the peak of vertical ground reaction force, rate of loading and mechanical absorbed energy. The variables were estimated by the force plate and the motion analysis system. The relationship between lower limb stiffness and selected biomechanical variables (peak of vertical ground reaction force, rate of loading and mechanical absorbed energy) in landing was determined by Pearson correlation test (p ≤ 0.05).
Results:
Among the lower limb stiffness variables during hopping performance with different strategies (control strategy, preferential and maximal), lower limb stiffness during maximal unilateral hopping tests showed significant and positive relationship with peak of vertical ground reaction force (p = 0.01) and rate of loading (p = 0.01). Lower limb stiffness during control hopping tests showed a significant negative relationship with the mechanical absorbed energy (p = 0.02).
Conclusion:
According to the findings, it can be argued that the high lower limb stiffness increases the risk of bony injuries such as knee osteoarthritis and stress fractures, while low lower limb stiffness increases the risk of soft tissue injuries. Therefore, it seems that very low or very high lower limb stiffness is not an advantage in order to reduce the risk of injury, and there is probably some optimal value for it.

Keywords

References

  1. Latash ML, Zatsiorsky VM. Joint stiffness: Myth or reality? Hum Movement Sci 1993; 12(6): 653-692.
  2. Brughelli M, Cronin J. Influence of running velocity on vertical, leg and joint stiffness: modelling and recommendations for future research. J Sports Med 2008; 38(8): 647-657.   
  3. Butler RJ, Crowell HP, Davis IMC. Lower extremity stiffness: implications for performance and injury. Clin Biomech 2003; 18(6): 511-517.
  4. Brughelli M, Cronin J. A review of research on the mechanical stiffness in running and jumping: methodology and implications. Scand J Med Sci Spor 2008; 18(4): 417-426.
  5. Blickhan R. The spring-mass model for running and hopping. J Biomech 1989; 22(11): 1217-1227.
  6. Lamontagne M, Kennedy MJ. The biomechanics of vertical hopping: a review. Res Sports Med. 2013; 21(4): 380‐394.
  7. Ashrostaghi M, Sadeghi H, Shirzad A. The relationship of mechanical stiffness during hopping test with performance and injury risk factors of lower extremity in selected fundamental movement kills. Phd Thesis, Faculty of physical Education, Kharazmi University; 2015:161. [Persian]
  8. McGill S. Ultimate back fitness and performance. 4th ed. Waterloo, Canada: Backfitpro Incorporated; 2009: 63.
  9. Watsford ML, Murphy AJ, McLachlan KA, Bryant. A prospective study of the relationship between lower body stiffness and hamstring injury in professional Australian rules footballers. American J Sports Med 2010; 38(10): 2058-2064.
  10. Pruyn EC, Watsfordfd ML, Murphy AJ, Pine MJ, et al. Relationship between leg stiffness and lower body injuries in professional Australian football. J Sports Sci 2012; 30(1): 71-78.
  11. Vazirian M, Shojaei I, Tromp RL, Nussbaum MA, et al. Age-related differences in trunk intrinsic stiffness. J Biomech 2015: 49(6): 926-932.
  12. Lee BC, McGill SM. Effect of Long-term Isometric Training on Core/Torso Stiffness. J Strength Cond Res 2015; 29(6): 1515-1526.
  13. Blackburn JT, Norcross MF, Padua DA. Influences of hamstring stiffness and strength on anterior knee joint stability. Clin Biomech 2011; 26(3): 278-283.
  14. Blackburn JT, Norcross MF, Cannon LN, Zinder SM. Hamstrings stiffness and landing biomechanics linked to anterior cruciate ligament loading J Athlet train. 2013; 48(6): 764-772.
  15. Butler RJ, Crowell HP, Davis IMC. Lower extremity stiffness: implications for performance and injury. Clin Biomech 2003; 18(6): 511-517.
  16. Brazier J, Bishop C, Simons C, Antrobus M, et al. Lower Extremity Stiffness: Effects on Performance and Injury and Implications for Training. Strength Cond J 2014; 36(5): 103-112.
  17. Granata K, Padua D, Wilson S. Gender differences in active musculoskeletal stiffness. Part II. Quantification of leg stiffness during functional hopping tasks. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2002; 12(2): 127-135.
  18. Farley C, Morgenroth, D. Leg stiffness primarily depends on ankle stiffness during human hopping. J Biomech 1999; 32(3): 267-273.
  19. Brauner T,  Sterzing T, Wulf  M, Horstmann T. Leg stiffness: Comparison between unilateral and bilateral hopping tasks. Hum Movemnt Sci 2014; 33(1): 263-272.
  20. Hobara H, Inoue K, Kanosue K. Effect of hopping frequency on bilateral differences in leg stiffness. J Appl Biomech 2013; 29(1): 55-60.
  21. Hobara H, Kobayashi Y, Yoshida E,  Mochimaru M. Leg stiffness of older and younger individuals over a range of hopping frequencies. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2015; 25(2): 305-309.
  22. McMahon T, Cheng G. The mechanics of running: How does stiffness couple with speed? J Biomech. 1990; 23(1): 65-78.
  23. Winter DA. Biomechanics and motor control of human movement. 4th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey, USA: John Wiley & Sons 2009: 86.
  24. Arampatzis A, Schade F, Walsh M, Brüggemann GP. Influence of leg stiffness and its effect on myodynamic jumping performance. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2001; 31(5): 355‐364.
  25. Ashrostaghi M, Sadeghi H, Shirzad A. The analysis of spring-like behavior of human body during unilateral and bilateral hopping tests with different strategies. Res Sports Rehab 2017; 4(8): 21-29. [Persian]
  26. Williams D.S, McClay Davis I, Scholz J.P, Hamill J, et al. Lower extremity stiffness in runners with different foot types. Gait and Posture. 2003.
  27. Williams D.S, McClay I.S, Hamill J. Arch structure and injury patterns in runners. Clin Biomech. 2001; 16(4): 341–347.

Journal of Paramedical Sciences & Rehabilitation
Volume 9, Issue 1
March 2020
Pages 32-40

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics