@phdthesis{Lesinski2019,
  author    = {Lesinski, Melanie},
  title     = {Modulating factors for drop jump performance},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {viii, 57, xiii},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Background and objectives: Drop jumps (DJs) are well-established exercise drills during plyometric training. Several sports are performed under unstable surface conditions (e.g., soccer, beach volleyball, gymnastics). To closely mimic sport-specific demands, plyometric training includes DJs on both stable and unstable surfaces. According to the mechanical properties of the unstable surface (e.g., thickness, stiffness), altered temporal, mechanical, and physiological demands have been reported from previous cross-sectional studies compared with stable conditions. However, given that the human body simultaneously interacts with various factors (e.g., drop height, footwear, gender) during DJs on unstable surfaces, the investigation of isolated effects of unstable surface conditions might not be sufficient for designing an effective and safe DJ stimulus. Instead, the combined investigation of different factors and their interaction with surface instability have to be taken into consideration. Therefore, the present doctoral thesis seeks to complement our knowledge by examining the main and interaction effects of surface instability, drop height, footwear, and gender on DJ performance, knee joint kinematics, and neuromuscular activation. Methods: Healthy male and female physically active sports science students aged 19-26 years participated in the cross-sectional studies. Jump performance, sagittal and frontal plane knee joint kinematics, and leg muscle activity were measured during DJs on stable (i.e., firm force plate) and (highly) unstable surfaces (i.e., one or two AIREX® balance pads) from different drop heights (i.e., 20 cm, 40 cm, 60 cm) or under multiple footwear conditions (i.e., barefoot, minimal shoes, cushioned shoes). Results: Findings revealed that surface instability caused a DJ performance decline, reduced sagittal plane knee joint kinematics, and lower leg muscle activity during DJs. Sagittal plane knee joint kinematics as well as leg muscle activity decreased even more with increasing surface instability (i.e., two vs. one AIREX® balance pads). Higher (60 cm) compared to lower drop heights (≤ 40 cm) resulted in a DJ performance decline. In addition, increased sagittal plane knee joint kinematics as well as higher shank muscle activity were found during DJs from higher (60 cm) compared to lower drop heights (≤ 40 cm). Footwear properties almost exclusively affected frontal plane knee joint kinematics, indicating larger maximum knee valgus angles when performing DJs barefoot compared to shod. Between the different shoe properties (i.e., minimal vs. cushioned shoes), no significant differences during DJs were found at all. Only a few significant surface-drop height as well as surface-footwear interactions were found during DJs. They mainly indicated that drop height- and footwear-related effects are more pronounced during DJs on unstable compared to stable surfaces. In this regard, the maximum knee valgus angle was significantly greater when performing DJs from high drop heights (60 cm), but only on highly unstable surface. Further, braking and push-off times were significantly longer when performing DJs barefoot compared to shod, but only on unstable surface. Finally, analyses indicated no significant interactions with the gender factor. Conclusions: The findings of the present cumulative thesis indicate that stable rather than unstable surfaces as well as moderate (≤ 40 cm) rather than high (60 cm) drop heights provide sufficient stimuli to perform DJs. Furthermore, findings suggest that DJs on highly unstable surfaces (i.e., two AIREX® balance pads) from high drop heights (60 cm) as well as barefoot compared to shod seem to increase maximal knee valgus angle/stress by providing a more harmful DJ stimulus. Neuromuscular activation strategies appear to be modified by surface instability and drop height. However, leg muscle activity is only marginally effected by footwear and by the interactions of various external factors i.e., surface instability, drop height, footwear). Finally, gender did not significantly modulate the main or interaction effects of the observed external factors during DJs.},
  language  = {en}
}