TY  - JOUR
A1  - Prieske, Olaf
A1  - Mühlbauer, Thomas
A1  - Krüger, Tom
A1  - Kibele, Armin
A1  - Behm, David George
A1  - Granacher, Urs
T1  - Role of the trunk during drop jumps on stable and unstable surfaces
JF  - European journal of applied physiology
N2  - The present study investigated associations between trunk muscle strength, jump performance, and lower limb kinematics during drop jumps on stable and unstable surfaces. Next to this behavioral approach, correlations were also computed on a neuromuscular level between trunk and leg muscle activity during the same test conditions.
 Twenty-nine healthy and physically active subjects (age 23 +/- A 3 years) were enrolled in this study. Peak isokinetic torque (PIT) of the trunk flexors and extensors was assessed separately on an isokinetic device. In addition, tests included drop jumps (DJ) on a force plate under stable and unstable (i.e., balance pad on top of the force plate) surfaces. Lower limb kinematics as well as electromyographic activity of selected trunk and leg muscles were analyzed.
 Significant positive but small correlations (0.50 a parts per thousand currency sign r a parts per thousand currency sign 0.66, p < 0.05) were detected between trunk extensor PIT and athletic performance measures (i.e., DJ height, DJ performance index), irrespective of surface condition. Further, significant negative but small correlation coefficients were examined between trunk extensor PIT and knee valgus motion under stable and unstable surface conditions (-0.48 a parts per thousand currency sign r a parts per thousand currency sign -0.45, p < 0.05). In addition, significant positive but small correlations (0.45 a parts per thousand currency sign r a parts per thousand currency sign 0.68, p < 0.05) were found between trunk and leg muscle activity, irrespective of surface condition.
 Behavioral and neuromuscular data from this study indicate that, irrespective of the surface condition (i.e., jumping on stable or unstable ground), the trunk plays a minor role for leg muscle performance/activity during DJ. This implies only limited effects of trunk muscle strengthening on jump performance in the stretch-shortening cycle.
KW  - Core stability
KW  - Jump height
KW  - Knee valgus motion
KW  - Ground reaction force
KW  - Stretch-shortening cycle
KW  - Electromyography
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-3004-9
SN  - 1439-6319
SN  - 1439-6327
VL  - 115
IS  - 1
SP  - 139
EP  - 146
PB  - Springer
CY  - New York
ER  -