TY - JOUR A1 - Lesinski, Melanie A1 - Prieske, Olaf A1 - Beurskens, Rainer A1 - Behm, David George A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Effects of Drop-height and Surface Instability on Jump Performance and Knee Kinematics JF - International journal of sports medicine N2 - The purpose of this study was to examine the combined effects of drop-height and surface condition on drop jump (DJ) performance and knee joint kinematics. DJ performance, sagittal and frontal plane knee joint kinematics were measured in jump experienced young male and female adults during DJs on stable, unstable and highly unstable surfaces using different drop-heights (20, 40, 60 cm). Findings revealed impaired DJ performance (Δ5–16%; p<0.05; 1.43≤d≤2.82), reduced knee valgus motion (Δ33–52%; p<0.001; 2.70≤d≤3.59), and larger maximum knee flexion angles (Δ13–19%; p<0.01; 1.74≤d≤1.75) when using higher (60 cm) compared to lower drop-heights (≤40 cm). Further, lower knee flexion angles and velocity were found (Δ8-16%; p<0.01; 1.49≤d≤2.38) with increasing surface instability. When performing DJs from high (60 cm) compared to moderate drop-heights (40 cm) on highly unstable surfaces, higher knee flexion velocity and maximum knee valgus angles were found (Δ15–19%; p<0.01; 1.50≤d≤1.53). No significant main and/or interaction effects were observed for the factor sex. In conclusion, knee motion strategies were modified by the factors ‘drop-height’ and/or ‘surface instability’. The combination of high drop-heights (>40 cm) together with highly unstable surfaces should be used cautiously during plyometrics because this may increase the risk of injury due to higher knee valgus stress. KW - drop jump KW - knee flexion angle KW - knee valgus angle KW - knee valgus motion Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-117610 SN - 0172-4622 SN - 1439-3964 VL - 39 IS - 1 SP - 50 EP - 57 PB - Thieme CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lesinski, Melanie A1 - Prieske, Olaf A1 - Borde, Ron A1 - Beurskens, Rainer A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Effects of Different Footwear Properties and Surface Instability on Neuromuscular Activity and Kinematics During Jumping JF - Journal of strength and conditioning research : the research journal of the NSCA N2 - The purpose of this study was to examine sex-specific effects of different footwear properties vs. barefoot condition during the performance of drop jumps (DJs) on stable and unstable surfaces on measures of jump performance, electromyographic (EMG) activity, and knee joint kinematics. Drop jump performance, EMG activity of lower-extremity muscles, as well as sagittal and frontal knee joint kinematics were tested in 28 healthy male (n = 14) and female (n = 14) physically active sports science students (23 6 2 years) during the performance of DJs on stable and unstable surfaces using different footwear properties (elastic vs. minimal shoes) vs. barefoot condition. Analysis revealed a significantly lower jump height and performance index (Delta 7-12%; p < 0.001; 2.22 <= d = 2.90) during DJs on unstable compared with stable surfaces. This was accompanied by lower thigh/shank muscle activities (Delta 11-28%; p < 0.05; 0.99 <= d = 2.16) and knee flexion angles (Delta 5-8%; p < 0.05; 1.02 <= d = 2.09). Furthermore, knee valgus angles during DJs were significantly lower when wearing shoes compared with barefoot condition (Delta 22-32%; p < 0.01; 1.38 <= d = 3.31). Sex-specific analyses indicated higher knee flexion angles in females compared with males during DJs, irrespective of the examined surface and footwear conditions (Delta 29%; p < 0.05; d = 0.92). Finally, hardly any significant footwear-surface interactions were detected. Our findings revealed that surface instability had an impact on DJ performance, thigh/shank muscle activity, and knee joint kinematics. In addition, the single factors "footwear" and "sex" modulated knee joint kinematics during DJs. However, hardly any significant interaction effects were found. Thus, additional footwear-related effects can be neglected when performing DJs during training on different surfaces. KW - shoe KW - drop jump KW - EMG KW - knee KW - biomechanics Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002556 SN - 1064-8011 SN - 1533-4287 VL - 32 IS - 11 SP - 3246 EP - 3257 PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins CY - Philadelphia ER -