LE3 .A278 2011

2011

Landry, Scott

Acadia University

Bachelor of Kinesiology

Honours

Kinesiology

Kinesiology

The incidence of a non-contact injury to the anterior cruciate ligament is 2-8 times greater in females than in males and such injuries frequently occur during athletic maneuvers such as landing, decelerating or cutting to change direction. The cutting maneuver has been reported as being the most hazardous mechanism for non-contact ACL injuries. Previous studies examining participants performing cutting movements have been able to show that during the stance phase, females compared to males demonstrate greater knee valgus angles, increased quadriceps activity, and reduced hamstring activity. Females have also been found to cut with smaller hip and knee flexion angles. These differences identified in females may not be giving the knee joint enough support to counter the external loads placed on the knee, putting the ACL at risk for injury. Since sporting maneuvers are not always anticipated during game situations, it is believed that preplanned movements performed in a laboratory are not a true reflection of the loads applied to the knee during an unanticipated sporting situation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine university soccer players performing unanticipated cutting maneuvers on a game realistic surface and to use electromyography to identify muscle activation patterns which may provide insight into the gender bias of non-contact ACL injuries. Understanding gender differences and differences in neuromuscular patterns between cutting movements will contribute to development of preventative training programs to reduce the risk of ACL injury in athletes.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:765