LE3 .A278 2012

2012

Landry, Scott

Acadia University

Bachelor of Kinesiology

Honours

Kinesiology

Kinesiology

Non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are among the most frequent musculoskeletal injuries in football and it has previously been identified that the lateral false step and side cut maneuvers have similar knee kinetics and kinematics that may place the ACL at risk for injury. As ACL injuries occur more frequently in game situations, this study was conducted on artificial turf while recreating unanticipated game-like conditions, in an effort to identify neuromuscular risk factors for ACL injuries in game scenarios. The purpose of this study was to use electromyography to examine lower limb neuromuscular control patterns that collegiate male football players generate during the stance phase of both anticipated and unanticipated side cut and lateral false step maneuvers. Six muscles were analyzed to look for condition (unanticipated versus anticipated), muscle (medial versus lateral) and interaction effects. Muscle effects in amplitude and timing were noted for the hamstrings during both the lateral false step and side cut maneuver, with the lateral hamstring being activated earlier in stance and having a greater overall muscle activity magnitude compared with the medial hamstring. Condition effects related to timing were identified, where in the unanticipated conditions, the quadriceps activated earlier in the stance phase for the lateral false step and the hamstrings activated later in the stance phase for the side cut maneuver. Due to the anatomical location of these two muscles, the activation of the quadriceps occurring sooner in combination with the later activation of the hamstrings muscles may be factors that predispose athletes to ACL injuries. Analyses of neuromuscular control patterns gives insight into the understanding of how ACL injuries might occur, which is valuable to the prevention of these devastating injuries that can potentially end or significantly inhibit an athlete’s sporting career.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:918