LE3 .A278 2019

2019

Landry, Scott

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Biology

Biology

Ankle injuries are a frequent setback to athletes across a wide range of sports. Dependant on the severity of injury, athletes can be side-lined from their respective sports for weeks at a time and develop increasingly higher susceptibility to future injuries. Ankle sprains as well as Achilles tendon ruptures are common injuries at the level of the ankle. Due to the frequency and severity of these injuries, identifying risk factors, or groups at greater risk of injury within sport is important in preventing such injuries. The purpose of this study was to identify leg, sex, and sport differences in ankle joint angles and moments during common athletic movements such as cutting and double and single legdrop jump landings. This study worked to compare the biomechanical differences of court and field sport athletes, thus emphasis was placed on analysing basketball and soccer athletes. This study utilized data collected at Acadia University’s John MacIntyre motion Laboratory of Applied Biomechanics (mLAB) and the four groups that were statistically compared included: male basketball athletes (age = 18 ± 4.3, height =179.28 ± 11.25, weight = 74.17 ± 19.28); male soccer athletes (age = 18.14 ± 3.0, height = 177.21 ± 5.90, weight = 69.37 ± 8.75); female basketball athletes (age = 18 ± 3.1, height = 169.31 ± 6.00, weight = 68.39 ±± 16.60); and finally female soccer athletes (age = 17.93 ± 2.5, height = 164.61 ± 5.26, weight = 59.47 ± 6.02). Motion analysis data, including EMG, ground reaction forces, and 3D marker position, were collected for all participants. Using Visual3D, ankle joint internal moments and angles were calculated for the stance phase of unanticipated cutting, double leg drop jump and single leg drop jump landing trials. Processed data (maximum and instant of contact joint moments and angles) were analysed using a 3-way ANOVA to test for significant leg (dominant vs non-dominant), sex (male vs female) and sport (basketball vs soccer) main effects, as well as interaction effects. Results from this study indicated significant sex and sport main effects in moments during drop jump landings in the sagittal plane (plantarflexion/dorsiflexion), sex, leg and sport main effects in moments and angles during cuts and jump landings in the frontal plane (toe-in/toe-out), and finally, leg, sex and sport main effects in moments and angles during jump landings in the transverse plane (inversion/eversion). The findings of this study provide insight into factors that might put specific athletes at greater risk of ankle injury and it is suggested that future studies include lower limb muscle activation patterns, to help better understand ankle injury.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3290