Chronic Ankle Instability Does Not Influence Tibiofemoral Contact Forces During Drop Landings Using a Musculoskeletal Model
in Journal of Applied BiomechanicsBy purchasing this content you agree and accept the terms and conditions
The purpose of the study was to compare the tibiofemoral contact forces of participants with chronic ankle instability versus controls during landings using a computer-simulated musculoskeletal model. A total of 21 female participants with chronic ankle instability and 21 pair-matched controls performed a drop landing task on a tilted force plate. A 7-camera motion capture system and 2 force plates were used to test participants’ lower-extremity biomechanics. A musculoskeletal model was used to calculate the tibiofemoral contact forces (femur on tibia). No significant between-group differences were observed for the peak tibiofemoral contact forces (P = .25–.48) during the landing phase based on paired t tests. The group differences ranged from 0.05 to 0.58 body weight (BW). Most participants demonstrated a posterior force (peak, ∼1.1 BW) for most duration of the landing phase and a medial force (peak, ∼0.9 BW) and large compressive force (peak, ∼10 BW) in the landing phase. The authors conclude that chronic ankle instability may not be related to the increased tibiofemoral contact forces or knee injury mechanisms during landings on the tilted surface.
Li is with the Department of Health and Human Performance, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA. Wang is with the School of Kinesiology, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA. Simpson is with the Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
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