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ONE-LEG BACKWARD HOPPING IMPOSES GREATER KNEE DEMANDS COMPARED TO VERTICAL HOPPING IN ACLR PATIENTS

Abstract

In the clinical setting, knee functionality following an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is commonly evaluated using one-leg hopping performances, such as forward hopping for distance and vertical hopping for height. One-leg vertical hopping was considered to be a better metric to evaluate the knee compared to forward hopping due to greater knee emphasis. Recently, one-leg backward hopping was found to impose the greatest knee demands compared to forward and vertical hopping. PURPOSE: Determine knee mechanics during one-leg vertical and backward hopping in ACLR patients in comparison to healthy controls. METHODS: Fifteen female participants were recruited with eight unilateral ACLR patients (33.8 ± 22.1 months after ACLR, age 20.2 ± 1.5 yr, height 1.6 ± 0.1 m, and mass 69.2 ± 14.3 kg) and seven healthy controls (age 19.6 ± 1.3 yr, height 1.7 ± 0.0 m, and mass 67.1 ± 16.0 kg). Participants performed one-leg vertical hopping for height and backward hopping for distance on each leg with motion and force data collected. The hopping performance, peak knee flexion angle, peak knee extension moment, and peak knee power were calculated during jumping. Results were reported for each leg in ACLR patients, and the average of both legs was in healthy controls. RESULTS: One-leg backward hopping showed greater peak knee flexion angle, knee extension moment, and knee power compared to vertical hopping, regardless of legs and groups (Table 1). The decreasing order of knee variables were healthy controls, uninjured knee, and injured knee in one-leg backward hopping. The uninjured knee showed greater knee measurements than the injured knee in one-leg vertical and backward hopping. CONCLUSION: One-leg backward hopping imposes greater knee demands than vertical hopping in ACLR patients and healthy controls, indicating a more challenging task to assess knee function in individuals after ACLR.

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