Influence of increasing knee flexion angle on knee-ankle varus stress during single-leg jump landing

OBJECTIVES: The primary aim of this study was to identify the relationship between the peak knee flexion angle and knee-ankle varus stress in the landing phase of the single-leg jump during running. METHODS: Fifteen male handball players from the first Saudi Arabian handball team were incorporated in this study. Each player performed a single-leg jump-land after running a fixed distance of 450 cm. The data were measured using a 3D motion analysis system. The maximum knee flexion angle, knee varus angle, centre of pressure pathway in the medio-lateral direction, and ankle varus moment were measured. RESULTS: The Pearson Product Moment Correlation showed that a greater knee flexion angle was related to a greater lateral displacement of the centre of pressure (r = 0.794, P = 0.000), a greater ankle varus moment (r = 0.707, P = 0.003), and a greater knee varus angle (r = 0.753, P = 0.001). In addition, the greater ankle varus moment was related to the greater lateral displacement of the centre of pressure (r = 0.734, P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: These findings may help physical therapists and conditioning professionals to understand the impact of increasing knee flexion angle on the lower limb joints. Such findings may help to develop training protocols for enhancing the lateral body reaction during the landing phase of the single-leg jump, which may protect the knee and ankle joints from excessive varus stresses.