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Lower Limb Biomechanical Analysis of Healthy Participants
Published on: April 15, 2020
Single-leg hop testing following fatiguing exercise: reliability and biomechanical analysis
J Augustsson1, R Thomeé, C Lindén
1Department of Orthopaedics, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden. jesper.augustsson@orthop.gu.se
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
|March 15, 2006
Summary
This study shows that combining fatiguing exercise with single-leg hop tests is a reliable way to assess performance after exertion. Fatigue alters hop technique, reducing power and joint moments, but recovery is typically rapid.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Biomechanics
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Assessing functional performance after fatigue is crucial for training and rehabilitation.
- Single-leg hop tests are commonly used to evaluate lower-extremity function.
- Understanding fatigue's impact on hop biomechanics can refine performance assessments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish the reliability of a fatiguing exercise protocol combined with single-leg hop testing.
- To investigate the effects of fatigue on lower-extremity joint kinematics and kinetics during single-leg hops.
- To examine the recovery of hop performance after fatiguing exercise.
Main Methods:
- Healthy male subjects performed single-leg hops under non-fatigued and fatigued conditions.
- Fatigue was induced by unilateral knee extensions at 80% and 50% of 1 repetition maximum.
- Motion capture and force platforms recorded joint angles, moments, powers, and ground-reaction forces.
Main Results:
- The combined fatiguing exercise and hop test protocol demonstrated high reliability (ICC 0.75–0.98).
- Fatigue led to decreased hip and knee flexion, reduced knee and ankle power during takeoff, and lower hip moments during landing.
- Most measured variables recovered within three minutes post-exercise.
Conclusions:
- The fatiguing exercise protocol combined with single-leg hop testing is a reliable method for evaluating functional performance under fatigued conditions.
- Subjects adopt an adapted hop strategy when fatigued, altering movement patterns to compensate.
- Assessing dynamic knee function should consider both hop distance and landing mechanics, particularly the eccentric quadriceps activation during landing.
