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Published on: July 7, 2016
Muscle strength and flexibility characteristics of people displaying excessive medial knee displacement
David R Bell1, Darin A Padua, Michael A Clark
1Department of Exercise and Sports Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8700, USA. bell@email.unc.edu
Objective:
To determine differences in strength and range of motion (ROM) between participants who exhibit medial knee displacement (MKD) during a squat that is corrected by a heel lift and those who do not.
Design:
Case control.
Setting:
Sports medicine research laboratory.
Participants:
Thirty-seven healthy subjects (control, 19; MKD, 18) with no lower-extremity injury in the past 6 months volunteered to participate.
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures:
Peak force was measured in newtons using a hand-held dynamometer and passive ROM was measured in degrees with a goniometer. Separate multivariate analyses of variance were used to determine differences in strength and ROM between groups. Post hoc testing was used to elucidate differences between groups.
Results:
The MKD group had the following: greater hip external rotation strength (P=.03), increased hip extension strength (P=.01), less plantarflexion strength (P=.007), and increased hip external rotation ROM (P=.008).
Conclusions:
The MKD group exhibited tight and weak ankle musculature. Interventions focusing on improving strength and ROM of the ankle may improve kinematics during a squat.
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