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Updated: Jun 26, 2026
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An Inertial Measurement Unit Based Method to Estimate Hip and Knee Joint Kinematics in Team Sport Athletes on the Field
Published on: May 26, 2020
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Angular Velocities and Linear Accelerations Derived from Inertial Measurement Units Can Be Used as Proxy Measures of
Holly S R Jones1, Victoria H Stiles2, Jasper Verheul1
1Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cyncoed Campus, Cardiff CF23 6XD, UK.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 11, 2022
Summary
This study found that wearable sensors (IMUs) can accurately measure knee movement variables related to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk during common sports assessments. These findings support using IMUs for accessible ACL injury prevention monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Sports Medicine
- Injury Prevention
Background:
- High incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in multidirectional field sports necessitates accessible injury risk monitoring.
- Current field-based assessments lack objective measures for knee variables linked to ACL injury.
- Wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) offer a potential solution for efficient injury risk management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine correlations between laboratory-derived knee variables and IMU-derived metrics.
- To assess the feasibility of using IMUs to monitor ACL injury risk in applied sports settings.
- To validate IMU-based proxy measures for knee range of motion, change in knee moment, and knee stiffness.
Main Methods:
- Nineteen healthy males performed bilateral/unilateral drop jumps and a 90° cutting task.
- Recorded ground reaction forces, 3D kinematics, and triaxial IMU data (tibia and thigh).
- Analyzed correlations between knee variables (RoM, moment, stiffness) and IMU metrics (angular velocity, acceleration) using Spearman's correlations.
Main Results:
- Strong positive correlation between knee range of motion (RoM) and tibia angular velocity area under the curve across all movements.
- Significant strong correlations found in unilateral drop jumps between knee RoM, change in knee moment, stiffness, and tibia acceleration.
- Moderate correlations observed between knee RoM, stiffness, and thigh angular velocity metrics.
Conclusions:
- IMU-derived angular velocities and accelerations show potential as proxy measures for key knee variables.
- This suggests IMUs can be used in practitioner assessments for monitoring ACL injury risk.
- Wearable sensor technology offers a promising avenue for accessible and efficient ACL injury prevention strategies.
Keywords:
accelerometerfield-based assessmentsgyroscopeinjury monitoringinjury riskknee biomechanicswearable technologiesMore Related Videos
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