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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Comparative Analysis of Lower Limb Kinematics between the Initial and Terminal Phase of 5km Treadmill Running
Published on: July 17, 2020
Curved decelerations result in greater frontal-plane knee loading than straight-line tasks
Lucas Galmiche1, Uwe G Kersting2, Kevin Bill3
1Institute of Biomechanics and Orthopaedics, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany; VALD Pty Ltd, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Background:
Non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries often occur during rapid decelerations and change-of-direction tasks. Although most high-intensity movements in team sports follow curved trajectories, the biomechanical consequences of curvilinear deceleration remain unclear. This study examined whether curved decelerations increase frontal-plane knee loading associated with ACL injury risk compared with straight-line tasks.
Methods:
Twelve healthy, recreationally active males performed three maximal deceleration tasks in randomized order: (1) straight-line sprint and deceleration (Straight:Straight), (2) curved sprint with straight-line deceleration (Curved:Straight), and (3) curved sprint with curved deceleration (Curved:Curved). Three-dimensional motion capture and embedded force plates were used to compute center of mass (COM) velocity, peak external knee abduction moment (KAM), resultant ground reaction force (GRF), and frontal-plane moment arm. Repeated-measures ANOVAs with Bonferroni-corrected post-hoc tests assessed differences across tasks.
Results:
COM velocity prior to deceleration was similar across tasks (P = 0.36). Peak KAM was significantly greater during Curved:Curved compared with both Curved:Straight (P = 0.007, dz = 1.13) and Straight:Straight (P = 0.036, dz = 0.87). The resultant GRF did not differ significantly between tasks (P = 0.056), whereas the frontal-plane moment arm was significantly longer in Curved:Curved (P = 0.004, dz = 1.04).
Conclusion:
Curved deceleration, independent of approach trajectory, increased knee joint loading through longer frontal-plane moment arms despite comparable entry velocities. These findings identify curvilinear deceleration as an underexplored game situation that may contribute to non-contact ACL injury mechanisms and support the inclusion of curved braking drills in athlete screening and injury mitigation programs.
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