Jump Assessments on Force Plates Do Not Determine Musculoskeletal Injury Risk in Active-Duty Air Force Personnel

Merrigan, JJ, Ray, N, Barrett, K, O'Connor, M, Smith, R, Walters, JR, Hagen, J, Eckerle, J, and Briggs, R. Jump assessments on force plates do not determine musculoskeletal injury risk in active-duty air force personnel. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2026-This study evaluated jump performances and lower extremity musculoskeletal injury (MSKI) risk in active-duty Air Force (N = 963). During the 6-month surveillance period, 88 subjects sustained MSKI, while 875 subjects reported no lower extremity injuries (No-MSKI). Previous injuries were documented within 6 months before testing. Jump assessments consisted of maximal effort arm-swing countermovement jumps (ASCMJ), no arm-swing countermovement jumps (CMJ), bilateral repeated hop test (BRHT), CMJs with a weighted vest loaded countermovement jump (LCMJ), and drop jumps (DJ), in that order. Drop jumps were not different between MSKI and No-MSKI groups. On the remaining assessments, MSKI had lower jump heights, less reactive strength indexes, and greater peak landing force relative to body mass. According to logistic regressions, previous injury was associated with odds of sustaining MSKI (no-MSKI = 6.06%; MSKI = 30.68%). Higher jump heights were associated with lower odds of MSKI for ASCMJ (odds ratio, OR = 0.49), CMJ (OR = 0.52), LCMJ (OR = 0.51), and BRHT (OR = 0.60), but no model accurately classified MSKI occurrences. Chi-square results demonstrated greater risk ratios for those below the 25th percentile (ASCMJ = 3.53; CMJ = 3.26; BRHT = 2.38; LCMJ = 2.41; p < 0.05) and between 25 and 50th percentiles (ASCMJ = 2.64; LCMJ = 2.33; p < 0.05) compared with those above the 75th percentile. These findings suggest that while force-plate jumps demonstrate associations with MSKI risk, they were not effective as standalone tools for accurately classifying MSKI risk in active-duty military personnel. Nonetheless, performance below the 25th percentile may help identify individuals who could benefit from additional preparatory training aimed at reducing injury risk.