Movement Profiles in 180° Cutting Test: A Cluster-Based Analysis of Performance and Knee Loading Trade-Offs

Cutting maneuvers impose conflicting performance and knee-loading demands, yet whether movement profiles can be identified during a 180° cutting (CUT180) maneuver and how they relate to performance and knee-loading profiles remain unclear. This study aimed to identify movement profiles during the CUT180 and examine their associations with cutting performance and knee-loading profiles. Forty-seven physically active adults performed CUT180 in a motion laboratory. Correlation analyses were used to explore the relationships between cutting performance and biomechanical loading, and principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering were applied to six kinetic and GRF variables to identify subgroups of movement profiles. Between-cluster differences in cutting performance and isokinetic knee strength were subsequently examined. While performance and biomechanical loading were generally associated, three candidate profiles emerged: high-loading (n = 10), medium-loading (n = 19), and low-loading (n = 18) profiles. Compared with the low-loading profile, the medium-loading profile demonstrated a larger magnitude of the external knee abduction moment (KAM), greater ankle dorsiflexion moment and braking GRF, and higher overall cutting performance. In contrast, the high-loading profile exhibited the highest knee flexion moment and large GRF magnitudes without a commensurate performance advantage. Final foot contact time did not differ across profiles, whereas peak approach velocity and entry velocity reduction differed between profiles. Between-cluster strength differences were confined to high-velocity (240°/s) isokinetic measures. Three candidate CUT180 profiles with differing knee-loading patterns were identified. The medium-loading profile combined higher overall CUT180 task performance with greater entry velocity reduction, but was still characterized by a large external KAM magnitude, indicating substantial frontal-plane demands.