Neuromuscular control during a jump landing was evaluated by using two-dimensional videography and a scoring tool called the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS). This scale has high reliability and can be used to differentiate between pubertal stages based on indicators such as growth, breast development, menstruation status, body hair, acne, and sweating during physical activities. We hypothesized that 1) females would not show any differences in strength measures at the knee and hip across maturation 2) females would demonstrate worse neuromuscular control at the end of maturation and 3) neuromuscular control would be correlated with strength measures at the knee and hip in post-pubescence.ĭesign: Healthy female middle school participants (N=56 1.56☐.1m, 45.3☙.6kg) were grouped into Pre-Pubertal (PRE N=18 Age=11.7☐.6), Pubertal (PBL N=21 Age=12.3☑.3), and Post-Pubertal (POST N=17 Age=13.7☑.3) categories using the Puberty Maturation Observational Scale. The purposes of this study were to examine strength and neuromuscular control across maturation stages in females, and to identify strength measures associated with poor neuromuscular control. But even though these different aspects of development have been previously studied, neuromuscular control and strength have not been explicitly associated in maturational populations, nor have specific measures of strength been identified as related to neuromuscular control development.
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As such, strength training during maturation may represent an opportunity for injury prevention through preventing altered neuromuscular control patterns from developing.
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These altered neuromuscular control patterns will persist even after engaging in strength training as adults. Compensatory neuromuscular control strategies to accommodate this relative lack of strength may result in increased injury risk. It is well-established that females do not gain muscle strength during maturation at similar rates or amounts compared to males. This divergence in neuromuscular control may be secondary to inadequate strength development during maturation. This difference in risk emerges during maturation, and is in part due to sex-based alterations in neuromuscular control that also occur during maturation. There is a well-known sex-bias in ACL injury risk, with females having up to eight times the risk of injury as males.
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Furthermore, such neuromuscular characteristics have the capacity to predict ACL injuries, and improvements in neuromuscular control have been shown to reduce ACL injury risk. Groups at high risk for injury have neuromuscular characteristics such as high frontal plane motion at the knee and trunk and low sagittal plane motion at the knee and trunk during jumping landing. Altered neuromuscular control during relatively high-risk athletic tasks such as jump landing has been demonstrated as a compelling risk factor for ACL injury. Objective: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures are potentially devastating injuries that have a significant detrimental impact on short and long term musculoskeletal health and physical function. Herman, MD, PhD Giorgio Negron, BS Kyle Fallgatter, BS Heather K. Faculty Category Award Winner The Influence of Strength on Jump Landing Biomechanics during Maturation in Females – Implications for ACL Injury Risk and Preventionĭaniel C.