Gender differences in trunk acceleration and related posture during shuttle run cutting

Yasuharu Nagano,Shogo Sasaki,Ayako Higashihara,Hideyuki Ishii

doi:10.1080/23335432.2016.1191372

Abstract

Measurements using an accelerometer reflect the impact applied to the trunk. Measurement of trunk acceleration has the possibility of reflecting the typical characteristics of trunk motion during cutting. However, analysis of trunk acceleration data during cutting manoeuvres has not been previously conducted. This study aimed to analyse trunk acceleration during cutting manoeuvres to examine any gender differences or a relationship with posture. All participants (eight male and eight female college soccer athletes) performed a shuttle run cutting task, and trunk accelerations (medio-lateral, vertical, and antero-posterior) were calculated. The peak acceleration (G) and total magnitude during the 200 ms after foot contact were measured, and the forward trunk inclination and femoral angle were calculated from the video images taken using a sagittal plane camera. Peak vertical acceleration (mean, s) was significantly greater among female athletes than among male athletes (−2.18, s = 0.84 G; −1.15, s = 0.45 G, respectively; p < 0.01). Medio-lateral and antero-posterior peak acceleration and the total magnitude in all directions were not significantly different between genders. Moderate negative correlations were found between vertical peak acceleration and trunk forward inclination and femoral inclination (r = −0.57, p < 0.05; r = −0.69, p < 0.01, respectively). The difference in vertical acceleration between genders has the possibility to reflect a stiff cutting movement among female athletes. The acceleration of the upper trunk may be an index for evaluating cutting movements.

Highlights

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur at a high rate in female athletes (Arendt & Dick 1995; Agel et al 2005), and often occur in non-contact sport situations, including landing and cutting (Boden et al 2000)
Some studies (Jamison et al 2012; Frank et al 2013; Kristianslund et al 2013) demonstrated a significant positive association between lateral trunk orientation and peak knee abduction moments during run-to-cut manoeuvres. These results suggest that the trunk position during cutting differs between genders, and these differences may be related to a greater propensity for injury, i.e. ACL injuries, among female athletes than among male athletes
Peak vertical acceleration was significantly greater in female athletes than in male athletes (p < 0.01), but peak acceleration in the medio-lateral and antero-posterior directions and the total magnitude in all directions were not significantly different between the genders

Summary

Introduction

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur at a high rate in female athletes (Arendt & Dick 1995; Agel et al 2005), and often occur in non-contact sport situations, including landing and cutting (Boden et al 2000). From the results of these studies, knee abduction (Boden et al 2009; Hewett et al 2009), increased hip flexion (Boden et al 2009), increased trunk lateral motion (Hewett et al 2009), decreased trunk forward inclination (Sheehan et al 2012), and extreme posterior position of the centre of mass relative to the base of support (Sheehan et al 2012) was observed These studies revealed that female athletes have characteristic lower limb and trunk positions at the time of ACL injury. These results suggest that the trunk position during cutting differs between genders, and these differences may be related to a greater propensity for injury, i.e. ACL injuries, among female athletes than among male athletes

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Conclusion