Influence of Anticipation on Landing Patterns during Side-Cutting Maneuver in Female Collegiate Soccer Players

Abstract

To investigate the anticipatory effect on landing patterns during side-cutting maneuver, thirteen healthy female elite college soccer players participated in this study. Three-dimensional knee kinematics, effective mass and correlation between both these were measured and analyzed using a motion analysis and force plates. Each testing session included anticipated tasks, <TEX>$45^{\circ}$</TEX> side-cutting tasks (AC), followed by a set of unexpected side-cutting (UC) in a random order. Knee flexion/extension, valgus/varus and internal/external rotation angles and effect mass were compared by using paired t-test. Also, correlation analysis was performed to identify the relationship between knee angles and effective mass. Effective mass during UC was greater than that during AC. Effective mass and maximum knee flexion angle were positively correlated during AC and not during UC. Based on the relationship between effective mass and knee flexion angle in AC, shock absorption can be controlled by knee joint flexion in pre-predicted movement condition. However, effective mass can not be controlled by knee flexion in UC condition. The unexpected load affects were more irregular on the knee joint, which may be one of the injury mechanisms of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in female soccer players.