Is there association between cutting and jump-landing movement quality in semi-professional football players? Implications for ACL injury risk screening

Abstract

ObjectivesTo investigate the relationship between the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) and Cutting Movement Assessment Score (CMAS) to evaluate movement quality, their intra- (INTRAob) and inter-observer (INTERob) reliability, and the comparison between the two drop vertical jump (DVJ) landings (1st and 2nd). DesignCross-sectional. Participants42 male semi-professional soccer players performed three trials of DVJ and 70° change of direction with a ball located as an external focus. Main outcome measuresMovement quality was evaluated through 2D video footage using the CMAS and LESS, screened by two observers. Relational, comparative and reliability analyses were conducted. ResultsBoth tools showed moderate to substantial (ICC = 0.58–0.71), and substantial to almost perfect (ICC = 0.68–0.87) INTRAob and INTERob reliability, respectively. No significant associations were found among CMAS, LESS 1st and 2nd for either scores or risk profiles (r = −0.158–0.202, p > 0.05). LESS 2nd was moderately higher (ES = 0.80–0.83, p = 0.002–0.007) than 1st scores. ConclusionsCMAS and LESS are reliable tools to evaluate movement quality, although evaluations should be preferably performed by the same observer; ACL injury risk profile's is task-dependent; both landings of the DVJ should be assessed as they represent different biomechanical and neuromuscular control deficits.