Abstract
Individuals with an ACL reconstruction (ACLR) have different landing adaptations depending if they received patellar (PG) or hamstring tendon (HG) graft reconstruction. No study has evaluated landing biomechanics following these procedures in soccer players. PURPOSE: To compare landing biomechanics between soccer players following PG or HG ACLR during planned and unplanned landing tasks. METHODS: Six soccer players with a PG ACLR (age, 25.83 ± 4.44 years; height, 1.73 ± 0.04 m; weight, 70.91 ± 8.00 kg, BMI, 23.64 ± 3.29 kg/m2, time since surgery, 4 ± 3.38 years) and 6 soccer players with a HG ACLR (age, 26.83 ± 3.25 years; height, 1.69 ± 0.08 m; weight, 67 ± 6.16 kg, BMI, 23.40 ± 2.08 kg/m2 time since surgery, 5 ± 2.89 years) participated in the study. Planned landing (PL) included jumping forward and landing on two force plates, whereas unplanned landing (UL) included jumping forward to head a soccer ball and landing on the force plates. Participants performed 4 trials of each landing task. Outcome measures included peak flexion angles and extension moments of the hip, knee, and ankle joints, and electromyography of gluteus maximus, quadriceps, hamstrings, and gastrocnemius muscles. A 2×2 ANOVA (group × landing) was performed for each measure. RESULTS: There were no significant group × landing interactions for any of the outcomes. Significant main effects of landing were found. The UL showed smaller hip flexion (F1,10 = 48.77, p < 0.001), smaller knee flexion (F1,10 = 28.02, p < 0.001), and lower ankle platarflexion moments (F1,10 = 26.48, p < 0.001). Significant main effects for group for quadriceps muscle and hip extension moments were found showing that the PG group landed with reduced quadriceps activity (F1,10 = 11.72, p = 0.007), and greater hip extension moments (F1,10 = 14.69, p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: The UL showed greater injury predisposing factors compared with the PL. Although the PG group showed nearly similar landing biomechanics to the HG group during both maneuvers, they (PG) demonstrated a protective landing pattern by reducing quadriceps activity and increasing the demand on the hip extensors. These findings reinforce the clinical emphasis on improving the use of hip and knee joints during landing to reduce the risk of consequent injuries in soccer players following PG ACLR.
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