Influence of Holding a Lacrosse Stick on Landing Mechanics

Female athletes are at an increased risk for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries by noncontact mechanisms (Beutler et al., 2009). Women’s lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports, rendering a need for increased attention to potential factors of these injuries (Dick et al., 2007). PURPOSE: This is the first study to use the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) to study the effect of holding a lacrosse stick (Mihata et al., 2006) and will provide normative data. METHODS: The LESS was used on 20 collegiate women’s lacrosse players (19.7±1.4 yo, 60.8±5.6 kg, 1.66±0.06 m) to examine jump landing mechanics with a lacrosse stick (WS) versus without (WO). Participants jumped forward off a 30-cm box to a spot on the floor 50% of their body height, and performed a maximal vertical jump upon landing. Hi-speed video (240Hz) was recorded in the sagittal and frontal planes. Sixteen biomechanical criteria were subsequently scored. RESULTS: There was a significant relationship between poor landing mechanics and holding a lacrosse stick reflected in the LESS scores (WS=4.46±0.69, WO=3.16±0.79, p0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Holding a lacrosse stick caused participants to receive a higher LESS score and land with a less flexed knee, hip, and trunk, indicating poor landing mechanics and a potentially increased risk of a non-contact ACL injury. Key words: Anterior cruciate ligament, lacrosse, biomechanics, Landing Error Scoring Syste