EFFECTS OF TRUNK POSTURE ON LOWER LIMB JOINTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR NON-CONTACT ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT INJURY

Non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common and trunk posture may be an important determinant of landing injury management. Seven university female athletes (age 19.570.79 y) volunteered and completed countermovement jumps (CMJ) using both single and double leg landings across three different trunk landing positions (lean forward, self-selected and upright). Lower limb joint angles and torques were calculated at peak vertical ground reaction force (vGRF). Repeated measure ANOVA 2-Way (p ≤ 0.05) was used to test the within-subject differences of landing biomechanical characteristics. Results indicated that trunk posture can influence joint displacement angles and reduce knee joint load in landing, potentially reducing the prevalence of non-contact ACL injury during the CMJ