The effect of technique change on knee loads during sidestep cutting.

Purpose: To identify the effect of modifying sidestep cutting technique on knee loads and predict what impact such change would have on the risk of noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Methods: A force platform and motion-analysis system were used to record ground-reaction forces and track the trajectories of markers on 15 healthy males performing sidestep cutting tasks using their normal technique and nine different imposed techniques. A kinematic and inverse dynamic model was used to calculate the three-dimensional knee postures and moments.