Validity and reliability of trunk and lower-limb kinematics during squatting, hopping, jumping and side-stepping using OpenCap markerless motion capture application.

OpenCap is a web-based markerless motion capture platform that estimates 3D kinematics from videos recorded from at least two iOS devices. This study aimed to determine the concurrent validity and inter-session reliability of OpenCap for measuring trunk and lower-limb kinematics during squatting, hopping, countermovement jumping, and cutting. Nineteen participants (10 males, 9 females; age 27.

Inclusion of a skeletal model partly improves the reliability of lower limb joint angles derived from a markerless depth camera.

A single depth camera provides a fast and easy approach to performing biomechanical assessments in a clinical setting; however, there are currently no established methods to reliably determine joint angles from these devices. The primary aim of this study was to compare joint angles as well as the between-day reliability of direct kinematics to model-constrained inverse kinematics recorded using a single markerless depth camera during a range of clinical and athletic movement assessments.A secondary aim was to determine the minimum number of trials required to maximize reliability.

Concurrent validity and test-retest reliability of VALD ForceDecks' strength, balance, and movement assessment tests.

Objectives: To evaluate the concurrent validity and test-retest reliability of common movement, strength, and balance tests using portable uniaxial dual force plates.

Design: Repeated measures cross-sectional study.

Methods: Sixteen healthy individuals participated in two testing sessions, where they performed 12 different movement, strength, and balance tests.

Biceps femoris long head muscle and aponeurosis geometry in males with and without a history of hamstring strain injury.

Objectives: Hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) commonly affect the proximal biceps femoris long head (BFlh) musculotendinous junction. Biomechanical modeling suggests narrow proximal BFlh aponeuroses and large muscle-to-aponeurosis width ratios increase localized tissue strains and presumably risk of HSI. This study aimed to determine if BFlh muscle and proximal aponeurosis geometry differed between limbs with and without a history of HSI.

Does lower extremity alignment during normal stance predict lower limb kinematics and kinetics during drop landings?

Background: Static lower extremity alignment (LEA) during normal stance has been used clinically as a tool to determine the presence of known anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) risk factors during dynamic tasks. Previous work investigating the relationship between static LEA during normal stance and risk factors for ACL injury is limited by the use of imprecise methods or because it focuses on knee valgus only and no other potentially important variables. The aim of this investigation was to determine the relationships between static LEA and the corresponding LEA during drop landings.

Injury Prevention Programmes Fail to Change Most Lower Limb Kinematics and Kinetics in Female Team Field and Court Sports: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.

Background: One mechanism by which exercise interventions may be effective in reducing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk is through changes in lower limb biomechanics. Understanding how training programmes affect lower-limb kinematics and kinetics may help refine injury prevention programmes.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the effect of injury prevention programmes on kinematics and kinetics during tasks related to ACL injury in female team field and court sports.

Maintaining soldier musculoskeletal health using personalised digital humans, wearables and/or computer vision.

Objectives: The physical demands of military service place soldiers at risk of musculoskeletal injuries and are major concerns for military capability. This paper outlines the development new training technologies to prevent and manage these injuries.

Design: Narrative review.

Gluteal Muscle Forces during Hip-Focused Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation Exercises.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare and rank gluteal muscle forces in eight hip-focused exercises performed with and without external resistance and describe the underlying fiber lengths, velocities, and muscle activations.

Methods: Motion capture, ground reaction forces, and electromyography (EMG) were used as input to an EMG-informed neuromusculoskeletal model to estimate gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus muscle forces. Participants were 14 female footballers (18-32 yr old) with at least 3 months of lower limb strength training experience.

Strength and Biomechanical Risk Factors for Noncontact ACL Injury in Elite Female Footballers: A Prospective Study.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine if a preseason field-based test battery was prospectively associated with noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in elite female footballers.

Methods: In total, 322 elite senior and junior female Australian Rules Football and soccer players had their isometric hip adductor and abductor strength, eccentric knee flexor strength, countermovement jump (CMJ) kinetics, and single-leg hop kinematics assessed during the 2019 preseason. Demographic and injury history details were also collected.

Impact of prior anterior cruciate ligament, hamstring or groin injury on lower limb strength and jump kinetics in elite female footballers.

Objective: To compare lower limb strength and countermovement jump (CMJ) kinetics between elite female footballers with and without a history of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), hamstring strain, or hip/groin injury.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Field-based.

Utility of an Isometric Midthigh Pull Test to Assess Lower Body Muscular Strength in Professional Netball Players.

Purpose: This study established the relationship between isometric midthigh pull (IMTP) peak force and court-based jumping, sprinting, and change of direction (COD) performance in professional netball players. The change in IMTP peak force in response to sport-specific training was also examined.

Methods: IMTP peak force and court-based jumping, sprinting, and COD were collected in 18 female athletes contracted to a Suncorp Super Netball team.

Risk Factors for Lower Limb Injury in Female Team Field and Court Sports: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Best Evidence Synthesis.

Background: Identifying risk factors for lower limb injury is an important step in developing injury risk reduction training and testing for player monitoring. Female athletes are distinct from male athletes, warranting separate investigation into risk factors.

Objective: To systematically review the literature and synthesise the evidence for intrinsic risk factors for lower limb injury in female team field and court sports.

The Free Achilles Tendon Is Shorter, Stiffer, Has Larger Cross-Sectional Area and Longer T2 Relaxation Time in Trained Middle-Distance Runners Compared to Healthy Controls.

Tendon geometry and tissue properties are important determinants of tendon function and injury risk and are altered in response to ageing, disease, and physical activity levels. The purpose of this study was to compare free Achilles tendon geometry and mechanical properties between trained elite/sub-elite middle-distance runners and a healthy control group. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure free Achilles tendon volume, length, average cross-sectional area (CSA), regional CSA, moment arm, and T2 relaxation time at rest, while freehand three-dimensional ultrasound (3DUS) was used to quantify free Achilles tendon mechanical stiffness, Young's modulus, and length normalised mechanical stiffness.

Do the landing mechanics of experienced netball players differ from those of trained athletes competing in sports that do not require frequent landings?

Objectives: This study examined whether young (15-19 years old) high-performance netball players exhibit different landing mechanics compared to female controls who do not participate in sports requiring frequent landings.

Design: Comparative, cross-sectional.

Methods: Lower limb kinematics and kinetics from 23 youth high performance female netball players (age: 17.

Exploring the Justifications for Selecting a Drop Landing Task to Assess Injury Biomechanics: A Narrative Review and Analysis of Landings Performed by Female Netball Players.

When assessing biomechanics in a laboratory setting, task selection is critical to the production of accurate and meaningful data. The injury biomechanics of landing is commonly investigated in a laboratory setting using a drop landing task. However, why this task is so frequently chosen is unclear.