Sagittal-plane lower limb kinematics during single-leg landing in athletes: Implications for knee injury risk

Abstract

Objective: To characterize sagittal-plane lower-limb kinematics during a standardized single-leg landing task and to compare landing mechanics between male and female athletes. Methods: One hundred and sixty-two athletes (75% males, 25% females) performed three single-leg landings from a 30-cm platform. Two-dimensional photogrammetric analysis was used to evaluate trunk, hip, knee and ankle kinematics at initial ground contact and at maximum knee flexion. Variables included knee flexion at initial contact and maximum knee flexion, hip flexion, trunk inclination, ankle position and ankle dorsiflexion range of motion. Independent t-tests were used to examine sex-related differences. Results: Athletes landed with a mean knee angle of 145.89 ± 6.24° at initial contact and reached a maximum knee flexion angle of 116.72 ± 9.71°. Mean hip flexion increased from 10.02 ± 1.82° to 20.98 ± 1.38°, while trunk position changed from 102.94 ± 3.23° at initial contact to 59.33 ± 2.60° at maximum knee flexion. Ankle dorsiflexion range of motion during landing was 41.54 ± 4.32°. No significant differences were observed between males and females for any of the kinematic variables analysed (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Single-leg landing is characterized by coordinated sagittal-plane motion of the trunk, hip, knee and ankle. The absence of sex-related differences suggests that male and female athletes adopt similar landing strategies under standardized conditions. These findings support the use of an integrated biomechanical approach when assessing landing mechanics and may provide reference values for injury prevention, movement screening and rehabilitation programmes.