Knee kinematics during a single-leg drop-landing in sports participants with chronic groin pain

["Dissertations -- Physiotherapy", "Theses -- Physiotherapy", "Groin -- Wounds and injuries", "Kinematics", "Soccer injuries", "Rugby football injuries", "Jumping -- Physiological aspects", "Knee -- Movements", "UCTD"]

Visser-Maritz, Karien ; Louw, Q. A.

Stellenbosch University

Others  :  https://scholar.sun.ac.za:443/bitstream/10019.1/86507/1/vissermaritz_knee_2014.pdf

瑞士|英语

来源: Stellenbosch University

【 摘 要 】

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: Groin injuries are among the top six injuries in contact sports and may lead to career ending chronic pain. Research on the role of knee kinematics in developing chronic groin pain in sport is scarce.Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if there are differences in knee kinematics during a single-leg drop-landing in sports participants with chronic groin pain compared to asymptomatic controls.Methodology: A descriptive study was conducted. Twenty active sports' participants were recruited from soccer and rugby clubs situated around the Cape Peninsula area, Western Cape, South Africa. The three-dimensional (3D) knee kinematics of ten cases with chronic groin pain and ten asymptomatic controls was analysed. Knee kinematics was analysed in the FNB-3D Vicon Laboratory at Stellenbosch University, using an eight camera Vicon system. A positive adductor squeeze test was used as a diagnostic test to include cases with chronic groin pain. Each participant performed six single-leg drop landings. The main outcome measure was 3D knee kinematics at initial foot contact and at the lowest vertical position of the drop landing. The following sub-groups were analysed: seven unilateral groin pain cases compared to their seven matched controls; three bilateral groin pain cases where their most painful leg and least painful leg were compared to their matched controls, respectively.Descriptive statistical techniques were used for all outcome measures; means and standard deviations (SD) were calculated, followed by a Student's t-test to determine significant differences between the cases and controls. For all outcomes with p-values equal to or below 0.05, the effect size was calculated using the Cohen's D.Results: The findings of this study indicated a significant difference (p=0.0001) between cases with unilateral groin pain having less knee internal rotation compared to the controls at the lowest vertical position of the drop landing in the transverse plane. Significantly less internal rotation (p<0.0001), was also noted in the cases with bilateral groin pain (in the most painful leg and the less painful leg), although this was noted at foot contact. Cases with bilateral groin pain also had significantly (p<0.001) more knee varus (adduction) during the landing phase.Conclusion: Differences in knee kinematics between sports participants with chronic groin pain and asymptomatic controls were found. These findings imply that the knee joint should be included during assessment and rehabilitation of individuals suffering with chronic groin pain. Due to the cross-sectional study design of the current study, it cannot be stated for certain whether the knee kinematics noted in the groin pain group are causative or as a result of groin pain. Future prospective studies are thus recommended; these studies should focus on the effect of contralateral knee kinematics on the hip adductors and may include exploration of the muscular components during a single-leg drop landing.