Changes in the Ground Reaction Force, Lower-Limb Muscle Activity, and Joint Angles in Athletes with Unilateral Ankle Dorsiflexion Restriction During A Rebound-Jump Task

• Main Author: Hitoshi Kondo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-10-01
• Series: Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology
• Subjects: ankle dorsiflexion restriction; rebound-jump; muscle activity; hip joint flexion angle; ground reaction force
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5142/3/4/52

Background: This study compared differences between a control group and a group with unilateral ankle dorsiflexion restriction in the ground reaction force (GRF), angles of the lower limbs joints, and muscular activity during a rebound-jump task in athletes who continue to perform sports activities with unilateral ankle dorsiflexion restriction. Methods: The athletes were divided into the following two groups: The dorsiflexion group included those with a difference of ≥7° between bilateral ankle dorsiflexion angles (DF), and the control group included those with a difference of <7° between the two ankles (C). An ankle foot orthosis was attached to subjects in group C to apply a restriction on the right-angle dorsiflexion angle. The percentage of maximum voluntary contraction (%MVC) of the legs musculature, components of the GRF, and the hip and knee joint angles during the rebound-jump task were compared between groups DF and C. Results: Group DF showed increased %MVC of the quadriceps muscle, decreased upward component of the GRF, decreased hip flexion, and increased knee eversion angles. Conclusions: This study highlighted that athletes with ankle dorsiflexion restriction had significantly larger knee eversion angles in the rebound-jump task. The reduced hip flexion was likely caused by the restricted ankle dorsiflexion and compensated by the observed increase in quadriceps muscle activation when performing the jump.