Leg Dominance as a Risk Factor for Lower-Limb Injuries in Downhill Skiers—A Pilot Study into Possible Mechanisms
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Measurement Procedures and Data Analysis
2.2.1. Knee Muscle Strength Tests
2.2.2. Postural Control Tests—Experimental Procedure
2.2.3. Postural Control Tests—Instrumentation
2.2.4. Postural Control Tests—Data Analysis
2.3. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Knee Muscle Strength
3.2. Postural Control
3.2.1. Composition of Single-Leg Balancing Movements
3.2.2. Control of Movement Components
4. Discussion
4.1. Knee Muscle Strength
4.2. Postural Control
4.3. Limitations
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Male (n = 8) | Female (n = 7) | p-Value | |
---|---|---|---|
Age (year) | 24.8 ± 3.3 | 23.9 ± 3.3 | 0.611 |
Weight (kg) | 78.9 ± 7.7 | 59.5 ± 6.4 | <0.001 * |
Height (m) | 181.3 ± 5.2 | 166.6 ± 4.9 | <0.001 * |
Body mass index (kg/m2) | 24.0 ± 2.2 | 21.4 ± 1.9 | 0.031 * |
Physical activity participation (h/week) | 3.9 ± 2.8 | 6.5 ± 5.3 | 0.232 |
Skiing experience (seasons) | 18.3 ± 6.8 | 20.1 ± 3.8 | 0.529 |
Skiing ability, n (%) | |||
Carving | 8 (100%) | 7 (100%) | - |
Piste difficulty (Off-piste) | 7 (87.5%) | 7 (100%) | - |
Characteristics of ski equipment | |||
Ski length (cm) | 173.5 ± 10.8 | 175.9 ± 8.5 | 0.651 |
Ski length to body height ratio (%) | 95.7 ± 5.8 | 105.7 ± 7.4 | 0.011 * |
Ski boot weight (kg, per side) | 2.3 ± 0.3 | 2.1 ± 0.3 | 0.101 |
Ski weight (kg, per side) | 3.5 ± 0.5 | 3.5 ± 0.5 | 0.325 |
Ski equipment weight to body weight ratio (%) | 7.4 ± 1.0 | 9.1 ± 1.7 | 0.037 * |
Leg Dominance Effects | DO (n = 15) | ND (n = 15) | p-Value | ηp² | 1-β |
Normalized hamstring torque Nm/kg | 1.65 ± 0.32 | 1.63 ± 0.34 | 0.749 | 0.008 | 0.060 |
Normalized quadricep torque Nm/kg | 3.64 ± 0.79 | 3.63 ± 0.77 | 0.905 | 0.001 | 0.051 |
HQ ratio | 0.46 ± 0.09 | 0.46 ± 0.09 | 0.882 | 0.002 | 0.053 |
Sex Effects | Males (n = 8) | Females (n = 7) | p-Value | ηp² | 1-β |
Normalized hamstring torque Nm/kg | 1.79 ± 0.34 | 1.47 ± 0.17 | 0.047* | 0.271 | 0.529 |
Normalized quadricep torque Nm/kg | 3.94 ± 0.85 | 3.30 ± 0.42 | 0.096 | 0.199 | 0.384 |
HQ ratio | 0.46 ± 0.08 | 0.46± 0.09 | 0.872 | 0.002 | 0.053 |
Interaction Effects: | Males (n = 8) | Females (n = 7) | p-Value | ηp² | 1-β |
Difference between DO and ND | |||||
in normalized hamstring torque | 0.00 ± 0.28 | 0.04 ± 0.21 | 0.763 | 0.007 | 0.059 |
in normalized quadricep torque | 0.00 ± 0.33 | 0.03 ± 0.69 | 0.897 | 0.001 | 0.051 |
in HQ ratio | 0.01 ± 0.07 | 0.00 ± 0.07 | 0.861 | 0.002 | 0.053 |
PM | PP_rVAR (%) | PA_rVAR (%) | Main Movements |
---|---|---|---|
A: | Firm Surface | ||
1 | 39.0 ± 19.7 | 15.4 ± 9.0 | Anteroposterior sway around the knee joint |
2 | 27.3 ± 14.3 | 20.5 ± 10.6 | Mediolateral sway around the ankle joint |
3 | 8.0 ± 6.7 | 8.6 ± 4.5 | Hip flexion/extension of the lifted leg coupled with small rotation of the upper body |
4 | 4.8 ± 3.4 | 5.4 ± 2.5 | Trunk lateral bending |
5 | 3.9 ± 3.5 | 4.8 ± 3.1 | Trunk rotation in the transverse plane |
6 | 3.4 ± 3.8 | 6.1 ± 8.4 | Hip abduction/adduction of the lifted leg |
7 | 3.0 ± 3.1 | 4.4 ± 3.2 | Hip flexion/extension of the lifted leg coupled with lateral trunk bending |
8 | 1.9 ± 2.3 | 3.3 ± 2.4 | Pelvic rotation coupled with hip flexion/extension |
B: | Soft Surface | ||
1 | 47.0 ± 16.5 | 12.0 ± 5.5 | Mixed trunk lateral bending and rotation coupled with hip abduction/adduction of the lifted leg |
2 | 9.6 ± 9.6 | 2.3 ± 1.8 | Anteroposterior sway around the knee joint |
3 | 10.3 ± 5.5 | 5.5 ± 3.1 | Mediolateral sway around the hip joint |
4 | 7.4 ± 3.5 | 9.5 ± 10.5 | Hip abduction/adduction of the lifted leg coupled with hip flexion/extension |
5 | 5.7 ± 7.4 | 20.7 ± 11.2 | Trunk flexion/extension |
6 | 2.9 ± 5.7 | 5.9 ± 4.0 | Hip flexion/extension of the lifted leg |
7 | 2.8 ± 1.9 | 3.4 ± 3.4 | Small trunk rotation |
8 | 2.4 ± 1.3 | 3.7 ± 1.7 | Moving up and down of the whole body |
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Promsri, A.; Longo, A.; Haid, T.; Doix, A.-C.M.; Federolf, P. Leg Dominance as a Risk Factor for Lower-Limb Injuries in Downhill Skiers—A Pilot Study into Possible Mechanisms. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 3399. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183399
Promsri A, Longo A, Haid T, Doix A-CM, Federolf P. Leg Dominance as a Risk Factor for Lower-Limb Injuries in Downhill Skiers—A Pilot Study into Possible Mechanisms. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(18):3399. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183399
Chicago/Turabian StylePromsri, Arunee, Alessia Longo, Thomas Haid, Aude-Clémence M. Doix, and Peter Federolf. 2019. "Leg Dominance as a Risk Factor for Lower-Limb Injuries in Downhill Skiers—A Pilot Study into Possible Mechanisms" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 18: 3399. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183399