Altered Drop Jump Landing Biomechanics Following Eccentric Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage
Themistoklis Tsatalas,
Evangeli Karampina,
Minas A. Mina,
Dimitrios A. Patikas,
Vasiliki C. Laschou,
Aggelos Pappas,
Athanasios Z. Jamurtas,
Yiannis Koutedakis,
Giannis Giakas
Affiliations
Themistoklis Tsatalas
Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, 382 21 Trikala, Greece
Evangeli Karampina
Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, 382 21 Trikala, Greece
Minas A. Mina
Human Sciences Research Centre, College of Science and Engineering, University of Derby, Derby DE22 1GB 1, UK
Dimitrios A. Patikas
School of Physical Education and Sport Science at Serres, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Vasiliki C. Laschou
Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, 382 21 Trikala, Greece
Aggelos Pappas
Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, 382 21 Trikala, Greece
Athanasios Z. Jamurtas
Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, 382 21 Trikala, Greece
Yiannis Koutedakis
Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, 382 21 Trikala, Greece
Giannis Giakas
Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, 382 21 Trikala, Greece
Limited research exists in the literature regarding the biomechanics of the jump-landing sequence in individuals that experience symptoms of muscle damage. The present study investigated the effects of knee localized muscle damage on sagittal plane landing biomechanics during drop vertical jump (DVJ). Thirteen regional level athletes performed five sets of 15 maximal eccentric voluntary contractions of the knee extensors of both legs at 60°/s. Pelvic and lower body kinematics and kinetics were measured pre- and 48 h post-eccentric exercise. The examination of muscle damage indicators included isometric torque, muscle soreness, and serum creatine kinase (CK) activity. The results revealed that all indicators changed significantly following eccentric exercise (p p < 0.05). Therefore, the participants displayed a softer landing pattern following knee-localized eccentric exercise while being in a muscle-damaged state. This observation provides new insights on how the DVJ landing kinematics and kinetics alter to compensate the impaired function of the knee extensors following exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) and residual muscle soreness 48 h post-exercise.
