Effects of menarcheal age on the anterior cruciate ligament injury risk factors during single-legged drop landing in female artistic elite gymnasts

Introduction

Although numerous studies have demonstrated the relationship between maturation and lower extremity biomechanics during landing in team sport athletes, we are presently uninformed of any research that examined the single-legged drop landing biomechanics of gymnasts. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the menarcheal age on the lower extremity biomechanics during a single-legged drop landing in female artistic elite gymnasts.

Materials and methods

Twenty-two female artistic elite gymnasts, between 9 and 36 years of age, participated in this study. The participants were divided into two groups pre- (n = 11) and post- (n = 11) menarche and asked to perform a single-legged drop landing on top of a 30 cm platform and land on a force plate. The statistical analysis consisted of the multivariate analysis with the level of significance set at p < 0.05.

Results

The post-menarche group showed a decrease in their maximum knee flexion angle and increase in their maximum knee abduction angle, maximum internal tibial rotation angle, maximum knee abduction moment, and hamstring-quadriceps muscle activity ratio compared with the pre-menarche group during the single-legged drop landing.

Conclusions

The post-menarche group showed an increased noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury risk, due to their greater knee loads, compared with the pre-menarche group.