Injury prevention programmes fail to change most lower limb kinematics and kinetics in female team field and court sports: a systematic review and meta‐Analysis of randomised controlled trials

Review written by Dr Travis Pollen info

Key Points

  1. Injury prevention programs (IPP’s) have been shown to reduce anterior cruciate ligament injuries, but their underlying mechanism is unclear.
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BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE

Anterior cruciate (ACL) injuries have severe implications in terms of time loss, medical costs, likelihood of returning to previous level of performance, and potential for future orthopedic issues. Female athletes are particularly susceptible, sustaining ACL injuries at a higher rate than their male counterparts (1).

Injury prevention programs (IPPs) that include plyometrics, strength, balance, and stability exercises have been shown to reduce ACL injuries in female athletes. However, the underlying mechanism of injury reduction is unclear. It’s thought that IPPs mitigate risky lower limb kinematics and kinetics during movements like jumping and cutting, but previous reviews have been inconsistent.

This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aimed to clarify the effect of IPPs on lower limb biomechanics in female team field and court sport athletes. Better understanding the mechanism by which IPPs work could aid in their design.

Female athletes are particularly susceptible, sustaining ACL injuries at a higher rate than their male counterparts.
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Apart from knee flexion angles, injury prevention programs had no significant effect on any of the other biomechanical variables assessed.

METHODS

Injury prevention intervention studies with the following characteristics were included:

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