Knee Biomechanics in Individuals with a Recent Concussion during Jump-Landing Tasks
Incomplete neurological recovery following concussion has been linked to increased lower extremity musculoskeletal injury (LEMI) risk. Incorporating cognitive demands into jump-landing tasks may offer better insights into neurological recovery post-concussion and its connection to injury risk. To compare unilateral knee biomechanics during jump-landing tasks across different levels of motor and cognitive demands between individuals with a recent concussion and matched controls. Cross-sectional cohort study Biomechanics laboratory We recruited 26 college students with a recent concussion (22 women; age=19.7 ± 1.2; Tegner scale=7.0 ± 2.2; time since recent concussion=5.4 ± 3.2 months) and 26 healthy reference without concussion history (22 women; age=19.9 ± 1.3; Tegner scale=7.0 ± 2.0) Unilateral and limb symmetry of knee biomechanics were assessed during initial ground contact and the landing phase of jump-landing tasks. Limb symmetry was determined by the absolute difference between limbs for knee flexion and abduction angle, internal knee extension and adduction moments, vertical, and posterior ground reaction force (pGRF). Separate repeated measure ANOVAs with mixed designs examined group, condition, and group-by-condition interaction, with α=0.05. No group differences were observed in most outcome measures for either limb or limb symmetry across all jump-landing tasks, except the concussion history group had lower non-dominant peak pGRF compared to healthy reference group (F1,50= 3.461, p= 0.016, η2= 0.111). Both groups demonstrated higher peak knee flexion, abduction angle, and peak knee adduction moments, but lower peak knee extension moment, and peak vertical ground reaction force on both limbs during double-leg versus single-leg conditions. No other significant findings were observed. The concussion history group demonstrated similar knee biomechanical profiles to healthy reference group during landing, even with added cognitive demands in jump landing tasks. Elevated LEMI risk post-concussion may not be detectable through jump landing biomechanics.ABSTRACT
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