The effect of ankle bracing on knee kinetics and kinematics during volleyball-specific tasks

Unilateral versus Bilateral Landing after Spike Jumps in Male and Female Volleyball: A Systematic Review

Background: The spike is a key action in volleyball, and the landing technique and its asymmetries are commonly associated with an increased risk of injury. Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to assess how male and female volleyball players land (i.e., unilaterally, or bilaterally) after spike jumps in matches and analytical settings (field or laboratory). Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines were followed, with eligibility criteria defined according to participants, interventions, comparators, study design (PICOS): (p) healthy indoor volleyball players of any sex, age group, or competitive level; (i) exposure to landing after spike actions during official matches AND/OR simulated 6 vs. 6 games AND/OR analytical training conditions AND/OR laboratorial experiments; (c) not mandatory; (o) data on landing mechanics after spike actions, including reporting of whether the landing was unilateral or bilateral; (s) no restrictions imposed on study design. Searches were performed in seven electronic databases (Cochrane Library, EBSCO, PubMed, Scielo, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science) on 23 April 2021. Results: Automated searches provided 420 results. Removal of 119 duplicates resulted in 301 records being screened for titles and abstracts. A total of 25 studies were eligible for full-text analysis. Of these, eight studies were deemed eligible for inclusion in the review. Studies showed that (i) attackers landed asymmetrically 68% of the times (61% left leg, 7% right leg); (ii) bilateral asymmetries were observed for the hip, knee, and ankle joints; (iii) bilateral asymmetries were observed even when players were instructed to land evenly on two feet; (iv) landing contact of the leg opposite to the hitting arm preceded the contact of the homolateral leg. One match analysis study showed that men landed more often on the left (31.5%) or right foot (8.5%) than women (23.7% and 1.6%). Conclusions: Studies analyzing spike landing showed a prevalence of unilateral landings (mostly the left leg first, for right-handed players) in men and women but more prevalently in men. Registration INPLASY202140104, DOI: 10.37766/inplasy2021.4.0104.

Ankle bracing's effects on lower extremity iEMG activity, force production, and jump height during a Vertical Jump Test: An exploratory study

OBJECTIVE

To determine if softshell (AE) and semi-rigid (T1) ankle braces affect lower extremity iEMG activity, force, and jump height during a Vertical Jump Test.

DESIGN

Repeated measures, crossover.

SETTING

Laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS

42 healthy, active individuals.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Vertical jump height, iEMG activity, peak vGRF.

RESULTS

There was significant change across conditions in lateral gastrocnemius (LG) iEMG activity, F(2,70) = 5.31, p = .007, ηp2 = 0.132, with T1 LG iEMG being significantly less (-2.08(99% CI, -3.98 to 0.18) %MVIC, p = .004) than no brace. Significant changes were seen in rectus femoris (RF) iEMG activity, F(2,68) = 6.36, p = .003, ηp2 = 0.158, with T1 RF iEMG activity being significantly less than AE RF iEMG activity (-2.78(99% CI, -5.36 to -0.19) %MVIC, p = .005). There was a significant change in vertical jump height across conditions, F(2,78) = 22.13, p < .0005, ηp2 = 0.362, with a significant decrease in the AE (-2.41(99% CI, -3.66 to -1.17) cm, p < .0005) and T1 conditions (-2.89(99% CI,-4.56 to -1.23) cm, p < .0005), compared to no brace.

CONCLUSION

Vertical jump height is significantly reduced when wearing ankle braces. Effects on lower extremity iEMG activity are dependent upon brace type.

External ankle taping does not alter lower extremity side-step cut and straight sprint biomechanics in young adult males

Lateral ankle sprains (LAS) are one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries and as a response, clinicians often use external ankle taping prophylactically to reduce the prevalence of injuries. External ankle taping techniques have been shown to significantly reduce passive ankle range of motion; however, there is limited research on the effects of external ankle taping on lower extremity kinematics or kinetics during sport specific tasks. Therefore, our objective was to compare the effects of external ankle taping on ankle, knee and hip kinematics and kinetics compared to no taping during an anticipated sidestep cutting task and a straight sprint task. We conducted a cross-over laboratory study with 16 healthy males. Three-dimensional kinematics and kinetics were collected with a motion capture system and in-ground force plate during 5 trials of a sprint and anticipated side-step cut with or without external ankle taping. Group means and associated 90% confidence intervals were plotted across 100 data points for each task, significance being identified when the confidence intervals did not overlap for three consecutive data points. No significant kinetic or kinematic differences were identified between conditions for the tasks. External ankle taping does not influence lower extremity biomechanics during a control cutting task.

Effect of prophylactic ankle taping on ankle and knee biomechanics during basketball-specific tasks in females

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ankle taping on ankle and knee joint biomechanics during cutting and rebound activities in females.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

SETTING

Laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty semi-professional female basketball players performed a cut and rebound task under two conditions (taped and no-tape).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Kinematic and ground reaction force data were collected during the deceleration phase of each movement task.

RESULTS

Taping resulted in a significant reduction in peak ankle dorsiflexion, inversion and internal rotation angles and range of motion (ROM) at the ankle joint; and reduced knee ROM in the sagittal plane during the rebound task only. Taping significantly reduced peak knee flexion moment (0.29 Nm/kg, P = 0.013) and increased knee internal rotation moment (0.63 Nm/kg, P = 0.026) during the cutting task compared to control. Taping also significantly reduced the internal rotation moment (0.07 Nm/kg, P = 0.025), and medial shear forces (0.14 N/kg, P = 0.012) in the rebound task.

CONCLUSION

Results of the study suggest that ankle taping restrict ankle range of movement in the rebound task only and ankle taping appears to have upstream effects on the knee, which may have injury implications.

Blocking landing techniques in volleyball and the possible association with anterior cruciate ligament injury

The number and type of landings performed after blocking during volleyball matches has been related to the potential risk of ACL injury. The aim of the present study was to determine whether gender affects the frequency of specific blocking landing techniques with potential risk of ACL injury from the perspective of foot contact and subsequent movement after the block used by volleyball players during competitive matches. Three matches involving four female volleyball teams (fourteen sets) and three matches involving four male volleyball teams (thirteen sets) in the Czech Republic were analyzed for this study. A Pearson chi-square test of independence was used to detect the relationship between gender and different blocking techniques. The results of the present study showed that gender affected single-leg landings with subsequent movement in lateral direction and double-leg landings. Although the total number of landings was lower for male athletes than for female athletes, a larger portion of male athletes demonstrated single leg landings with a subsequent movement than female athletes. Single leg landings with a subsequent movement have a higher potential risk of ACL injury.

Effect of External Ankle Support on Ankle and Knee Biomechanics During the Cutting Maneuver in Basketball Players

BACKGROUND

Despite the high prevalence of lower extremity injuries in female basketball players as well as a high proportion of athletes who wear ankle braces, there is a paucity of research pertaining to the effects of ankle bracing on ankle and knee biomechanics during basketball-specific tasks.

PURPOSE

To compare the effects of a lace-up brace (ASO), a hinged brace (Active T2), and no ankle bracing (control) on ankle and knee joint kinematics and joint reaction forces in female basketball athletes during a cutting maneuver.

STUDY DESIGN

Controlled laboratory study.

METHODS

Twenty healthy, semi-elite female basketball players performed a cutting task under both ankle brace conditions (lace-up ankle brace and hinged ankle brace) and a no-brace condition. The 3-dimensional kinematics of the ankle and knee during the cutting maneuver were measured with an 18-camera motion analysis system (250 Hz), and ground-reaction force data were collected by use of a multichannel force plate (2000 Hz) to quantify ankle and knee joint reaction forces. Conditions were randomized using a block randomization method.

RESULTS

Compared with the control condition, the hinged ankle brace significantly restricted peak ankle inversion (mean difference, 1.7°; P = .023). No significant difference was found between the lace-up brace and the control condition ( P = .865). Compared with the lace-up brace, the hinged brace significantly reduced ankle and knee joint compressive forces at the time of peak ankle dorsiflexion (mean difference, 1.5 N/kg [ P = .018] and 1.4 N/kg [ P = .013], respectively). Additionally, the hinged ankle brace significantly reduced knee anterior shear forces compared with the lace-up brace both during the deceleration phase and at peak ankle dorsiflexion (mean difference, 0.8 N/kg [ P = .018] and 0.9 N/kg [ P = .011], respectively).

CONCLUSION

The hinged ankle brace significantly reduced ankle inversion compared with the no-brace condition and reduced ankle and knee joint forces compared with the lace-up brace in a female basketball population during a cutting task. Compared with the lace-up brace, the hinged brace may be a better choice of prophylactic ankle support for female basketball players from a biomechanical perspective. However, both braces increased knee internal rotation and knee abduction angles, which may be problematic for a population that already has a high prevalence of knee injuries.

The effect of ankle bracing on lower extremity biomechanics during landing: A systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To examine the evidence for effect of ankle bracing on lower-extremity landing biomechanics.

DESIGN

Literature review.

METHODS

Systematic search of the literature on EBSCO health databases. Articles critiqued by two reviewers.

RESULTS

Ten studies were identified which investigated the effect of ankle bracing on landing biomechanics. Overall results suggest that landing biomechanics are altered with some brace types but studies disagree as to the particular variables affected.

CONCLUSIONS

There is evidence that ankle bracing may alter lower-extremity landing biomechanics in a manner which predisposes athletes to injury. The focus of studies on specific biomechanical variables rather than biomechanical patterns, analysis of pooled data means in the presence of differing landing styles between participants, variation in landing-tasks investigated in different studies, and lack of studies investigating goal-directed sport-specific landing tasks creates difficulty in interpreting results. These areas require further research.