Biomechanical outcomes of a knee neuromuscular exercise programme among adolescent basketball players: A pilot study

ObjectiveThe objective was to test if a neuromuscular exercise programme would improve jump-shot landing technique of male adolescent basketball players.DesignA non-equivalent pre-test–post-test control group experimental design was used.SettingIntervention (a 6-week neuromuscular exercise programme) took place at club practise venues and motion analysis at a biomechanics laboratory.ParticipantsFive case and five matched control subjects participated.Main outcome measuresSix high-speed (120 Hz), Oxford Metrics Vicon 370 cameras (Oxford Metrics, Oxford, UK) and a strain gauge AMTI force plate (AMTI Inc., Newton, MA, USA) synchronised were used to analyse three-dimensional (3-D) knee kinetics and kinematics of a jump-shot landing. Vertical ground reaction force, knee joint angles and negative work were calculated.ResultsRepeated ANOVA tests were used to compare the peak vertical ground reaction force, knee flexion, and total negative work prior to and following the exercise intervention. There was an overall significant difference for time of testing (pre-and-post intervention) and group allocation (case or control) for peak ground reaction force, knee flexion and negative working when landing from a jump-shot.ConclusionThe improvements noted in the performance of case subjects suggest that neuromuscular exercises could aid in the reduction of injury rate or severity of knee injuries sustained during game play.