Highlights
- •Hypertonic saline caused experimental knee pain during a land and jump task.
- •This knee pain independently decreased landing vertical ground reaction forces.
- •Knee flexion angle and extension moment decreased due to the knee pain.
- •Hip flexion angle and extension moment increased due to the knee pain.
Abstract
Background
Biomechanical effects of anterior knee pain are difficult to distinguish from effects
of other factors also related to knee injury (e.g., joint effusion). The purpose of
this study was to evaluate independent effects of anterior knee pain on landing and
jumping biomechanics.
Methods
Thirteen healthy participants performed a land and jump movement task, under three
experimental conditions (pre-pain, pain, and post-pain), during one data collection
session. One 1-ml injection of hypertonic saline into the infrapatellar fat pad was
used to induce experimental anterior knee pain during the pain condition. Participant-perceived
anterior knee pain was measured every 2 min throughout data collection. Landing and
jumping biomechanics were measured and compared between the experimental conditions
using a functional statistical approach.
Findings
The aforementioned injection increased mean participant-perceived anterior knee pain,
from zero during the pre-pain condition to 2.6 ± 0.71 cm during the pain condition.
Vertical ground reaction force, knee flexion angle, and internal knee extension moment
decreased by approximately 0.100 body weights, 3°, and 0.010 Nm/body weight × body
height, respectively, between the pre-pain and pain conditions. Conversely, hip flexion
angle and internal hip extension moment increased by approximately 3° and 0.006 Nm/body
weight × body height, respectively, between the pre-pain and pain conditions. Several
biomechanical changes persisted after anterior knee pain abatement (the post-pain
condition).
Interpretation
Anterior knee pain alters landing and jumping biomechanics, independent of other injury-related
factors. These altered biomechanics likely change knee joint loading patterns and
might increase risk for chronic knee joint injury and/or pathology.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 19, 2021
Accepted:
August 17,
2021
Received:
January 21,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
