Do Vertical Stiffness or Dynamic Joint Stiffness have Footedness-related differences?

T. Atalaia, J.M.C.S. Abrantes, A. Castro-Caldas

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Abstract

Aims: Unilateral hopping (UH) is one of the common tests for footedness assessment. Inter-limb differences between vertical stiffness (KVERT), ankle dynamic joint stiffness (ADJS) and knee dynamic joint stiffness (KDJS) are expected to exist between the dominant and non-dominant limb. Thus the objective of the present study is to verify those differences, denoting KVERT, ADJS and KDJS as indicators of footedness.
Study Design: Comparative study.
Place and Duration of Study: MovLab/ CICANT/ Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, between November 2013 and June 2014.
Methodology: A total of 31 participants (20 female and 11 male) presenting different footedness (right and left) were assessed. Using a 3D motion capture system and a force platform, 10 seconds of UH (for each side) were recorded. Synchronised ankle and knee sagittal moment of force-angular position were used to calculate ADJS and KDJS for the support phase of all hops recorded by participant, divided into two sub-phases: controlled dorsiflexion (CDF) and powered plantar flexion (PPF). The same criteria was used to analyse the synchronised vertical component of ground reaction force (GRFz)-centre of mass (CoM) displacement used for KVERT computation. A paired samples t-test was used to assess inter-limb differences.
Results: No significant differences were found between the dominant and non-dominant limb with the exception of the ADJS in the PPF stance sub-phase (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Footedness does not seem to influence KVERT or KDJS during a hopping task, whereas ADJS presents differences in PPF stance sub-phase.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Scientific Research and Reports
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

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