CAN LOW HAMSTRING ACTIVATION EXPLAIN ACL-INJURY? A CASE STUDY

The neuromuscular coordination, and especially the activation of the hamstrings have been hypothesised as very important for knee stability during side-step cutting and other movements. The present study is a case study and presents data from a single subject, who participated in an experiment with EMG recordings quadriceps and hamstring activity during side-step cutting. Eight months after the original experiment the subject suffered an ACL-injury performing a side-step cutting maneuver during a team handball match. The study showed that prior to the injury the subject had much lower preactivity EMG in his lateral hamstring than the rest of the subjects. This may potentially result in lesser rotational stability, and may support the hypothesis that hamstring activity is important for ACL-protection during side-step cutting

A COMPARISON OF KINEMATICS BETWEEN ELITE HANDBALL PLAYERS WITH AND WITHOUT SHOULDER PAIN AFTER A FUNCTIONAL FATIGUE PROTOCOL

Shoulder pain are common in team handball, and players often continue playing despite pain. The aim of the study was to investigate whether a functional fatigue protocol(FFP) affects throwing kinematics, and whether this effect was different between players with and without shoulder pain. Thirty female players performed maximal standing throws before and after a FFP, while joint kinematics were measured with eight cameras (Vicon T40, Oxford, UK). The main findings were that fatigue affected throwing velocity positively. Some kinematic parameters in both groups were affected, but the effect on kinematics was not the same in both groups, especially timing of the maximal shoulder extension and minimal internal shoulder rotations seems to change differently between the groups after a FFP. No previous studies have investigated, whether functional fatigue influences throwing kinematic differently at team handball players who are playing with or without shoulder pain. KEYWORDS: Throwing kinematics, Team Handball, Overhead athletes, fatigue protocol, shoulder pain, risk factor

PAIN OR NO PAIN – THE KINEMATIC CONSEQUENCES IN OVERHEAD THROWING WITHIN TEAM HANDBALL – A CASE STUDY

Overuse injuries are unfortunately common in team handball. Non-optimal throwing kinematic is considered a risk factor in overhead sports, but no investigation has been presented if pain influence throwing kinematics or how it may affect the technique in an overhead throw in team handball players. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of shoulder pain on throwing kinematics and neuromuscular activity within a female elite handball player – playing with shoulder pain and 4 years later, without shoulder pain. The main findings were that the maximal shoulder extension (8.9°), abduction (5.2°) and internal rotation (27.7°) increased in the no pain condition, while the highest muscular peak was found in the pain period for upper, middle and lower trapezius and in serratus anterior in the no pain condition

KNEE JOINT LOADING OF SCISSOR-KICK JUMP LANDINGS: A COMPARISON BETWEEN ELITE AND RECREATIONAL BADMINTON PLAYERS

Badminton players at all levels perform a variety of badminton specific jump-stroke movements during training and match play, which expose their knees to high loads during the subsequent landing phase. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the knee joint kinematics and kinetics of elite and recreational male badminton players during scissor-kick jump landings. Ten Danish national male badminton players and 10 recreational male badminton players completed a series of simulated scissor-kick jumps in a biomechanical laboratory. Three-dimensional knee joint angles and external joint moments were recorded for the non-racket leg during the landing phase. One-dimensional statistical parametric mapping was used to statistically compare the landing kinematics and kinetics of the knee for elite and recreational players. The landing phase was highly similar between groups and associated with high external knee abduction moments, particularly for the recreational players, which resemble those previously reported in sports specific single-leg landing situations with high ACL injury risk. The only significant difference observed between elite and recreational players were found in the push-off phase, where elite players generate more power from the muscles around the knee joint, through greater external adduction and inwards rotations moments, allowing them to accelerate significantly faster forward upon landing compared to recreational players. The high knee loads players experience during scissor-kick landings may contribute to the high incidence of knee injuries observed in both elite and recreational badminton

Comparison of Shoulder Kinematics and Muscle Activation of Female Elite Handball Players With and Without Pain—An Explorative Cross-Sectional Study

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