Citation

Sell TC, Chu Y, Abt JP, Nagai T, Deluzio JB, McGrail MA, Rowe RS, Lephart SM. Mil. Med. 2010; 175(1): 41-47.

Affiliation

Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15203, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

20108841

Abstract

The additional weight of combat and protective equipment carried by soldiers on the battlefield and insufficient adaptations to this weight may increase the risk of musculoskeletal injury. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of the additional weight of equipment on knee kinematics and vertical ground reaction forces (VGRF) during two-legged drop landings. We tested kinematics and VGRF of 70 air assault soldiers performing drop landings with and without wearing the equipment. Maximum knee flexion angles, maximum vertical ground reaction forces, and the time from initial contact to these maximum values all increased with the additional weight of equipment. Proper landing technique, additional weight (perhaps in the form of combat and protective equipment), and eccentric strengthening of the hips and knees should be integrated into soldiers' training to induce musculoskeletal and biomechanical adaptations to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injury during two-legged drop landing maneuvers.

Language: en