• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.121-129
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the toe headings on the biomechanics of knee joint in drop landing in an attempt to find the potential risk of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Seventeen male college students ($20.5{\pm}1.1$ yrs; $175.2{\pm}6.4$ cm; $68.8{\pm}5.8$ kg), having no neuromuscular injury within an year, participated in this study. Three different toe headings such as toe-in (TI), neutral (N), and toe-out (TO) positions were tested. Motion capturing system consisting of eight high speed cameras and two force platforms were used to collect three-dimensional motion data and ground reaction force data during landing. Results indicated joint angles and peak joint moments were significantly affected by the toe headings. TI position produced larger valgus angle due to reduce knee distance in addition to higher flexion and valgus moment than other positions, which was somewhat vulnerable to the potential risk of non-contact ACL injury. TO position caused the largest internal rotation angle with smaller joint moments. Therefore, it is recommended that athletes need to land on the ground with neutral toe-heading position as possible in order to minimize the potential risk of non-contact ACL injury.