Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/15814
Title: Relationship between leg stiffness and lower body injuries in professional Australian football
Contributor(s): Pruyn, Elizabeth C (author); Watsford, Mark L (author); Murphy, Aron  (author); Pine, Matthew J (author); Spurrs, Robert W (author); Cameron, Matthew L (author); Johnston, Richard J (author)
Publication Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2011.624540
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/15814
Abstract: Leg stiffness is a modifiable mechanical property that may be related to soft tissue injury risk. The purpose of this study was to examine mean leg stiffness and bilateral differences in leg stiffness across an entire professional Australian Football League (AFL) season, and determine whether this parameter was related to the incidence of lower body soft tissue injury. The stiffness of the left and right legs of 39 professional AFL players (age 24.4 ± 4.4 years, body mass 87.4 ± 8.1 kg, stature 1.87 ± 0.07 m) was measured using a unilateral hopping test at least once per month throughout the season. Injury data were obtained directly from the head medical officer at the football club. Mean leg stiffness and bilateral differences in leg stiffness were compared between the injured and non-injured players. There was no difference between the season mean leg stiffness values for the injured (219.3 ± 16.1 N · m-1 · kg-1) and non-injured (217.4 ± 14.9 N · m-1 · kg-1; P = 0.721) groups. The injured group (7.5 ± 3.0%) recorded a significantly higher season mean bilateral difference in leg stiffness than the non-injured group (5.5 ± 1.3%; P = 0.05). A relatively high bilateral difference in leg stiffness appears to be related to the incidence of soft tissue injury in Australian football players. This information is of particular importance to medical and conditioning staff across a variety of sports.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(1), p. 71-78
Publisher: Routledge
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 1466-447X
0264-0414
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 110602 Exercise Physiology
110604 Sports Medicine
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 420702 Exercise physiology
320225 Sports medicine
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 970111 Expanding Knowledge in the Medical and Health Sciences
970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 280103 Expanding knowledge in the biomedical and clinical science
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

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