Leg-Spring Hysteresis Responses During Drop Jumps Differ Between International-Level Track-And-Field Athletes and Club-Level Multi-Sport Athletes
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Leg-spring hysteresis quantifies the mechanical energy dissipated within the force–length loop during ground contact and serves as a proxy for stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) efficiency. Whether international-level track-and-field athletes and club-level multi-sport athletes differ in their hysteresis responses to increasing drop height, and whether hysteresis predicts jump height, remains unclear. Forty athletes (15 international-level, 25 club-level) performed bilateral (BLJ), dominant-leg (DOM), and non-dominant-leg (NDOM) drop jumps from 0.26 m and 0.42 m. Three-dimensional kinematics (500 Hz) and ground reaction forces were used to compute leg-spring stiffness, hysteresis, and jump height. Significant group × drop-height interactions emerged for hysteresis in all three conditions (η2p = 0.647, 0.507, 0.466; p < .001): international-level athletes became increasingly negative (greater SSC enhancement) at 0.42 m, whereas club-level athletes showed positive hysteresis (net dissipation). Between-group hysteresis differences at 0.42 m were large (DOM d = −1.73; NDOM d = −1.95), and jump height was consistently higher in international-level athletes (d = 1.14–1.77). Pooled across groups, hysteresis was associated with jump height (R2 = 0.44–0.60), although this estimate is inflated by caliber differences and within-group associations were moderate and condition-dependent. Leg-spring hysteresis is a mechanically meaningful and practically relevant discriminator of reactive-jumping capacity.
Source: Applied Sciences
DOI: 10.3390/app16178449
Institutions: Pamukkale University, Haliç University
Language: English
Subfield: Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,896
OpenAlex ID: W7204163246