Whole Limb Landing Mechanics in Female Athletes and Implications for Injury Prevention
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Background: Landing depends on coordinated actions across the lower limbs and trunk. Interpreting movement measurements for anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention requires separation of mechanical description, tissue loading, prognosis and intervention effects. Objective: To examine whole limb landing mechanics in female athletes and develop a framework for measurement, interpretation and translation. Methods: A purposive narrative synthesis integrated experiments, injury cohorts, prevention trials, measurement studies and consensus guidance. Targeted web searches and citation verification were updated on 10 November 2026. Evidence was examined by design, population, task and measured construct without meta-analysis or formal certainty grading. Synthesis: Similar performance or relative joint contributions can coexist with different absolute demands. In women after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, near-symmetric hop distances can conceal reduced reconstructed-knee propulsion work. Net moments and work do not directly quantify ligament loading. Prognostic studies yield inconsistent results, including a correction removing a previously reported medial-knee-displacement association. Recent studies suggest candidate measures but require independent validation. Multicomponent neuromuscular programmes have prevention evidence, although benefits cannot be assigned to a single landing variable. Task achievement, measurement error, exposure and programme delivery affect interpretation. Conclusion: Whole limb analysis can describe task strategy, identify deficits and evaluate adaptation when definitions and uncertainty are explicit. It complements rehabilitation and prevention programmes; this synthesis establishes no universal joint contribution, injury threshold or return-to-sport clearance rule.
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7225815401