The Effect of Side-Cutting Maneuver with and without Anticipating an Increase of Risk Factors of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: Lower Limbs Kinematic Analysis

Background and Aim: Lack of attention to biomechanical parameters during sports maneuvers, especially unpredictable maneuvers can be one of the reasons for athletes' injuries in sports fields. The aim of this study was to compare the kinematic parameters of the lower limb in side-cutting maneuver with and without anticipation in male football players. Methods: In the present quasi-experimental study, 20 male volunteer football players with a mean age of 21±1.3 years, weight 69±9.2 kg, and height 176.3±7.2 cm participated. In order to record the performance of football players in 3D, 6 optoelectric motion analyzer cameras with a sampling frequency of 200 Hz were used, and the best performance was used to analyze the data. Results: Unpredictable side cut maneuver significantly reduced knee joint flexion (p=0.002). Also, there were no significant changes in hip flexion, ankle dorsiflexion and knee valgus between two unpredictable and predictable side cut maneuvers (p<0.05). Conclusion: It can be concluded, unpredictable maneuvers caused changes in knee joint flexions’ kinematics during the side-cutting maneuver. Therefore, we can benefit from unpredictable exercises alongside other training programs to decrease knee joint injury during sports tournaments.