Movement Patterns and Their Relation to Injury: A Cause, a Consequence or a Coincidence?

Athletic injuries are often serious, costly and even career ending. As such, much research has focused around contributing factors and effective means for prevention. In particular, landing techniques from jumping and repetitive loading of the lower extremity are often analyzed with respect to abnormal stresses placed upon the knee, the lower extremity and the foot and ankle.

To examine the relationship of common movement patterns to increased injury rates, static and dynamic components of the lower quarter are described. Landing techniques characterized as ligament dominated, quadriceps dominated, trunk dominated or by asymmetrical loading are presented, and evidence relating them to injury and preventive measures is discussed.

Another common presentation of stress fractures is evaluated in respect to pronation and supination, considered to play a major role in shock absorption and energy transfer during locomotion. While the clinician seeks to confirm the cause-consequence relationship, to be followed with a relevant solution, evidence supporting such measures is often inconclusive, requiring constant reevaluation and updates.