Profiling the Foot and Ankle: Association between Passive Stiffness and Drop Jump Force-Velocity relationship

Details

Supervisors

Nguyen, Anh Phong ; Hansoulle, Thomas

Faculty

Faculté des sciences de la motricité

Degree label

Master [60] en kinésithérapie et réadaptation

Abstract

enIntroduction: The foot ankle complex is important in human locomotion through its passive and active structures. These passive structures like the achilles tendon (AT) have properties of their own, like passive stiffness. Lower passive stiffness measures could identify symptomatic AT and identify worse clinical outcomes. Higher passive stiffness measures of the AT have been associated with better jump performance and decreased ground contact time. Concentric and eccentric force velocity relationships have been evaluated with a small sample, thus the aim of this study is to create a new eccentric drop jump force-velocity profile (eDJF-v)and evaluate the relationship between passive stiffness and eDF-v. Methods: 59 participants were recruited. Participants had to be free from neurological, respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Passive stiffness measures were recorded using the MyotonPro, two sets of vertical jumps were done using a metronome set at 2.2Hz, 3 repetitions of drop jumps were done from 5 different heights were done 10,20,30,40,50cm. Results and discussion: There was no significant correlation between passive stiffness measures and any outcomes related to the eDJF-v. For the eDJF-v 4 phenotypes were identified. Conclusion: eDJF-v profiling and myotonemetry should be used along with other tests for better assessment.