Longitudinal effects of maturation on lower extremity joint stiffness in adolescent athletes

• Published in: The American journal of sports medicine Vol. 38; no. 9; p. 1829
• Main Authors: Ford, Kevin R, Myer, Gregory D, Hewett, Timothy E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.09.2010
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Development - physiology; Analysis of Variance; Ankle Joint - physiology; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; Biomechanical Phenomena; Child; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Hip Joint - physiology; Humans; Knee Injuries - etiology; Knee Joint - physiology; Lower Extremity - growth & development; Lower Extremity - physiology; Male; Movement - physiology; Musculoskeletal Development - physiology; Puberty - physiology; Range of Motion, Articular; Sex Factors

Yearly changes in active joint stiffness may help explain when neuromuscular sex differences emerge in adolescent athletes that may relate to increased anterior cruciate ligament injury risk in females. Pubertal males would demonstrate increases in knee stiffness while pubertal females would not. Se...