Descriptions
As found in several other sports (lacrosse, basketball, soccer, rugby) there exists a considerable gender difference in the ACL injury incidence. The incidence is 5 times higher for females than for men in Norwegian elite team handball.
Most of the ACL-injuries in handball are related to the side-step cutting maneuver, and thus a crucial point is whether or not this technique is performed differently by the sexes. Only a few biomechanical analyses have been carried out on the side-step cutting maneuver. In the scientific community the non-contact ACL injury mechanism is an unsolved mystery. Several different risk factors as well as injury mechanisms have been proposed.
The purpose of this study is to compare net joint kinematics and kinetics among male and female Norwegian elite team handball athletes in the side-step cutting maneuver. Additionally, maximal countermovement jump will be performed to see if possible differences are caused by differences in strength qualities. 12 male and 12 female athletes will be recruited from the Norwegian elite handball teams. Each athlete will be instructed to perform 5 cutting trials as close to mach-like as possible. Reflective markers will be placed on the lower limbs, including the pelvis. A seven camera, infra-red optical tracking system (ProReflex, Qualisys Inc.) will record the motion, and an Amti force plate will measure the ground reaction forces and centre of pressure. The marker data will be smoothed before an optimization procedure is used for estimating local coordinate frames. A standard 3D inverse dynamics scheme will then be used to derive net joint kinetics.
The results of this study will hopefully contribute to point out whether the ACL incidence differences are caused by differences in the involved dynamics. If none dynamic differences are found, the literature suggests that structural or hormonal differences might be the reason for the ACL incidence difference. Any relationship between the cutting performance and the strength qualities will likely help us design proper intervention programmes for the future.