Shorter jump training program could lower risk of knee injury in female basketball players

An abridged, focused “jump training” program may help lower the risk of knee injuries in female basketball players, according to a study in the December issue of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

The program yields “similar positive effects on landing strategies and functional performance” compared to longer, more complex training programs – and thus may be more “user friendly” to coaches and athletes, the authors wrote.

In the jump training program, athletes received coaching and feedback on appropriate landing technique. The specific goal of the training was to decrease the knee valgus angle upon landing from jumps, as landing with the knee in the valgus position is believed to increase the risk of knee injury.

The training program

The study looked at 15 competitive female basketball players who completed the 4-week training program with three sessions per week. Knee valgus angles during two different landing tasks – a drop-jump and a jump-shot test – were compared before and after training. The women were also assessed on a crossover hop test to assess hop distance.

The results of the training showed significant improvements in proper landing technique, the study noted. On both tests, the women landed with reduced valgus angles. Landing from the jump shot, the valgus angle was reduced by an average of 4.5º on the left leg and 4.3º on the right leg.

On the crossover hop test, distance jumped increased by nearly 75% after jump training. The authors wrote that this indicates increased strength and stability of the knee, likely helping to protect against injury.

Still work to be done

The authors noted that female basketball players appear to be particularly prone to knee injuries, especially in ACL injuries Previous studies have shown that jump training programs can improve knee valgus angles in female basketball players and lead to reduced rates of ACL injuries, but most of these jump programs are intensive, feature a variety of other training elements and last 6 to 8 weeks.

“It remains unclear if it is jump training that makes the difference or a combined strength, flexibility, and jump-training program,” stated author Lee Herrington, PhD, MCSP, CSCS, in a press release.

While the study shows that a 4-week jump training program can significantly improve landing technique and improve knee strength and stability in female basketball players, the authors noted that a larger study would be needed to show a significant effect on knee or ACL injures.

Still, they wrote, the results show a significantly shorter program can produce results comparable to those of much longer and complex mixed-training programs. Shorter and more focused training programs may offer coaches, trainers and athletes a simpler – but still effective – way of reducing knee injury rates in female basketball players.

Reference:

Lee H. The Effects of 4 Weeks of Jump Training on Landing Knee Valgus and Crossover Hop Performance in Female Basketball Players. J Strength Cond Res 24(12): 3427-3432, 2010.

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This 4 week intervention study in 15 female basket ball players showed that jump training can reduce the knee valgus in landing as well as the jumping distance- very similar to the published results from other research groups. The difference in approach however, was that the present paper showed these results already after 4 weeks whereas most other programs have lasted much longer. The similarity with other groups is that although changes have been accomplished, we do not know if this will lead to a reduction in ACL injuries. The author agrees with this and states that a larger study must be carried out to analyze this. The good thing about this study is that a larger RCT can actually be done within the four week framework, hopefully one of the many groups working in this field will take this on.

Lars Engebretsen, MD, PhD
Co-chair, Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center
Oslo, Norway
Disclosure: He has no direct or financial interest in any companies or produts in this article.