Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, which often occurs during cutting or landing from a jump, negatively impacts physical activity both acutely and across the lifespan due to early-onset osteoarthritis. However, the precise mechanism of injury and most efficacious intervention techniques to prevent this injury remain elusive. Our research utilizes the quantification of lower extremity energy absorption during landing to identify landing strategies that may result in greater ACL-injury risk. We then attempt to identify specific, modifiable biomechanical factors (i.e. muscle strength, joint positions and motion, muscle activation) that are predictive of these higher risk landing strategies in hopes of designing and implementing an ACL-injury prevention program that is both successful and feasible.
