Gender Differences of Vertical Drop Landing Strategies in College Students

The kinematics involved in different landing strategies may be related to the occurrence of trauma. Several sources suggest that the angle of knee extension on touchdown and impact with the ground determines the magnitude of the impact force and, indirectly, knee loading. This study compared the initial knee angle and maximum knee flexion angle at the instant of impact on drop-landings between healthy men and women. In this study, 60 participants (30 males, 30 females) dropped from a height of 43 cm. A digital camera and video motion analysis software were used to analyze the kinematic data. When landing, there was significant difference between the two groups ($15.67{\pm}6.05^{\circ}$ in male, $24.10{\pm}6.34^{\circ}$ in female) in the mean knee flexion angle. The range of knee flexion on landing ($44.06{\pm}10.97^{\circ}$ in male, $36.96{\pm}9.99^{\circ}$ in female) also differed significantly (p<.05). The greater knee flexion that was observed in the male subjects would be expected to decrease their risk of injury. Women land with smaller range of knee flexion than men and this might increase the likelihood of a knee injury.