The Effect of Defender and Anticipation on ACL Injury Risk during Volleyball Jump Spikes

Examining ACL injury risk in volleyball athletes during sport-specific, competition-based demands is crucial in understanding the real-world challenges athletes experience. Given that most ACL injuries occur during non-contact, deceleration movements like the jump spike, and that these movements often involve unpredictable situations, such as subsequent movements and defender presence, it is critical to assess how these factors influence landing biomechanics. Additionally, sex-specific differences in injury risk highlight the importance of evaluating male and female athletes individually. This study aims to identify key biomechanical contributors to ACL injury risk by evaluating landing mechanics during realistic jump spike scenarios and exploring the possibility of sport-specific, clinically feasible tasks to use to screen for injury risk factors. These findings will advance scientific understanding of sport-specific injury mechanisms and inform the development of evidence-based prevention strategies and coaching interventions that can reduce injury risk and improve long-term outcomes for volleyball athletes. We aim to recruit 16 male and 16 female healthy volleyball athletes between the ages of 14 and 25 years old.

Check out the video below for more information on what the study involves!

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