Cognitive Tasks Affect Landing Mechanics in ACL-reconstructed Athletes

When athletes come back from ankle surgery, they need to do certain tests to see if they're ready to play sports again. One important test is the drop vertical jump (DVJ). Scientists wanted to know if adding mental tasks while doing this jump could help find athletes at risk of hurting their ankle again. They tested 40 athletes, half males and half females, after their surgery. The athletes did three types of DVJs: one without mental tasks, one with tasks to make quick decisions and control movements, and one with tasks to also pay attention and remember things. A special system was used to track how they moved and where their weight went.

The results showed that doing mental tasks during the jump changed how the athletes landed. They stood more upright and didn't bend their legs as much. Plus, they put less weight on the injured leg, which could be a bad sign. The differences were the same for males and females, and the two types of mental tasks led to similar changes. This means that adding mental challenges to the DVJ could help doctors find athletes who might hurt their ankle again. Future studies should look into how to best combine mental and physical tasks in these tests.

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