Tibial Accelerations During the Single-Leg Hop Test: Influence of Fixation
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2021
Abstract
Context: Performance on single-leg hopping (SLH) assessments is commonly included within return-to-sport criteria for rehabilitating athletes. Triaxial accelerometers have been used to quantify impact loading in a variety of movements, including hopping; however, they have never been attached to the tibia during SLH, and their method of fixation has not been investigated. Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantify triaxial accelerations and evaluate the influence of the fixation method of a lightweight inertial measurement unit (Blue Trident) mounted to the tibia during SLH performance. Design: Single cohort, repeated-measures experimental design. Participants: Sixteen healthy participants (10 females and 6 males; 20 [0.9] y; 1.67 [0.08] m; 66.0 [8.5] kg) met the inclusion criteria, volunteered, and completed this study. Interventions: Participants performed 2 sets of 3 SLH trials with an inertial measurement unit (1500 Hz) fixated to the tibia, each set with 1 of 2 attachment methods (double-sided tape [DST] with athletic tape and silicon strap [SS] with Velcro adhesion). Main Outcome Measures: Hop distance, peak tibial acceleration (PTA), time to PTA, and the acceleration slope were assessed during each hop landing. Results: Repeated-measures analysis of variance determined no significant effect of the attachment method on hop metrics (P = .252). Across 3 trials, both fixation methods (DST and SS) had excellent reliability values (intraclass correlation coefficient: .868–.941) for PTA and acceleration slope but not for time to PTA (intraclass correlation coefficient: .397–.768). The PTA for DST (27.22 [7.94] g) and SS (26.21 [10.48] g) was comparable and had a moderate, positive relationship (DST: r = .72, P < .01; SS: r = .77, P < .01) to SLH distance. Conclusions: Tibial inertial measurement units with triaxial accelerometers can reliably assess PTA during performance of the SLH, and SS is a viable alternative tibial attachment to DST.
DOI
10.1123/jsr.2020-0309
PMID
33291064
Recommended Citation
Tucker, H. W., Tobin, E. R., & Moran, M. F. (2021). Tibial accelerations during the single-leg hop test: Influence of fixation. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, 30(5), 832–835. Doi: 10.1123/jsr.2020-0309
Publication
Journal of Sport Rehabilitation
Volume
30
Issue
5
Publisher
Human Kinetics Journals
Pages
832-835
Comments
First Published Online: 08 Dec 2020.
At the time the article was written and submitted, Hannah Tucker was a graduate student and Emily Tobin was an undergraduate student in PTHMS programs at Sacred Heart University.