No Biomechanical Changes Observed with the Addition of Video Feedback to an ACL Prevention Program in Female Collegiate Athletes

Poor landing biomechanics could put an athlete at risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. ACL intervention programs aim to reduce injury risk by improving strength, flexibility and neuromuscular control. Video feedback interventions have shown success in improving jump-landing biomechanics in a laboratory setting; however, ACL injury prevention programs have yet to incorporate video feedback interventions.

Aim: Examine if the addition of video feedback to a modified Sportsmetrics© ACL injury prevention program would produce biomechanical changes in collegiate female soccer athletes during landing.

Methods: Hip and knee biomechanics were collected during landing pre- and post-intervention. Participants were allocated into feedback or control groups. All participants completed a 9 week modified Sportsmetrics© ACL intervention program. The feedback group received individualized feedback on their performance of the squat jump task once a week for 6 weeks.

Results: No significant differences were observed between groups for any knee or hip biomechanical variables.

Discussion: The task chosen for feedback, caliber of athletes,surface on which the athletes completed the jump-landing task and participant’s lack of previous experience with feedback may have contributed to the lack of statistical significance.

Conclusion: Six video feedback sessions may not be enough exposure to produce biomechanical changes. Additionally, feedback should be provided on tasks prone to biomechanical errors (e.g., single leg landing) in order to receive the most benefit from the feedback intervention. Future research should continue to investigate adding formalized feedback to ACL intervention programs in an effort to decrease injury risk.