The Association between the trunk and hip kinematic and knee abduction angle among preadolescent female soccer players during single-leg landing

Objectives: Children aged 10 to 12 years often show dangerous maneuvers during landing, which include increased knee valgus, placing them at higher risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. The study aimed to investigate the relation of the trunk and hip kinematics with the peak knee abduction angle during single-leg landing among preadolescent female soccer players. Methods: Thirty-six preadolescent female soccer players aged 10 to 12 years attended the study. Participants did a static trial and after that performed landing trials. A single-leg landing was applied to assess the landing kinematics. A three-dimensional motion capture system was applied to analyze trunk, hip, and knee kinematics. Results: Pearson correlation coefficient demonstrated a significantly positive relationship between peak hip internal rotation angle (r = 0.361) (p = 0.03*) and peak knee abduction angle. Furthermore, no significant relationship was identified between peak hip adduction (r = -0.102) (p = 0.55), peak trunk rotation (r =0.239) (p = 0.16), peak trunk lateral flexion (r = 0.052) (p = 0.76), and peak valgus knee. Discussion: Peak hip rotation angle was correlated with the valgus knee with a weak correlation value among preadolescent female soccer players. Future studies should consider kinematic risk factors related to ACL injuries in combination with neuromuscular control trunk and hip during more demanding tasks.