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Feedback Improves Landing Mechanics & May Reduce ACL Risk

ACL injuries are a major concern in female athletes, occurring at 2 to 8 times the rate of their male counterparts.

A significant contributor? Poor landing mechanics, including high vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) and excessive knee valgus.

This study explores whether augmented feedback (real-time visual and verbal cues) can improve landing mechanics and whether these improvements transfer to game-specific movements.

If effective, this could provide coaches with a simple and immediate intervention to reduce ACL injury risk in female athletes.

Does real-time feedback during drop landings improve landing mechanics??

Study: Transfer of post-trial feedback on impacts during drop landings in female athletes​

What did the researchers do?

Intervention

• 31 healthy female D3 collegiate basketball and volleyball players performed 30 drop landings from a 50 cm platform onto force plates.
• Trials were divided into baseline, feedback, and post-feedback conditions.
• Feedback included real-time force plate data (vGRF), video of knee alignment, and verbal coaching cues.
• Athletes also performed game-specific drills (volleyball blocks or basketball rebounds) before and after the feedback sessions.

Measurements

• Vertical Ground Reaction Force (vGRF) – Measured impact forces during landing.
• Knee-to-Ankle (K:A) Ratio – Used as a proxy for knee valgus (higher ratio = better alignment).
• Accelerometer Data – Captured deceleration forces during the game-specific drills.

What were the results?

vGRF (Landing Impact Forces)

• Decreased by 25% during feedback trials.
• Maintained a 23% reduction post-feedback.

Knee Valgus (K:A Ratio Improvement)

• Improved by 12.5% during feedback trials.
• Maintained a 17% improvement post-feedback.

Game-Specific Transfer (Deceleration Forces)

• Reduced by 11.5%, indicating improved landing control in real-game scenarios.

Dual-Task Conditions (Catching a Ball Mid-Air)

• Did not significantly impact the improvements, meaning the feedback still worked under more game-like constraints.

What does this mean?

• Immediate feedback is effective in reducing landing forces and improving knee positioning.
• These changes carry over to game-specific movements, meaning the improvements are not just limited to controlled lab settings.
• Using simple technology (force plates, video, and accelerometers) can provide real-time coaching cues to modify movement patterns quickly.

Limitations

• This study only tested a single session of feedback so the long-term retention is unknown.
• Improvements in knee valgus were measured only in drop landings, not in the game-specific drills.

Coach's Takeaway

Feedback Works

• Immediate feedback works → Video + force plate data + coaching cues = better landings.
• These changes transfer to sport movements → Meaning, it’s not just a lab-based gimmick.

Practical Application

• Have athletes watch their landings on video immediately after execution.
• Use verbal cues like "soft landings" and "knees over ankles" to improve technique.

I hope this was helpful.

Ramsey

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