Chronic foot and ankle injuries are common in dancers; understanding how lower extremity loading changes in response to altered task goals can be beneficial for rehabilitation and injury prevention strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine mechanical demands during jump take-offs when the task goal was modified to focus on either increasing jump distance or increasing jump height. It was hypothesized that a jump strategy focused on height would result in decreased energetic demands on the foot and ankle joints. Thirty healthy, experienced female dancers performed saut de chat leaps while travelling as far as possible (FAR) or jumping as high as possible (UP). Ground reaction force (GRF) impulses and peak sagittal plane net joint moments and sagittal plane mechanical energy expenditure (MEE) of the metatarsophalangeal (MTP), ankle, knee, and hip joints were calculated. During take-off, vertical and horizontal braking GRF impulses were greater and horizontal propulsive GRF impulse was lower in the UP condition. MEE at the MTP, ankle, and hip joints was lower in UP, and MEE at the knee was higher in UP. These results suggest that a strategy focused on height may be helpful in unloading the ankle and MTP joints during dance leaps.
Keywords: Jumping; MTP joint; ankle injuries; impulse; saut de chat.