The effects of hip- and ankle-focused exercise intervention on lower limb mechanics during single leg squat among physically active females

Abstract

Objectives: There are two types of kinetic chain in dynamic knee valgus (DKV) namely top-down (proximal origins) and bottom-up (distal origins). This study compared the influence of four-week hip- and ankle-focused exercises on lower limb mechanics during single-leg squat (SLS) among physically active females.

Methods: Thirty-six physically active females with excessive DKV were divided into either HIP, ANKLE, or control groups. The intervention groups completed exercises that focused either on the hip or ankle musculature for 12 sessions over four weeks. The SLS test protocol was performed with 3D motion capture at pre- and post-intervention. Data were analyzed with two-way ANOVA test.

Results: HIP group showed increased dominant knee (F (2.66) = 9.437, P = .001) and ankle (F(2.66) = 16.465, P = .001) sagittal moment during 45° SLS at post-intervention compared to ANKLE and Control groups. HIP group also showed increased hip flexion angle for dominant (F(2.66) = 12.032, P = .001) and non-dominant leg (F(2.66) = 3.618, P = .032) compared to other groups during 60° SLS. No other significant differences were observed on other variables.

Conclusion: DKV did not show any significant changes during SLS after a four-week exercise intervention focusing on hip and ankle joints.

Keywords: Biomechanics; Dynamic knee valgus; Human health; Injury prevention.