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Deficits in movement patterns during cutting while running might place soccer players at risk of injury. The objective was to compare joint angles and intersegment coordination between sexes and ages during an unanticipated side-step cutting task in soccer players. This cross-sectional study recruited 11 male (four adolescents and seven adults) and 10 female (six adolescents and four adults) soccer players. Three-dimensional motion capture was used to measure lower-extremity joint and segment angles as participants performed an unanticipated cutting task. Hierarchical linear models examined relationships between joint angle characteristics with age and sex. Continuous relative phase was used to quantify intersegment coordination amplitude and variability. These values were compared between age and sex groups using analysis of covariance. Adult males had greater hip flexion angle excursions than adolescent males, while adult females had smaller excursions than adolescent females (p = .011). Females had smaller changes in hip flexion angles (p = .045), greater hip adduction angles (p = .043). and greater ankle eversion angles (p =.009) than males. Adolescents had greater hip internal rotation (p = .044) and knee flexion (p = .033) angles than adults, but smaller changes in knee flexion angles at precontact compared with stance/foot off (p < .001). For intersegment coordination, females were more out-of-phase than males in the foot/shank segment in the sagittal plane. There were no differences in intersegment coordination variability between groups. Differences in joint motion during an unanticipated cutting task were present between age groups and sexes. Injury prevention programs or training programs may be able target specific deficits to lower injury risk and improve performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine if relationships between knee osteoarthritis (OA) progression with knee moments and muscle activation during gait vary between patients with non-traumatic and post-traumatic knee OA.Design: This longitudinal study included participants with non-traumatic (n = 17) and post-traumatic (n = 18) knee OA; the latter group had a previous anterior cruciate ligament rupture. Motion capture cameras, force plates, and surface electromyography measured knee moments and lower extremity muscle activation during gait. Cartilage volume change were determined over 2 years using magnetic resonance imaging in four regions: medial and lateral plateau and condyle. Linear regression analysis examined relationships between cartilage change with gait metrics (moments, muscle activation), group, and their interaction.Results: Measures from knee adduction and rotation moments were related to lateral condyle cartilage loss in both groups, and knee adduction moment to lateral plateau cartilage loss in the non-traumatic group only [β = -1.336, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = -2.653 to -0.019]. Generally, lower levels of stance phase muscle activation were related to greater cartilage loss. The relationship between cartilage loss in some regions with muscle activation characteristics varied between non-traumatic and post-traumatic groups including for: lateral hamstring (lateral condyle β = 0.128, 95%CI = 0.003 to 0.253; medial plateau β = 0.199, 95%CI = 0.059 to 0.339), rectus femoris (medial condyle β = -0.267, 95%CI = -0.460 to -0.073), and medial hamstrings (medial plateau; β = -0.146, 95%CI = -0.244 to -0.048).Conclusion: Findings indicate that gait risk factors for OA progression may vary between patients with non-traumatic and post-traumatic knee OA. These OA subtypes should be considered in studies that investigate gait metrics as risk factors for OA progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]