AN ANALYSIS OF PEAK VERTICAL GROUND REACTION FORCE IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS FOLLOWING ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION DURING DROP VERTICAL JUMP AND GAIT ASSESSMENTS (2024)

Undergraduate: Winter Earnhardt

Faculty Advisor: Brian Pietrosimone
Department: Exercise and Sport Science

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Background: Pediatric ACL injury rates are increasing faster than adults. Vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) is a biomechanical measure that changes following ACLR. Research has shown there is no correlation between peak vGRF during drop vertical jump (DVJ) and gait assessments in adult ACLR patients. The same conclusions cannot be applied to pediatric patients._x000D_
Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to determine if there are differences in peak vGRF during DVJ assessments between pediatric ACLR patients and matched pediatric controls, and separately, between pediatric ACLR and adult ACLR patients. The secondary purpose was to determine if DVJ peak vGRF correlates with peak vGRF during walking in pediatric ACLR patients. Methods: We recruited 25 pediatric ACLR patients, 25 matched controls, and 13 adult ACLR patients. Both the pediatric groups must be sexually immature (Tanner Stage I-IV). Those who self-report Tanner Stage V were placed into the adult group. 5 walking-gait and 3 DVJ trials were collected and normalized to body weight. An ANOVA test was performed between pediatric ACLR, pediatric controls, and adult ACLR. Additionally, a Pearson product moment was performed between DVJ vGRF and gait vGRF for the pediatric ACLR group. Results: Both pediatric groups demonstrated a trend of lower vGRF magnitudes than adult ACLR participants. There was a weak correlation found between DVJ vGRF and gait vGRF (r=0.30, p=0.16). Conclusion: Pediatric patients have unique jump landing patterns compared to adults, likely due to maturation. loading patterns and magnitudes are task specific following ACLR in pediatric patients.