Purpose: The purpose of this study is to use kinematic analysis (motion analysis) to determine if there are differences in angular velocity of the lower limb joints of soccer players when performing a landing maneuver based on warm-up method and surface stiffness. The hypothesis is that soccer players exhibit varying angular velocity during landing on different surfaces due to post-activation potentiation (PAP) warm-up with elastic stretching exercises, leading to increased dynamic joint control in soccer players.
Method: Twenty male soccer players from Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, with an average age of 21.35 ± 1.49, participated in the study. The angular velocity of the lower limb joints during the landing maneuver was calculated for each subject after general warm-up and PAP protocols. The landing maneuver involved falling from a box with 30 cm height, landing, and stabilizing. The normalized Data from 5 landing steps in each exercise intervention were analyzed with paired sample t test by SPM toolbox of software MATLAB 2022a.
Results: athletes experienced more knee angular velocity than other joints (hip and ankle joint). athletes had a significant difference between their landing on the unstable surface and stable surface in maximum angular velocity of the knee.
Conclusion: The knee angular velocity during landing on an unstable surface can be attributed to the landing surface and ankle plantarflexion range, which engage more muscle motor units. Implementing Special neuromuscular exercises focusing on plantar flexors, ankle landing strategies, hips, and thighs can help prevent knee injuries and improve performance before main task, especially in soccer players.