How to Jump and Avoid Injuries!
10/21/19

ACL Injuries is the most common injury on & off the field. Very common in collegiate and high school athletes of all sports. My personal thoughts on this issue is that many athletes are receiving poor training programs and poor feedback. This blog & video will touch upon the mechanics of jumping and landing properly.

Landing efficiently involves:

  • Landing on the balls of the feet sinking down into the heels
  • Knees aligned with the mid to outer foot – vs knees buckling in (valgus position)
  • Hips are back absorbing force – this will enhance performance as well if the landing is followed by another jump or sprint in any direction
  • Slight forward lean of the trunk with the back flat

JUMPING

Jumping

A great way to see how the athlete moves is have them jumping in place. Take notice on how they jump and how they land. Film the landing or the jumping and dissect it! Where are there knees? Is the spine neutral? Do they stomp when jumping in place? This is all relative to how the athlete performs in the field. Work on the area that is most necessary and progress from there.

Looking at the bio-mechanics of landing:

  • Ankle mobility – specifically dorsiflexion
  • Hip mobility and stability
  • Trunk stability
  • Thoracic spine and shoulder mobility and stability – especially for athletes that must go overhead (rebounding, blocking, spiking, etc)

LANDING

Landing
 
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