Effect of Circadian Rhythms on Knee Joint Position Sense in Men College Soccer Players

Proprioception dysfunction may increase the risk of injury in athletes. Several studies have examined the factors influencing on proprioceptive accuracy; however, the impact of different hours of the day on performance of this sense is unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of circadian rhythm on the accuracy of the knee JPS in men's college soccer players. Thirty male college soccer players with an average mean age±SD; 23/14±1/27 years were recruited in this experimental study. Reconstruction error data at three different times:10, 15 and 20 hours after evaluation session and at an angle of 45° and 60° flexion using skin markers and Digital Imaging were collected. Auto CAD software was used to analyze the images and ANOVA with repeated measures has been used for comparing data variances in different times. The results showed that despite the different records at different times and also decreasing in reconstruction errors during middle day hours, there was no statistically significant difference in knee angular reconstruction error in different times. According to the results, it appears that the accuracy of Proprioceptive function of the knee joint is not affected by circadian rhythm and then, there are no differences in the risk of injury in athletes due to Proprioceptive dysfunction while performing physical activities in different hours of day and night.