Effectiveness of Eight Weeks of Progressive Jump-Landing Exercises on Performance and Dynamic Balance of Young Footballers at the Risk of Anterior Cruciat Ligament Injury

The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of eight weeks of progressive jump-landing exercises on the performance and dynamic balance in young football players prone to anterior cruciate ligament injury. In the current study, 30 football players prone to the risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury (screened by functional movement screening tests) participated on a voluntary basis and were randomly divided into two groups of progressive jump-landing exercises (n=15; age 17.8±0.77 yrs; height 169.2±4.84 cm, weight 63.4±5.86 kg) and control (n=15; age 18±0.84 yrs; height 168.2±3.75 cm, weight 64.46±7.71 kg). The hoping (single leg hop, triple hop, triple diagonal hop, and timed hop) and Y balance tests were used for evaluation of performance and dynamic balance, respectively (at baseline and after 8-weeks of progressive jump-landing exercises). For statistical analysis, the mixed 2*2 analysis of variance and paired t-tests in SPSS, v. 22, were used. The results revealed that eight weeks of progressive jump-landing exercises led to significant effects on the scores of performance (P=0.001) and dynamic balance (P=0.001) tests in participants. According to the results, eight weeks of progressive jump-landing exercises could improve participants' performance and dynamic balance, so this type of exercise is recommended for improving performance and dynamic balance of young football players prone to the risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury.