The Effects of Exercise Interventions on Dynamic Knee Valgus: A Systematic Review

Increase in dynamic knee valgus during movements such as landing, jumping, cutting, stepping up and down, and walking is one of the risk factors for knee injuries and a reduction in the mechanical efficiency of movement. Recent research has shown that landing with dynamic knee valgus causes weakness and possible defects in dynamic movements of lower limbs; Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of exercise intervention on dynamic knee valgus angle during landing, jumping, and cutting tests.

Seven electronic databases in Persian (three databases) and English (four databases) and specified keywords were used to identify the studies. These studies include the effects of exercise interventions on dynamic knee valgus during jumping, landing, and cutting tests which were published between 2010 to 2020 and 1390 to 1399 in both Persian and English.

Eleven articles with a total of 445 participants met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the present study. Eight studies reported a significant effect of exercise programs (between three and 10 weeks) on reducing the dynamic knee valgus, and only three studies (between 16 and 24 sessions) showed no difference in dynamic knee valgus. According to the results of this study, Core exercises (strength and stability) and plyometric exercises with 64% and 80% reduction in dynamic knee valgus were the most effective methods in improving the kinematics of the lower limb, respectively.

Using jump-landing, strong core, and lower limb exercises before the main exercise (at least 20 minutes) can reduce dynamic knee valgus and prevent lower limb injuries.