Isokinetic Knee Strength and Multidirectional Jump-Landing Asymmetry in Professional Football Players After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study
9 affiliations
- 1Department of Orthopedics, Traumatology and Hand Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
- 2Institute of Physical Culture Sciences, University of Szczecin, 71-065 Szczecin, Poland
- 3Oleksy Medical & Sport Sciences, 37-100 Łańcut, Poland
- 4Institute of Clinical Rehabilitation, University of Physical Culture in Kraków, 31-571 Kraków, Poland
- 5Faculty of Physical Culture Sciences, Collegium Medicum, University of Rzeszów, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
- 6Institute of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Psychology, Collegium Medicum, University Center for Research and Development in Health Sciences, University of Rzeszów, 35-315 Rzeszów, Poland
- 7Physiotherapy Research Laboratory, University Centre of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-368 Wrocław, Poland
- 8Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Medical and Dentistry Faculty, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
- 9Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, 01-815 Warsaw, Poland
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Isokinetic testing is widely used after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), but isolated knee strength may not reflect function during braking, re-acceleration, and stabilization. This study examined relationships between isokinetic strength and vertical and multidirectional performance in professional football players after ACLR and compared asymmetry across functional domains. Methods: Eleven male professional players, 12–40 months post-ACLR and back in unrestricted training and competition, completed isokinetic concentric knee extensor and flexor strength testing, single-leg countermovement and drop jumps, and unilateral and bilateral forward and lateral jumps on 3D force-plates. Limb differences, strength–performance associations, bilateral contributions, and domain-specific asymmetry were assessed. Results: No operated–non-operated limb difference remained significant after Holm correction. Knee extensor strength was positively associated with drop-jump reactive strength index (ρ = 0.612), countermovement-jump height (ρ = 0.491), anterior–posterior braking impulse during forward hop-in (ρ = 0.382), and propulsive impulse during forward hop-out (ρ = 0.442); however, none of the eight prespecified strength–performance correlations was statistically significant either before or after Holm adjustment. Median asymmetry differed across domains, reaching 20.9% for temporal control and stabilization and 14.7% for directional braking, compared with 9.9% for strength and 6.2% for vertical performance. Fifty percent of players had a median multidirectional-task asymmetry ≥20%. The operated limb contributed 49.9–53.0% of the total output during bilateral tasks. Conclusions: The absence of significant group-level differences in isokinetic strength and vertical jump outcomes did not exclude asymmetries in directional braking and stabilization. Isokinetic, vertical, and multidirectional assessments provide complementary, non-interchangeable information after ACLR. Multidirectional testing may therefore provide additional information on movement strategies that is not captured by strength and vertical jump tests alone.
Related
- Horizontal and Multidirectional Single-Leg Hop Tests Predict Isokinetic Quadriceps and Hamstring Strengths After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
- Interactions between upper limb asymmetry, isokinetic shoulder function, and sprint performance in wheelchair rugby: a preliminary study
- Paraspinal Fat Quantity and Three-Dimensional Spatial Distribution in Relation to Isokinetic Trunk Strength: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study
- Convergent Validity and Exploratory Discrimination of Two-Dimensional Facial Photographic Measures for Clinician-Rated Facial Asymmetry in Young Mongolian Adults
- Patient and healthcare professional preferences among predefined features of a peritoneal dialysis monitoring application in South Korea: an exploratory choice-based conjoint study
BibTeX
@article{oleksy2026isokinetic,
title = {{Isokinetic Knee Strength and Multidirectional Jump-Landing Asymmetry in Professional Football Players After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study}},
author = {Łukasz Oleksy and Anna Mika and Maciej Kuchciak and Miłosz Szczudło and Paulina Ciepiela and Maciej Daszkiewicz and Artur Stolarczyk and Olga Adamska and Paweł Reichert and Renata Kielnar},
journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/jcm15218233},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8233},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Isokinetic Knee Strength and Multidirectional Jump-Landing Asymmetry in Professional Football Players After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study
AU - Łukasz Oleksy
AU - Anna Mika
AU - Maciej Kuchciak
AU - Miłosz Szczudło
AU - Paulina Ciepiela
AU - Maciej Daszkiewicz
AU - Artur Stolarczyk
AU - Olga Adamska
AU - Paweł Reichert
AU - Renata Kielnar
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - Journal of Clinical Medicine
DO - 10.3390/jcm15218233
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8233
AB - Background/Objectives: Isokinetic testing is widely used after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), but isolated knee strength may not reflect function during braking, re-acceleration, and stabilization. This study examined relationships between isokinetic strength and vertical and multidirectional performance in professional football players after ACLR and compared asymmetry across functional domains. Methods: Eleven male professional players, 12–40 months post-ACLR and back in unrestricted training and competition, completed isokinetic concentric knee extensor and flexor strength testing, single-leg countermovement and drop jumps, and unilateral and bilateral forward and lateral jumps on 3D force-plates. Limb differences, strength–performance associations, bilateral contributions, and domain-specific asymmetry were assessed. Results: No operated–non-operated limb difference remained significant after Holm correction. Knee extensor strength was positively associated with drop-jump reactive strength index (ρ = 0.612), countermovement-jump height (ρ = 0.491), anterior–posterior braking impulse during forward hop-in (ρ = 0.382), and propulsive impulse during forward hop-out (ρ = 0.442); however, none of the eight prespecified strength–performance correlations was statistically significant either before or after Holm adjustment. Median asymmetry differed across domains, reaching 20.9% for temporal control and stabilization and 14.7% for directional braking, compared with 9.9% for strength and 6.2% for vertical performance. Fifty percent of players had a median multidirectional-task asymmetry ≥20%. The operated limb contributed 49.9–53.0% of the total output during bilateral tasks. Conclusions: The absence of significant group-level differences in isokinetic strength and vertical jump outcomes did not exclude asymmetries in directional braking and stabilization. Isokinetic, vertical, and multidirectional assessments provide complementary, non-interchangeable information after ACLR. Multidirectional testing may therefore provide additional information on movement strategies that is not captured by strength and vertical jump tests alone.
SN - 2077-0383
ER -