Landing technique and performance in youth athletes after a single injury-prevention program session

Context: Injury-prevention programs (IPPs) performed as season-long warm-ups improve injury rates, performance outcomes, and jump-landing technique. However, concerns regarding program adoption exist. Identifying the acute benefits of using an IPP compared with other warm-ups may encourage IPP adoption. Objective: To examine the immediate effects of 3 warm-up protocols (IPP, static warm-up [SWU], or dynamic warm-up [DWU]) on jump-landing technique and performance measures in youth athletes. Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial. Setting: Gymnasiums. Patients or Other Participants: Sixty male and 29 female athletes (age=13 ± 2 years, height=162.8 ± 12.6 cm, mass= 37.1 ± 13.5 kg) volunteered to participate in a single session. Intervention(s): Participants were stratified by age, sex, and sport and then were randomized into 1 protocol: IPP, SWU, or DWU. The IPP consisted of dynamic flexibility, strengthening, plyometric, and balance exercises and emphasized proper technique. The SWU consisted of jogging and lower extremity static stretching. The DWU consisted of dynamic lower extremity flexibility exercises. Participants were assessed for landing technique and performance measures immediately before (PRE) and after (POST) completing their warm-ups. Main Outcome Measure(s): One rater graded each jumplanding trial using the Landing Error Scoring System. Participants performed a vertical jump, long jump, shuttle run, and jump-landing task in randomized order. The averages of all jump-landing trials and performance variables were used to calculate 1 composite score for each variable at PRE and POST. Change scores were calculated (POST PRE) for all measures. Separate 1-way (group) analyses of variance were conducted for each dependent variable (a <.05). Results: No differences were observed among groups for any performance measures (P >.05). The Landing Error Scoring System scores improved after the IPP (change=-0.40 6 1.24 errors) compared with the DWU (0.27 ± 1.09 errors) and SWU (0.43 ± 1.35 errors; P =.04). Conclusions: An IPP did not impair sport performance and may have reduced injury risk, which supports the use of these programs before sport activity.