Stochastic biomechanical modeling is a biomechanical modeling paradigm

to determine probability of random outcomes of human motion through repeated random sampling, and is an ideal tool for determining risks and risk factors of acute musculoskeletal injuries. This method has been applied in studies on a variety of musculoskeletal injuries.18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 A stochastic biomechanical model for the risk and risk factors of non-contact ACL injury was recently developed.24 Vismodegib in vitro This model was designed to estimate the ACL loading at the peak impact posterior ground reaction force during landing of the stop-jump task as previous studies demonstrated that peak ACL loading occurs at the peak impact posterior ground reaction forces during landing.25 and 26 A previous study demonstrated that this model accurately estimated the female-to-male non-contact ACL injury rate ratio of collegiate basketball players and injury characteristics.24 These results support the validity of the model and the application of the

model as an evaluation Selleck Autophagy Compound Library tool in research and clinical practice in the prevention of non-contact ACL injury. As a continuation of the previous study, the purposes of this study were to determine biomechanical risk factors of the non-contact ACL injury in a stop-jump task through Monte Carlo simulations with the stochastic biomechanical model developed in our previous study, and to compare (1) lower extremity kinematics and kinetics between trials with and without non-contact ACL injuries, and (2) lower extremity kinematics and kinetics in trials with non-contact ACL injuries between male and female recreational athletes. The stop-jump trials with and without non-contact ACL injuries were simulated using a stochastic biomechanical model.24 We hypothesized that the landings of the stop-jump Isotretinoin trials with non-contact ACL injuries would have significantly smaller knee flexion angle, shorter distance between center of pressure (COP) to the ankle joint center, greater ground reaction

forces and knee moments and quadriceps muscle force, and lower hamstring and gastrocnemius muscle forces at the time of peak impact posterior ground reaction force in comparison to those without non-contact ACL injuries. The biomechanical relationships of these lower extremity kinematics and kinetics with ACL loading have been demonstrated in the literature.27 We also hypothesized that the above described lower extremity kinematics and kinetics of female recreational athletes at the time of peak impact posterior ground reaction force in the landing of the stop-jump trials with non-contact ACL injuries would be significantly different in comparison to those of male recreational athletes. These two hypotheses were tested using the same sample of subjects and experimental data obtained in our previous study.