Increasing ankle plantar-flexion at initial contact during single-leg landing reduces the frontal plane loading in the knee joint

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between ankle plantarflexion angle at initial contact (IC) and knee valgus angle and moment during single-leg landing. Twenty-two adults performed single-leg landings from a 0.3-m height. The ankle angle at IC was negatively correlated with peak valgus angle and moments. These results indicate that individual with lower ankle plantarflexion angle at IC relied on the frontal plane knee to decelerate their body center of mass.