Influence of hormonal variation during the menstrual cycle on knee kinematics during a jump landing

• Grant number: 07/02236-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2007
• End date: October 31, 2008
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Fábio Viadanna Serrão
• Grantee: Vanessa Santos Pereira
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Female Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury is a topic of interest in the past years. Women are two to eight times more prone to injure this joint than men when participating in the same activity. The influence of female sexual hormones on ligament laxity has been highlighted as one of the factors involved in this incidence. Knee dynamic valgus observed during landing from a jump constitutes the main ACL injury mechanism in women. Although studies indicate differences in the amplitude of dynamic valgus between women and men, few studies assessed this behavior during the different phases of the menstrual cycle. Thus, the aim of this study is to assess the maximum amplitude of the dynamic valgus during the single-leg landing from a jump on the different phases of the menstrual cycle. Twenty healthy, active and non-athlete volunteers participated in this study, and they were randomly allocated. The serum concentration of the hormones estrogen and progesterone will be assessed during the three distinguished phases of the menstrual cycle (initial follicular, late follicular and luteal). Simultaneously to this measurement the kinematic analysis of the single-leg landing from a 31cm platform will occur. A descriptive data analysis will be executed, along with punctual and interval estimation of the parameters of interest. For treatment comparison the analysis of variance will be executed with each woman representing one block. If the data do not satisfy the conditions necessary for this parametric analysis of variance, convenient transformations will be utilized and/or a non-parametric analysis of variance (Friedmann test). It is expected, with this research project, to contribute to a better understanding of some of the main clinical aspects involving ACL injuries in women, as well as the functional and preventive aspects regarding the injuries of this structure.