Kinematics and Synergies Differences Between Horizontal and Vertical Jump Test

Abstract

The aim of this study is to describe kinematics, dynamics, and muscle synergy differences between horizontal and vertical jumps, considering the propulsion and landing phases. We analyzed thirteen healthy women that performed jumps in the horizontal and vertical directions. The biomechanical variables were calculated solving inverse kinematics and inverse dynamics problems. The algorithm of Non-Negative Matrix Factorization was used to estimate muscle synergies based on EMG envelopes. We observed that knee joint had important differences between the both phases, mainly in the VP and VL, because present greater joint moments and that pattern is associated with injuries risks. Kinematics and dynamics differences can show us deficits in the execution of movement patterns and what is the best test for evaluating clinically relevant variables. Furthermore, it was possible to associate muscle motor control patterns to kinematics and dynamics variables to determine how the muscles work during each phase of both tasks.