The Effects of Secondary Cognitive Task on Balance Control and Muscle Activation in Female Athletes During Jump Landing Task

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a dual motor-cognitive task on dynamic balance control and muscle activation in female recreational athletes. Seventeen recreationally active females (height: 165.81 ± 10.97 cm, mass: 62.65 ± 8.93 kg, age: 21.82 ± 4.40 yrs) completed a total of 10 diagonal jump-landing tasks with and without cognitive load. Outcome measures were time to stabilization and mean magnitude of muscle activation 100 ms before and after landing. It was hypothesized that the addition of a cognitive task would lead to a poorer dynamic balance control and lower quadriceps and hamstring muscle activation. The cognitive task employed was a visual Stroop test displayed on the television screen. The visual elements were randomized for each subject. Paired samples t-test was used to analyze the time to stabilization and muscle activation between conditions. It was found that there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) for the muscle activation when comparing between conditions. This suggests that the feedforward and feedback control in the muscles were unaffected by the cognitive task. It was also revealed that the subjects took significantly longer time to stabilize in the anteroposterior direction (p = 0.02) while the time to stabilize in the mediolateral direction (p = 0.22) remained unchanged with the cognitive load. This indicates that the subjects utilized different landing strategies to prioritize mediolateral stability over anteroposterior control. Understanding how cognitive task affect balance and muscle activation may enable the integration of cognitive elements and balance training into physical conditioning, contributing to injury prevention and enhancing athletic performance.

Year	Entry
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Year

Entry

2012

Dragoo JL, Braun HJ, Durham JL, Chen MR, Harris AHS. Incidence and risk factors for injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament in National Collegiate Athletic Association football: data from the 2004-2005 through 2008-2009 National Collegiate Athletic Association injury surveillance system. Am J Sports Med. May 2012;40(5):990-995.

1996

Lambson RB, Barnhill BS, Higgins RW. Football cleat design and its effect on anterior cruciate ligament injuries: a three-year prospective study. Am J Sports Med. 1996;24(2):155-159.

2008

Renstrom P, Ljungqvist A, Arendt E, Beynnon B, Fukubayashi T, Garrett W, Georgoulis T, Hewett TE, Johnson R, Krosshaug T, Mandelbaum B, Micheli L, Myklebust G, Roos E, Roos H, Schamasch P, Shultz S, Werner S, Wojtys E, Engebretsen L. Non-contact ACL injuries in female athletes: an International Olympic Committee current concepts statement. Br J Sports Med. June 2008;42(6):394-412.

1996

Caraffa A, Cerulli G, Projetti M, Aisa G, Rizzo A. Prevention of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in soccer: a prospective controlled study of proprioceptive training. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 1996;4(1):19-21.

2004

Olsen O-E, Myklebust G, Engebretsen L, Bahr R. Injury mechanisms for anterior cruciate ligament injuries in team handball: a systematic video analysis. Am J Sports Med. June 2004;32(4):1002-1012.