Kinematics, kinetics, and electromyogram of ankle during drop landing: a comparison between dominant and non-dominant limb

The biomechanical difference between the dominant and non-dominant limb has seldom been studied during double-leg landing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of limb laterality on the ankle kinematics, kinetics and electromyogram (EMG) during drop landing. Sixteen healthy adults were recruited and dropped individually from platforms with three different heights (0.32 m, 0.52 m, and 0.72 m). The ground reaction force, ankle joint kinematics, and surface EMG of tibialis anterior (TA) and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) were measured in both lower extremities. Two-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the effects of laterality and dropping height. The peak angular velocities in dorsiflexion and abduction were significantly higher in the dominant ankle, whereas the pre- and post-landing EMG amplitudes of the TA were significantly higher in the non-dominant limb. Compared with the dominant side, the non-dominant ankle has a more effective protective mechanism in that excessive joint motion is restrained by greater ankle flexor activity. Compared with the non-dominant side, the dominant ankle joint is in greater injury risk during drop landing, and data measured in the dominant limb may produce more conservative conclusions for injury protection or prediction.