This study aimed to examine the coordination among foot joints during unanticipated side-cutting maneuvers in female soccer players with and without CAI.
Thirteen female soccer players with CAI and 12 healthy controls performed unanticipated side-cutting maneuvers (135° forward). The stance phase was time-normalized and divided into three phases: loading response, deceleration, and propulsion. The coupling angle between the rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot on the cutting side, which indicates intersegmental coordination, was quantified using a modified vector coding technique and categorized into four distinct coordination patterns. Independent t-tests and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to analyze the data, with the statistical significance level set at p 0.05.
During the loading response, the CAI group showed a significantly higher proportion of anti-phase with proximal dominance (p 0.01) and a significantly lower proportion of in-phase with distal dominance (p = 0.003) compared to the control group. During the deceleration phase, the CAI group had a significantly higher proportion of in-phase with proximal dominance (p 0.01) and a significantly lower proportion of in-phase with distal dominance, anti-phase with proximal dominance, and anti-phase with distal dominance (p = 0.001, p = 0.034, and p 0.001, respectively) compared to the control group. During the propulsion phase, the CAI group showed a significantly higher proportion of in-phase with proximal dominance (p 0.001) and a significantly lower proportion of anti-phase with proximal dominance (p = 0.013) compared to the control group.
Anti-phase motion may result in torsion, tension, and bending of the soft tissues surrounding the joints. In the frontal plane, the CAI group showed an increased proportion of anti-phase with rearfoot dominance during the loading response, which may make the joints between the rearfoot and midfoot more susceptible to stress. During deceleration, rearfoot and midfoot inversions occurred simultaneously. The increased proportion of in-phase with rearfoot dominance during this phase may result in excessive stress on the lateral tissues of the rearfoot and around the talocrural and subtalar joints, leading to progressive ligament dysfunction. Stability in the propulsion phase requires the relative intersection of the joint axes of the subtalar and choroidal joints on the frontal plane. The CAI group may have been more unstable during the propulsion phase due to the decreased proportion of anti-phase motion.
These findings suggest that physical therapy interventions aimed at improving midfoot mobility may benefit female soccer players with CAI.
female soccer player
coordination pattern
