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Frequency Domain Analysis of Hamstring Activation During Jump-Landing Performance by Athletes with Diverse Training Regimens

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Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated hamstring activation in the frequency domain and jump-landing performance in a specialized-training athletic population and a healthy control group.

Methods

Thirty male athletes engaged in power training, both with and without jumping sports, or endurance training, together with ten healthy participants were recruited. Surface EMG electrodes were attached to the bellies of the lateral hamstring (LH) and medial hamstring (MH). The median EMG frequency was analyzed during takeoff, flight, before ground contact, after ground contact, and landing in countermovement jumps (CMJ) and drop-vertical jumps (DJ). Kinetic outcomes were also investigated.

Results

The power-trained athletes (with and without jumping sports) exhibited a lower median EMG frequency in the MH during takeoff (p = 0.001 for DJ) and in the LH (p = 0.008 for DJ) and MH during landing (p = 0.004 for CMJ and 0.001 for DJ) compared with the endurance-trained or control groups. Furthermore, the power-trained group demonstrated greater jump heights (p = 0.009 for CMJ and p = 0.003 for DJ). All the athletic groups showed a lower landing force (p = 0.022) and loading rate (p = 0.043) in CMJ than the control group.

Conclusion

Training background differences influenced hamstring recruitment during jumping. Power-trained athletes exhibited a lower median EMG frequency and better jumping performance. All the athletes demonstrated a more effective landing strategy than the control group. These findings suggest the potential for enhancing athletic performance and aiding in landing strategy by exploiting different training styles.

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Data Availability

The raw or processed data can be made available upon request that is deemed reasonable.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Motion Analysis Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, for providing the laboratory space and necessary equipment for the successful completion of this study.

Funding

The study was partially funded by the National Science & Technology Council, Taiwan (NSTC 112-2314-B-006-038).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Rd., Tainan, 70101, Taiwan

    Amornthep Jankaew & Cheng-Feng Lin

  2. Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA

    Yih-Kuen Jan

  3. Physical Therapy Center, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan

    Cheng-Feng Lin

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  1. Amornthep Jankaew
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Correspondence to Cheng-Feng Lin.

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Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

The experimental procedure was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of National Cheng Kung University Hospital under ethical approval number A-ER-110–075. All the participants provided written informed consent prior to participating in the study.

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Jankaew, A., Jan, YK. & Lin, CF. Frequency Domain Analysis of Hamstring Activation During Jump-Landing Performance by Athletes with Diverse Training Regimens. J. Med. Biol. Eng. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40846-024-00857-9

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