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As a gymnast, maintaining optimal lower extremity alignment is crucial for performance and injury prevention. A quick and effective way to screen for potential imbalances or lack of body position awareness is the single-leg jump and landing test. This simple test can reveal a lot about your lower body mechanics and highlight areas that may need improvement.
The Test: Single-Leg Jump and Land
How to Perform:
Starting on one leg, jump up and forward and land on one leg.
What to Observe:
1.Knee Alignment:
From the front view, the knee should be in line with the toes. Commonly you will find the knee caves inward:
2. Pelvis Position (front view):
From the front view, the hips should be square and level. Sometimes one side of the pelvis drops because there is a loss of stability somewhere.
3. Spine Position (side view):
From the side view, you can view the position of the back/pelvis. Although gymnastics has many different body shapes including hollow body and back bending/arching positions, landings MUST happen with a neutral spine and braced core in order to protect the spine.
4. The foot:
The arch of the foot should be maintained when landing in order to give the most stabilization from the ground up. A stable foot is a stable base for everything above. Luckily, gymnasts usually have strong feet, but old injuries can weaken the muscles in the foot. It also takes some degree to consciously lift your arch.
5. Equal Hip & Knee Contributions:
For this you'll have to watch your gymnast from the side. When they land, if it looks like just the knee is bending they may develop over-use injuries of the knee. You should see them also hinging at their hips, as if they are getting ready to sit in a chair. The glute muscles are some of the most powerful muscles in the human body, so they should be used to absorb the impacts of landings rather than relying solely on the knee.
Why This Matters
You don't have to go crazy and correct every little flaw, but you do want to educate gymnasts about their body awareness when landing so that less optimal landing positions are minimized and unwanted joint stresses stay low overtime. When the joints are stacked and the muscles are engaged (and strong enough) to support the landings, the forces get absorbed and spread more efficiently and therefore there is less of a chance of injury to things like the low back, hip and knee.
What To Do About It
If you see that your gymnast has some of the faults mentioned in this article, it may be a good idea to incorporate some strengthening of the core, glutes and feet. Weakness in one area may cause the alignment to go off everywhere, so sometimes it doesn't take much.
Here are some good exercises (videos to come!)
Core:
dead bug
planks
Glutes:
clamshells
glute bridges
squats or KB deadlifts
Feet:
arch lifts
Conclusion
By running your gymnasts through the single-leg jump and landing test, you can quickly screen for movement patterns that may develop into potential lower extremity issues down the road. It's also a great drill to practice good form when landing on one leg, which happens with skills such as switch leaps or layout step outs.
A strong core and glutes are key components in maintaining proper alignment and landing mechanics.
Need Personalized Help?
Stay proactive in your training and injury prevention efforts to ensure a long and successful gymnastics career. For personalized guidance and support, Dr. Sarah offers gymnastics-specific 1:1 physical therapy, injury screening and strength and conditioning. Check out her website for more into or contact her today!
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