TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - The effect of uphill and downhill walking on joint position sense
JO  - Journal of sport rehabilitation
A1  - Bottoni, Giuliamarta
A1  - Heinrich, Dieter
A1  - Kofler, Philipp
A1  - Hasler, Michael
A1  - Nachbauer, Werner
SP  - 349
EP  - 352
VL  - 24
IS  - 4
N2  - CONTEXT: During sport activity knee proprioception might worsen. This decrease in proprioceptive acuity negatively influences motor control and therefore may increase injury risk. Hiking is a common activity characterized by a higher intensity exercise phase during uphill walking and a lower intensity exercise phase during downhill walking. Pain and injuries are reported in hiking especially during the downhill phase. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a "hiking-fatigue-protocol" on joint position sense. <br><br>DESIGN: Repeated measures. Setting: University research laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-four non-professional sportswomen without knee injuries took part in this study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Joint position sense was tested at the beginning, after 30 minutes uphill walking and after 30 minutes downhill walking on a treadmill (continuous protocol). <br><br>RESULTS: After downhill walking joint position sense was significantly worse than in the test at the beginning (p = 0.035, α = 0.05). After uphill walking no differences were observed in comparison with the test at the beginning (p = 0.172, α = 0.05) or in comparison with the test after downhill walking (p = 0.165, α = 0.05). <br><br>CONCLUSION: Downhill walking causes impairment in knee joint position sense. Considering these results, injury prevention protocols for hiking should focus on maintaining and improving knee proprioception during the descending phase.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1056-6716
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jsr.2014-0192
ID  - ref1
ER  -