The effect of arm dominance on knee joint biomechanics during basketball block shot single-leg landing

<p> Single arm blocking is a key component of successful basketball defence. The player uses either their dominant or  non-dominant  arm  to  block  the  balllanding  on  a  common  leg.  Understanding  how  the  bio-physical  loads  of  the  landing leg change as a functionof the blocking arm will provide insights into potential injury risk of the lower limb. The aim ofthisstudy wasto investigate the effects of arm dominance on the biomechanical variables of injury risk of the lower limb, specifically the knee joint during the single-leg landing in female basketball players. Kinematic and kinetic data  were  collected  fromfourteen female basketball athletes (20.85 ± 1.35 years, 1.69 ± 0.06 m, 60.37  ±  7.75  kg),each performing  three  trials  of  a  dominant  arm  and  non-dominant  block  jump  landing  on  the  dominant  leg.  The  results  showed significantly higher anterior and medialground reaction force, knee joint flexion and abduction andlateral knee force  during  the  dominant  armlanding (p < 0.05). These findings highlight potential injury  risk  and  the  need  for  the  player to be more proficient atdominant arm block-shot landing. The player should aim to develop a larger landscape of technique to meet the demands of the game and facilitate a more effective and safer landing strategy. </p>