Falling and Rolling as a Strategy to Reduce Lower Extremity Landing Forces

One of the most common knee injuries is the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, which can occur in non-contact jump-landings. Safely falling and rolling can potentially reduce the risk of ACL injuries, for falling and rolling in parkour athletes has shown decreased knee loading upon landing. Twelve recreational athletes were tested so far. Each subject wore 16 retroreflective markers and completed jump-landing tasks on force plates to measure knee loading. It was found that falling and rolling reduced vertical ground reaction forces when compared to normal landing. This indicates that falling and rolling may be used as a strategy to reduce the risk of ACL injuries. Athletic coaches and physical therapists can utilize this information to help reduce sport-related ACL injuries.