ارزو شجاعی عربشاه خان

Abstract:

Objective: Sports injuries, especially in the knee area, cause high costs for athletes and clubs and can make it difficult to continue sports activities.   Injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament tears, knee arthritis, and meniscal injuries commonly occur due to dynamic knee valgus.   Recent research has shown that landing with dynamic knee valgus causes weakness and possible impairment of dynamic movements of the lower lim   The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of mental imagery exercises on LESS and tuck jump scores in female athletes with dynamic knee valgus.

Methods: This study was conducted using a quasi-experimental method in the form of a pre-test-post-test study and a control group. In this study, ۳۶ female athletes in the age range of ۱۲ to ۱۸ years without injury in the lower limbs voluntarily participated in this study. After performing screening tests that included single leg squats, the participants were divided into three control groups, mental exercises, mental and physical exercises.   The participants of the training groups practiced ۳ sessions a week for ۶ weeks.   The mental imagery exercise protocol was a progressive combination of physical exercise and imagery based on previous studies.   Their lower body kinematics were measured in the LESS and Tuck jump tests using ۲ ۴K quality cameras at a distance of ۳ meters from the jumping place and the jumping box at a height of ۳۰ cm in the gym environment.   All data (knee valgus angle and LESS and TUCK JUMP scores) were analyzed by Kinovea software.   Data analysis was done using    version ۲۶ software with a confidence interval of ۹۵%.

Results:   The results showed that mental imagery and mental imagery exercises with physical exercises had a good effect on dynamic knee valgus and LESS and TUCK JUMP scores of athletes compared to the control group (P?۰۵).   However, no correlation was found between the two groups of mental imagery exercises and mental imagery exercises with physical exercises.   (P?۰۵).   According to the findings of this research, it is recommended to use corrective exercises with visual feedback to improve the results of dynamic balance in female athletes.   But in other cases, more study is needed.

Conclusion: The use of mental imagery exercises can reduce the score of LESS and TUCK JUMP and the dynamic valgus angle of the knee and ultimately prevent lower limb injuries.

Keywords: injury, female athlete, knee valgus, mental training