Abstract
As knee injuries remain common in athletic populations, understanding movement patterns associated with joint mechanics is essential. Dynamic knee valgus (DKV), a frontal-plane movement pattern linked to knee injury mechanisms, has been extensively studied in ACL injury biomechanics and landing mechanics, yet its relationship to prior injury in Division III athletes remains unclear. This study examined whether Division III collegiate athletes with and without a history of knee injury differed in DKV angles during double-leg and single-leg landing tasks. Participants completed standardized landing tasks recorded with cameras positioned in the frontal-plane. Hip-knee-ankle angles were measured using an ImageJ protocol, and statistical analyses were conducted using ANOVAs and linear regression models. No statistically significant differences in DKV angles were observed across injury history, knee pain, biological sex, height, or weight. These findings suggest that frontal-plane knee mechanics in this cohort were not strongly influenced by demographic or anthropometric factors, highlighting the role of individual movement variability. Future studies should incorporate larger and more balanced samples as well as neuromuscular and kinetic measures to better understand the factors that influence knee injuries.
Advisor
Brandley, Nicholas
Department
Biology
Recommended Citation
Pordash, Chloe, "Dynamic Knee Valgus in Division III Athletes: Role of Injury History, Knee Pain, Biological Sex, Height and Weight" (2026). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 13550.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/13550
Disciplines
Anatomy | Biomechanics | Kinesiology | Sports Sciences
Publication Date
2026
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2026 Chloe Pordash