Role of the penultimate foot contact during change of direction : implications on performance and risk of injury

Dos'Santos, A; Thomas, C; Comfort, P; Jones, PA

Abstract

Most change of direction biomechanical investigations and current technique guidelines focus
on the role of the final foot contact (plant foot contact). However, it is evident that the
braking characteristics during the penultimate foot contact play an integral role in
deceleration prior to directional changes ≥ 60°; and can therefore, be described as a
“preparatory step”. In this review, we examine the role of the penultimate foot contact on
change of direction performance and associated biomechanical injury risk factors, and
provide technical guidelines for coaching the “preparatory step” during change of direction,
to enhance performance and reduce risk of injury.

Citation

Dos'Santos, A., Thomas, C., Comfort, P., & Jones, P. (2019). Role of the penultimate foot contact during change of direction : implications on performance and risk of injury. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 41(1), 87-104. https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0000000000000395

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Feb 1, 2019
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jul 22, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 29, 2020
• Journal: Strength and Conditioning Journal
• Print ISSN: 1524-1602
• Electronic ISSN: 1533-4295
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 87-104
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0000000000000395
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0000000000000395
• Related Public URLs: http://www.nsca-scj.org/