Knee Stability in Contact & Change of Direction Sports

Knee Stability in Contact & Change of Direction Sports

Hip and knee stability is crucial in contact sports as much for ensuring peak performance as injury risk reduction. From a performance point of view joint stability in the lower extremity ensures efficient change of direction manoeuvres and good foot work as less force is lost. To put it simply this equates to faster ground contact time and quicker acceleration. From an injury prevention point of view good knee stability greatly reduces the risk of trauma to the joint during tackles – particularly side impacts.

From a strength and conditioning point of view it’s important to cover all bases with athletes training for contact and change of direction sports. A good program needs to not only maximise power and acceleration by developing quads, glutes and hamstrings; but also needs to facilitate optimum knee stability by strengthening muscles through their full range of motion, promoting equal development of lateral quads and VM (Vastus medialis or medial quad) to ensure the patella tracks correctly and develop good patterning of Glute med and VM which are key hip and knee stabilisers.

Pistol Squat

This video looks at the pistol squat – an example of a good accessory exercise for contact sport athletes looking to improve their knee stability. Having good knee stability is crucial from both a performance and an injury prevention point of view as it will ensure:

– more efficient change of direction manoeuvres
– better foot work
– quicker acceleration when changing direction as less force is lost
– less chance of injury in tackles – particularly side impacts
– reduced lower limb injuries across the board

From a conditioning point of view as well as taking care of everything required to get the athlete match fit, fast and agile we need to also address knee stability either through a patterning based program early on where there is a larger deficit or the appropriate accessory work to complement the big lifts incorporated in the S&C program. Additionally it’s important to have the eccentric control required to decelerate effectively therefore reducing the strain placed upon the knee during normal game play.

To address knee stability we look to promote equal development of Vastus laterals and Vastus medialis (outer and inner quads) to ensure good knee tracking. In addition to this we also look for good lower quad control, and good function of VM (inner or medial quad) and Glute medius; one of the key lateral hip stabilisers. Finally we also look to ensure there is good hip and ankle stability as well as core control as a deficit in any of these can affect knee stability.

The pistol squat is merely one example of an exercise we use in the stability component of programming for our change of direction athletes. We still want to include all the big lifts to ensure we’re developing power and acceleration however including some single leg exercises in multiple planes ensures we don’t leave any holes that could reduce performance or increase injury risk.

Key Consideration for S&C For Change of Direction and Contact Sports

This week we’ve been looking at knee stability and it’s importance for athletes training for change of direction and/or contact sports. In addition to undertaking a periodised strength and conditioning program which all necessary elements to ensure the athlete is match-fit and has good acceleration and power going into the start of the season, lower body stability also needs to be addressed.

– Equal development of lateral quad, Rec fem and VM (in simple terms at the outermost and innermost quad are the key muscles here)
– Good hip and knee stability via the development of glute medius (one of the key stabilising muscles on the side of the hip) and VM (inner quad).
– Development of good eccentric hamstring and quad control to decrease the impact of forces at the knee during deceleration.

In practical terms:

– Compliment your prime lifts with appropriate accessory lifts so that you are developing power and stability in your programming.
– Ensure you use multiple planes of movement in your program.
– In addition to the standard double leg stance exercises like Deadlifts and Squats ensure you include a variety of both body weight and weighted single leg exercises.
– Always use exercises that are appropriate for your level of progression and training history – you will ALWAYS gain far more from doing simple exercises very well than performing ‘advanced’ exercises poorly.