Study On Gender Differences In Proprioception Of Lower Limbs And Neuromuscular Control

Background and study purposesIt is found that at the same training volume, the injury incidence of lowerextremities in females is2to8times higher than males. Among many of the factorsassociated to injuries, the decrease in joint stability and neuromuscular control are oneof the important risk factors. Postural control and joint stability are realized by acombination of proprioceptive sensibility, central nervous system and musculoskeletalactivities. Proprioception and neuromuscular control are critical in maintaining thejoint stability and neuromuscular control functional. Studying the possible genderdifference in proprioception and neuromuscular control has become an importantresearch topic to researchers in sports biomechanics and sports medicine. Howeverpublished studies in this topic still are lacking. The purposes of the study were tostudy the gender differences in proprioception and neuromuscular control bycomparing the measurements of proprioception of the knee and angle joint,neuromuscular reaction to anterior-posterior perturbation, muscle strength of thelower extremity, and neuromuscular control capacity between young health femalesand males. The comparisons were conducted between the measurements in differencemenstrual cycle phases of the female subjects and male subjects. The study findingswould add the understanding to the proprioception and neuromuscular controlcapacity of young healthy males and females. The results from this study contributedto exploring the mechanisms of the gender difference of injury rate and wouldcontribute to injury prevention.MethodA total of24young healthy college students voluntarily participate in the study.By monitoring the basal body temperature of female subjects for3consecutivemonths combine with ovulation paper test, the ovulatory phase was determined. Thestarting and ending date of menstrual cycle was recorded. Measurement in both groups included1) anthropometric parameters (parameters: height, weight, BMI);2)proprioception presented as kinesthesia of the knee and ankle on dominant leg;3)neuromuscular coordination presented as the single leg jumping times within asquare pane;4) neuromuscular reaction presented by muscle latency of the tibialisanterior muscle, gastrocnemius muscle, rectus femoris, semitendinosus muscle andgluteus maximum muscle on dominant leg to perturbation;5) muscle strength ofthe knee and ankle joints indicated by the peak torque of muscle strength. Data in themale subjects were collected once only. In female subject, the measurements wereconducted in each of the menstrual phases. ANOVA with repeated measurementwas used to determine the differences among follicular phase, ovulatory phase andluteal phase in female subjects. Independent t-test was applied to examine anysignificant difference in the measurements between male and female groups.Significance was set at p<0.05.ResultsA) Comparisons between male and female groups1) Proprioception of knee and ankle joint(1) In follicle period, there is no significant difference in the measurements betweentwo groups;(2) In ovulatory period, the proprioception test values of knee joint and ankle jointshowed significantly difference between two groups(P<0.05), female groupsshowed more sensitive proprioception than male groups on dorsal flexure(P<0.01)(3) In luteal phase, the proprioceptive measurement values of knee jointand anklejointshowed significantly difference between two groups(P<0.05), femalegroups showed more sensitive proprioception than male groups on kneeextension, plantar flexion and dorsal flexure (P<0.01).2) Neuromuscular coordination(1) In follicular phase, no significant difference was found between themeasurements from male and female groups;(2) In ovulatory period, the square hop test scores in female group was significantlylarger than that of male group(P<0.01); (3) In luteal phase, the square hop test scores in female group was significantlylarger than that of men group(P<0.01).3) Neuromuscular reaction: muscle latency(1) The neuromuscular reaction in the anterior direction perturbation in all measuredmuscle were significantly faster in male group than that measured in follicularphase of female group(P<0.05); and to posterior direction perturbation malegroups had significantly faster neuromuscular reaction time in in all measuredmuscle were significantly faster in male group than that measured in follicularphase of female group(P<0.05).(2) To anterior direction perturbation male group showed significantly shorterneuromuscular reaction time in anterior tibial muscle, rectus femoris andsemitendinosus, compared to the measurement in ovulatory phase of femalegroup(P<0.05); And to posterior direction pertubation, the neuromuscularreaction time in anterior tibial muscle,rectus femoris and gluteus maximus inmale group was faster than the measurement in ovulatory phase of femalegroup(P<0.05).(3) Compared to the measurement in luteal phase of female grooup, male group hadfaster neuromuscular reaction in anterior tibial muscle to forward directionpertubation; and to backward direction perturbation, the neuromuscular reactionof gastrocnemius, rectus femoris, semitendinosus and gluteus maximuswas faster in male group(P<0.05).4) Muscle strength of knee joint and ankle joint, Male group showed larger relativepeak torque of isokinetic muscular power in knee flexion and extension jointand ankle joint (P<0.01).B) Comparison of the measurements within female group(1) Proprioception of knee and ankle joint: in luteal phase the proprioceprion wasthe best; and a significant difference was found in ankle joint dorsiflexion(P<0.05).(2) neuromuscular coordination: in luteal phase, the value of square-hop test hasimproved significantly than other phases(P<0.05).(3) no significant differences in neuromuscular reaction time of the measured muscles was found between the data collected from different menstrual cycle phases.(4) muscle strength of knee joint and ankle joint: there were no significantdifferences in muscle strength of knee joint and ankle joint, except peak torque ofisokinetic muscular power in knee extension at180°/s was significant differencecomparing to other two phases(P<0.05)Conclusion1）Considering the impact of the menstrual cycle, in follicular phase, no significantgender difference in the proprioception and neuromuscular control was found.While ovulation and luteal phase showed a remarkable better proprioception infemale group. The male group showed significantly faster neuromuscular reactionand stronger muscle strength of knee joint and ankle joint than the measurements ofany of the menstrual cycle phases in female group. The findings indicate that there isgender differences in proprioception and neuromuscular reaction which might beassociated to the gender difference in injury rate.2) Female group showed better proprioception and neuromuscular reaction as well asmuscle strength in luteal phase comparing to the measurements in the other phases.The results suggest that proprioception and neuromuscular function are influenced byby menstrual cycle.