Evaluation of playground horizontal bar landing techniques of school-aged children

The primary purpose of the study was to evaluate the kinetic landing technique of 6-year-old children when dropping from a playground horizontal bar to a non-resilient surface. A secondary purpose was to determine the relationship between selected kinematic variables and vertical impact force. Participants were 4 female and 4 male volunteers (age = 78 +/- 5 mos; ht = 122 +/- 4.54 cm; wt = 24.6 +/- 2.47 kg) from the Denton Independent School District, TX. Landing techniques of 3 trials for each participant were videotaped with the trial of greatest force production used for analysis. Two AMTI forceplates were used to collect impact data from each leg separately. The PEAK Motus Motion Measurement System was used to evaluate the following variables: (a) force at impact, (b) knee position at peak impact, and (c) loading factors. One-way ANOVA tests were performed on the maximum forces produced from impact and the temporal variables from contact to stability. Visual inspection of force-time curves and videotaped trials provided support that forces created by landing activities might contribute to the injury potential of young children when dropping from playground horizontal bars to a non-resilient surface. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...