Preliminary Investigation on the Effect of Cognition on Jump-Landing Performance Using a Clinically Relevant Setup

Objective: Little is known about cognition’s effect on jump-landing movement patterns. Design: Participants completed three baseline cognitive tasks. Then, participants performed three jump-landing trials per condition (dual-task trials (DT)): Stroop Color Word test (SCWT), Symbol Digits Modalities test (SDMT), Brooks Visuospatial task (BVT), and no concurrent cognitive task (single-task). Main Outcome Measures: Total Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) scores were used to evaluate movement patterns. Participant’s reaction time (RT) for the jump-landing task was recorded. Results: LESS scores were not different between conditions (F 3, 17  = 1.77, p = 0.16). RT was different between DT-SCWT and single-task (difference = −0.107 sec, SD = 0.095) and DT-SDMT and single-task (difference = −0.164 sec, SD = 0.245). Additionally, correctness on the BVT (t 19  = 2.57, p = 0.019) and SDMT (t 19  = 2.93, p = 0.009) decreased significantly during the dual-task condition relative to baseline task scores. Conclusion: Individuals slowed their RT and were less accurate on the cognitive task during a dual-task condition to create an appropriate jump-landing movement.

Duke Scholars

Author Laura Stanley Pietrosimone Orthopaedic Surgery, Physical Therapy