Purpose: change of direction (cod) is a fundamental movement in team sports, particularly in basketball, where athletes must rapidly decelerate, reorient their bodies, and reaccelerate in response to dynamic game situations. among the biomechanical techniques used to perform cod, three primary patterns have been identified: the side-step, crossover cut, and split-step. therefore, this study aimed to identify the cod techniques naturally adopted by basketball players during pre-planned 135° directional changes, and to compare the associated lower-limb kinematics and execution time using imu-based motion analysis. methods: a total of 130 young basketball players (66 males, 64 females; aged 13–18) from bàsquet girona participated in the study. after a standardized 10-min warm-up, each player performed the v-cut test twice, consisting of a 25-m sprint with four pre-planned 135° cods every 5 m, executed as quickly as possible on an indoor court. kinematic data were collected using the mvn biomech link system (xsens technologies bv, netherlands), comprising 17 imus operating at 60 hz. joint kinematics (hip, knee, ankle) and execution time for each cod were analyzed. execution time was calculated between automatically identified initial and final frames. the frequency of each cod technique was expressed as a percentage of total cods. statistical parametric mapping (spm{t}) was used to compare time-continuous joint kinematics across techniques, while mann–whitney u tests assessed differences in execution time. statistical significance was set at p<0.05. results: two cod techniques emerged: side-step and split-step. among 1,038 valid cods, side-step was more frequent (72.1%) than split-step (27.9%). side-step also showed a significantly shorter execution time (median = 0.55 s; iqr = 0.13) compared to split-step (median = 0.67 s; iqr = 0.17) (p<0.001). kinematic analysis revealed that, in the pivot leg, side-step involved greater hip flexion, external rotation, and abduction during braking. side-step also showed lower knee flexion, higher internal rotation, and greater knee abduction. at the ankle, side-step was characterized by higher dorsiflexion and adduction during the pivot and push-off phases conclusions: side-step was the predominant cod technique, likely due to greater biomechanical efficiency, familiarity, or performance advantages, as reflected in its significantly shorter execution time. for 135° cods, it may represent a time-efficient strategy. nonetheless, the optimal technique depends on task demands, game context, and athlete-specific factors. in terms of kinematics, split-step showed reduced hip flexion and internal rotation during braking, which may increase acl loading by shifting stress to the knee. however, its double-leg landing could help distribute forces more evenly compared to the unilateral loading seen in side-step.
Kinematical analysis of 135° change of direction techniques in basketball
Zinno R.;
2025
Abstract
Purpose: change of direction (cod) is a fundamental movement in team sports, particularly in basketball, where athletes must rapidly decelerate, reorient their bodies, and reaccelerate in response to dynamic game situations. among the biomechanical techniques used to perform cod, three primary patterns have been identified: the side-step, crossover cut, and split-step. therefore, this study aimed to identify the cod techniques naturally adopted by basketball players during pre-planned 135° directional changes, and to compare the associated lower-limb kinematics and execution time using imu-based motion analysis. methods: a total of 130 young basketball players (66 males, 64 females; aged 13–18) from bàsquet girona participated in the study. after a standardized 10-min warm-up, each player performed the v-cut test twice, consisting of a 25-m sprint with four pre-planned 135° cods every 5 m, executed as quickly as possible on an indoor court. kinematic data were collected using the mvn biomech link system (xsens technologies bv, netherlands), comprising 17 imus operating at 60 hz. joint kinematics (hip, knee, ankle) and execution time for each cod were analyzed. execution time was calculated between automatically identified initial and final frames. the frequency of each cod technique was expressed as a percentage of total cods. statistical parametric mapping (spm{t}) was used to compare time-continuous joint kinematics across techniques, while mann–whitney u tests assessed differences in execution time. statistical significance was set at p<0.05. results: two cod techniques emerged: side-step and split-step. among 1,038 valid cods, side-step was more frequent (72.1%) than split-step (27.9%). side-step also showed a significantly shorter execution time (median = 0.55 s; iqr = 0.13) compared to split-step (median = 0.67 s; iqr = 0.17) (p<0.001). kinematic analysis revealed that, in the pivot leg, side-step involved greater hip flexion, external rotation, and abduction during braking. side-step also showed lower knee flexion, higher internal rotation, and greater knee abduction. at the ankle, side-step was characterized by higher dorsiflexion and adduction during the pivot and push-off phases conclusions: side-step was the predominant cod technique, likely due to greater biomechanical efficiency, familiarity, or performance advantages, as reflected in its significantly shorter execution time. for 135° cods, it may represent a time-efficient strategy. nonetheless, the optimal technique depends on task demands, game context, and athlete-specific factors. in terms of kinematics, split-step showed reduced hip flexion and internal rotation during braking, which may increase acl loading by shifting stress to the knee. however, its double-leg landing could help distribute forces more evenly compared to the unilateral loading seen in side-step.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
