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LEAP(Lower Extremity Assessment Program) |
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Welcome to the Old Dominion University Sports Medicine Research Laboratory’s Lower Extremity Assessment Program (LEAP).
LEAP Mission
The mission of the ODU LEAP is to scientifically explore youth athletes jump-landing biomechanical and neuromuscular motion patterns using sound scientific methodology. The goal is to identify the mechanisms underlying musculoskeletal injuries (specifically anterior cruciate ligament “ACL” knee injuries) and to discover and develop effective interventions for prevention and treatment of these injuries
LEAP Vision Statement
Our goal is to educate the athletically active sports community concerning lower extremity musculoskeletal injuries. The current LEAP focus remains:
- Perform scientific sports medicine research on youth athletes jump-landing technique in order to evaluate individuals potentially at-risk for ACL injury.
- Utilize these findings to implement educational programs and therapeutic interventions.
- To locally, nationally, and internationally collaborate our efforts to prevent lower extremity injury, enhance performance, and increase the quality of safe play for all youth athletes.
Why LEAP?
The Old Dominion University LEAP Project was initiated in June 2004 in order to implement a strategic scientific research agenda aimed at understanding lower extremity motion patterns. The specific goal of this project is to decrease the number of ACL injuries incurred by youth athletes. The number of females participating in athletics has increased dramatically since the passage of Title IX in the early 1970’s. Females have a 2- to 10-fold greater risk of rupturing their ACL than males performing comparable sports-related activities. The factors that predispose female athletes to higher ACL injury occurrences have not yet been defined, yet multiple hypotheses isolating numerous movement risk factors have been proposed.
LEAP Purpose
The purpose of ODU LEAP is to compare the movement patterns of male and female youth athletes of various age groups performing various jump-landing functional tasks (e.g., basketball rebound, volleyball block, and soccer pivoting) to determine if there are inherent biomechanical technique differences between individuals that may predispose youth athletes to knee injuries, The information derived from these project’s will be very important for us to understand adolescent gender and maturation differences in lower extremity motion patterns in the development of an early-life jump-landing educational program aimed at decreasing the risk factors that predispose female athletes to increased risk for knee (ACL) injuries.
LEAP Where?
The Old Dominion University Sports Medicine Research Laboratory (ODU SMRL) within the Department of Exercise Science, Sport, and Physical Education opened its doors in July 2003. The 1700 sq.ft. facility, located on the ground floor (near Powhatan Avenue ) of the Health and Physical Education building, is utilized by faculty and graduate students in various academic programs (Athletic Training, Exercise Science, and Physical Therapy).
Get Your Youth Athletes Involved – Help to Prevent Injuries!
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James A. Oñate, PhD, ATC |
Bonnie Van Lunen, PhD, ATC |
