Drop jump coordination differences in professional and amateur athletes

Purpose. The drop jump is a symmetrical exercise requiring reactivity and accurate motor control. It involves a rapid sequence of eccentric- and concentric contractions to generate kinetic energy, which is immediately used in the jumping phase. As a result, it is commonly used in both training programs and athlete evaluations. Although its execution has been extensively studied in the literature, further research is needed to confirm the differences in performance between professional athletes (PA) and amateur athletes (AA), particularly in terms of inter-joint coordination and, consequently, left-right symmetry. Methods.To this end, we applied elements of kinematic network analysis to evaluate the bilateral synchronization of movement in the shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and ankles, comparing PA and AA. Borrowing from previous studies that used network theory to assess kinematic relationships between body parts during movement, we analyzed the coordination between left and right joints during the drop jump movement of each participant. Results. Using the permutation test we compared the PA group to the AA groups, to verify whether there were differences in coordination, and which joints were involved if it was the case. We found two out of five joints showed significant differences in left-right coordination. The results showed that PA exhibited greater coordination at the shoulders and hips, suggesting a higher level of control to better exploit the upward thrust of the legs and prevent injuries. Conclusions. This study demonstrates that professional athletes display superior left-right coordination in the shoulders and hips during the drop jump, suggesting that enhanced joint coordination in these regions may contribute to higher athletic performance