Athletes and military recruits are often afflicted by stress fractures. Rigorous\ntraining programs consisting of increased repetitive mechanical loading may\ncontribute to the high incidence of tibia stress fracture in the athletic and army\npopulations. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of incremented\nheight on tibia bone strains and strain rates during landing. Seven\nhealthy college males performed drop-landing tasks from 26 cm, 39 cm, and\n52 cm, respectively. Tibia bone strains and strain rates were obtained through\nsubject-specific multi-body dynamic computer simulations and finite element\nanalyses. One-way repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted. Both 39 cm\nand 52 cm conditions resulted in larger tibia bone strains and strain rates than\nthe 26 cm condition. The 52 cm condition also resulted in greater bone strains\nand strain rates than the 39 cm condition. A dose-response relationship exists\nbetween incremented landing height and bone strains and strain rates. Activities\nconsisting of high impact landings are associated with increased risk of\ndeveloping tibia stress fracture. When designing training programs involved\nhigh impact activities, athletes and military recruits should consider the effect\nof impact loading on tibia bone health and giving enough time for bones to\nadapt to new trainings.
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