ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomechanics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1703251
This article is part of the Research TopicLateral Ankle Sprain, Chronic Ankle Instability and Ankle Osteoarthritis: Unraveling Mechanisms and Exploring Management ApproachesView all 13 articles
The Influence of Sex on Lower Limb Biomechanical Characteristics During Single-Leg Drop Landing in Individuals with Unilateral Functional Ankle Instability
Provisionally accepted
- JiMei University, 厦门市, China
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Objective: To investigate sex differences in lower limb biomechanics during single-leg drop landing in individuals with unilateral Functional Ankle Instability (FAI). Methods: Twenty individuals with unilateral FAI (10 males/10 females) performed single-leg landings on unstable and stable limbs respectively. Kinematic data were captured using a Vicon motion capture system, and kinetic data were collected using force plates. Data were analyzed using a 2×2 (Sex×Side) mixed-design ANOVA. Results: Significant main effects of Sex were observed for hip flexion and abduction angles at both IC and peak vGRF, with females showing greater hip flexion (p = 0.005; p = 0.023) and smaller hip abduction (p = 0.026; p = 0.003) than males. A significant main effect of Sex was also found for ankle inversion at IC, with females exhibiting greater inversion than males (p = 0.005). For ankle plantarflexion at IC, a significant Sex × Side interaction was detected (p = 0.020); simple effects analysis revealed that females had reduced plantarflexion on the unstable side compared to their stable side (p = 0.010). For peak vGRF, a significant Sex × Side interaction was observed (p = 0.013); post-hoc tests indicated that females had higher peak vGRF on the unstable side than males (p = 0.008) and their own stable side (p < 0.001). No significant differences were observed for knee joint angles, T_vGRF, LR, ΔL, or Kleg (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Female individuals with FAI employ a hip-dominant compensatory strategy (increased flexion/reduced abduction) and exhibit greater ankle inversion than males. On the unstable side, they demonstrate reduced plantarflexion compared to their stable side. Males with FAI primarily adopt a joint stiffening strategy with restricted motion. Future research on FAI should incorporate sex differentiation in biomechanical assessments to develop targeted rehabilitation.
Keywords: Functional ankle instability, sex differences, Single-leg drop landing, Lower limb biomechanics, compensatory strategies
Received: 11 Sep 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cui, Wang, Lin, Liu and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Tao Liu, liutaoxm@jmu.edu.cn
Xiangdong Wang, wangxiangdong@jmu.edu.cn
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