Effect of Stop-X Program on Jump-landing Mechanics and Quality of Movement in Injury-prone Male Cadets

Poor jump-landing mechanics and low movement quality are among the risk factors for injuries in cadets. This study aims to investigate the effect of the Stop-X program on jump-landing mechanics and movement quality in injury-prone male cadets.

This is a quasi-experimental study on 40 injury-prone male cadets, who were purposefully recruited and randomly assigned to the intervention (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. The Tuck Jump test and Functional Movement Screen (FMS) test were used to evaluate jump-landing mechanics and quality of movement, respectively. Then, the intervention group used the Stop-X program as a warm-up program for 8 weeks while the control group performed the routine warm-up during this period. Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests were used to examine the differences. The data were analyzed in SPSS software, version 24. 

There was a significant reduction in the Tuck jump test score (P=0.001) and a significant increase in the FMS score (P=0.001) in the intervention group compared to the control group in the post-test phase. Moreover, there was a significant reduction in the Tuck jump test score (P=0.001) and a significant increase in the FMS score (P=0.001) between the pre-test and post-test phases in the intervention group, but there were no significant differences in the control group (P>0.05).

The Stop-X program is effective in improving jump-landing mechanics and movement quality in male cadets, and can help reduce the risk factors of injuries in them.