Abstract:
The knee is the most common injury site in athletes. The strength of the muscles
surrounding the knee joint is a critical component in the stabilization of the knee
joint. The prime aim of the study was to compare the quadriceps muscle strength
between injured and non-injured athletes in the Colombo district and to describe
common knee ligament injuries among them. Descriptive comparative study was
conducted in 3 selected universities in the Colombo district by grouping as injured
and non-injured including 40 participants in each group using systematic
consecutive sampling method. Data were collected using an intervieweradministered
questionnaire. A hand-held dynamometer was used to measure
quadriceps muscle strength. The mean age of the injured group was 22.9 years (SD
+/-1.25) while in non-injured was 23.18 years (SD +/- 1.44). The average practicing
hours was 2.28 hours per day (SD +/-0.45) and the number of days was 4.88 days
per week (SD+/-0.79). The majority of the participants had injured their dominant
side (77.5%). The mean quadriceps muscle strength of males in the injured group
(28.5kg, SD+/-9.72) was significantly lower than that of (36.7kg, SD+/-4.54) noninjured
group (p=0.001). Mean muscle strength in the female injured group (16.7kg,
SD+/-5.24) was significantly lower than (19.6kg, SD+/-4.55) the non-injured group
(p=0.026). The most common type of ligament injury was ACL (37.5%). The
majority of male participants who had ACL injury were participated in the 200 m
event (30%). The majority of female participants who had meniscal injury which
was the most common type, participated in 200m, long jump and 110m hurdles
events (20% in each). In athletes with knee ligament injury, quadriceps muscle
strength was lower than non-injured athletes. The most common ligament injury
was ACL injury. The majority of males had ACL injuries while the majority of
females had meniscal injuries followed by ACL injury.
