Marc Norcross

Oregon State University | OSU · School of Biological and Population Health Sciences

Objective To determine whether individuals with a prior concussion exhibit biomechanical alterations in balance, gait and jump-landing tasks with and without cognitive demands that are associated with risk of lateral ankle sprain (LAS) and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Five elect...

Context Non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury often occurs during rapid deceleration and change of direction maneuvers. These activities require an athlete to generate braking forces to slow down their center of mass and change direction in a dynamic environment. During pre-planned cutting, athletes can use the penultimate step for br...

https://meridian.allenpress.com/jat/article/58/6s/S-1/493599/Supplement

Context: Most ACL injuries occur from a non-contact mechanism and are commonly observed during cutting maneuvers. Reactive cuts place greater sagittal plane strain on the ACL compared to planned cuts. During planned cuts, athletes can reduce unfavorable sagittal plane loading forces during the final step by arresting their center of mass velocity d...

https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol8/iss11/49/ DeRosia, K; Mulligan, CMS; Johnson, ST; and Norcross, MF (2023) "RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CENTER OF MASS HEIGHT AND CUTTING ANGLE DURING PLANNED AND REACTIVE SIDE-STEP CUTTING," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 8: Iss. 11, Article 49.

Athanasiadis, D; Mulligan, CMS; and Norcross, MF (2023) "DIFFERENCES IN DECELERATION BETWEEN THE PENULTIMATE AND FINAL STEPS OF REACTIVE AND PLANNED CROSSOVER CUTS," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 8: Iss. 11, Article 62. Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol8/iss11/62

Objective: To describe the purpose, methods, and impact of the Pac-12 Health Analytics Program (HAP) approach on sports medicine informatics, research, analytics, and health care operations. Background: Sports injury surveillance initiatives have been supporting the clinical research community in sports medicine for nearly four decades. Whereas...

Background: Tailored, challenging and progressed exercise programs addressing risk factors are recommended for preventing falls in community-dwelling older adults. Knowing the biomechanical demands of exercises commonly performed in efficacious falls prevention programs provides evidence for exercise prescription. Methods: Twenty-one non-sedenta...

Institutions sponsoring athletics must be prepared for emergencies. Due to this, more governing bodies are requiring a sports-related emergency action plan (EAP). Yet, the effects of these policies are unknown. We compared adoption of EAPs and associated best practices in Oregon high schools before and after a policy requiring an EAP. Athletic dire...

Context The single-leg triple hop is a commonly used functional task following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). However, recent research suggests that individuals may utilize a compensatory propulsion strategy to mask underlying quadriceps dysfunction and achieve symmetrical hop performance. Objective Evaluate the performance and...

Introduction: Greater explosive and peak quadriceps muscle strength have been found to be associated with landing mechanics that are thought to lower anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk. Higher total sagittal-plane lower extremity (LE) energy absorption (EA) throughout the entire landing phase has been suggested to minimize the loading on...

Context: The cross-over triple hop (COTH) is a commonly used functional test because it is a multi-planar task that provides the clinician insight into between-limb function following ACL reconstruction (ACLR). Females postACLR may demonstrate unfavorable frontal plane movement strategies during multi-planar tasks despite returning to unrestricted...

Context Emerging evidence suggests that lower quadriceps rate of torque development (RTD) following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) may be associated with altered landing mechanics. However, the influence of quadriceps RTD magnitude and RTD limb symmetry on landing mechanics limb symmetry remains unknown. Objective To assess the i...

This study investigated the influences of explosive quadriceps strength and landing task on sagittal plane knee biomechanics. Forty female participants performed isometric knee extensions on a dynamometer and had lower extremity biomechanics assessed during double-leg jump-landings (DLJL) and single-leg jump-cuts (SLJC). Explosive quadriceps streng...

Lower explosive quadriceps strength, quantified as rate of torque development (RTD), may contribute to landing mechanics associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk. However, the association between quadriceps RTD and landing mechanics during high demand tasks remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the influence of qua...

Context The clinical practice of athletic training involves the daily application of public health (PH) principles and practices. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in understanding and promoting the intersections of athletic training and PH. Objective The primary objective of this article is to share the path taken by the Orego...

Lesser quadriceps explosive strength, quantified as the rate of torque development (RTD), following ACL reconstruction may result in asymmetrical landing mechanics. Greater asymmetry in net internal knee moment at initial contact (KM at IC) has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of second ACL injury. However, no previous study ha...

Statement of Purpose Emergency medical services (EMS) often respond to injuries sustained during team athletics and sports. The interval between injury and EMS arrival allows on-scene responders to provide immediate care. Methods/Approach We identified EMS runs associated with team or group sports (ICD-10 activity code Y93.6x), to a school or an a...

Purpose A functional test battery (FTB) has been proposed to evaluate the readiness of return to activity after ACLR. However, there is limited evidence documenting the usefulness of an FTB. Therefore, the purpose of the current investigation was to compare knee joint landing biomechanics asymmetry during double-leg jump landing (DLJL) and single-l...

Background Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention programs (IPPs) are generally accepted as being valuable for reducing injury risk. However, significant methodological limitations of previous meta-analyses raise questions about the efficacy of these programs and the extent to which meeting current best-practice ACL IPP recommendations...

Context: A recent meta-analysis of meta-analyses (MAofMAs) concluded that ACL injury prevention programs (IPPs) reduce the risk of ACL injury by 50%. However, questions surround the validity of this risk reduction estimate given that the analysis did not exclude pooled data from studies using lower quality research designs- despite evidence that an...

Background: Increasing athletic trainer (AT) services in high schools has attracted widespread interest across the nation as an effective instrument to manage injuries and improve children's health, but there is a lack of evidence on potential medical savings. Our study aimed to address this knowledge gap and provide evidence of AT impacts on medi...

Context: Hiring athletic trainers (ATs) in high schools may lower medical payments by third-party payers such as Medicaid or commercial insurers by reducing injury risks or may increase medical payments due to more referrals to other health care providers. To date, evidence is lacking on the actual financial effect of high school ATs based on an a...

Background Soccer and basketball have two of the highest rates of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury among United States high school sports. The U.S. National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) position statement on prevention of ACL injuries advises preventive training for soccer and basketball athletes – with a specific emphasis on female...

Background Structured multicomponent injury prevention programs (IPP) are efficacious for reducing lower extremity (LE) injury risk in athletes, but are not commonly used by high school athletic team coaches in the United States. One barrier to structured IPP adoption is that many coaches report that they incorporate IPP activities into their team’...

Experiential learning provides undergraduate students rich opportunities to enhance their knowledge of core concepts in kinesiology. Beyond these outcomes, it enables students to gain exposure to, build empathy for, and affect the lives of individuals from diverse populations. However, the development, management, and systematic evaluation of exper...

Background: A functional test battery (FTB) has been proposed to determine return to full activity following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). However, there is little biomechanical evidence of FTB usefulness. The purpose of this study was to compare knee joint landing and cutting biomechanics between ACLR patients who passed (ACLR-...

Background Lower extremity injuries are common among runners. Recent trends in footwear have included minimal and maximal running shoe types. Maximal running shoes are unique because they provide the runner with a highly cushioned midsole in both the rearfoot and forefoot. However, little is known about how maximal shoes influence running biomechan...

Context: While significant relationships between knee (KE) and ankle (AE) extensor rate of torque development (RTD) and vertical jump height have been identified, hip extensor (HE) RTD has not been associated with vertical jump performance. Though it was proposed that this might be due to the HE having a greater influence on horizontal versus verti...

The objective was to determine estrogen's influence on control of a skeletal muscle through measurements of motorneuron excitability (H:M ratio) and presynaptic inhibition (PI). Estrogen serum concentrations were measured at menses and ovulation of female subjects and compared to male controls. Data was analyzed from 12 females and 13 males reporti...

Numerous studies have investigated anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk by examining gender differences in knee and hip biomechanics during a side-step cutting manoeuvre since it is known that ACL injury often occurs during such a task. Recent investigations have also examined lower extremity (LE) biomechanics during side-step cutting in in...

In the original publication the name of the fourth reviewer was incorrectly published.

The use of a lower extremity injury prevention program by female soccer players before the completion of puberty may mitigate movement changes that develop during puberty and contribute to post-pubescent females’ greater anterior cruciate ligament-injury risk. It is unknown whether club soccer coaches are using injury prevention programs with young...

To compare the maximum Hoffmann reflex (H-reflex) and the maximum M-wave (H : M) ratio of the H-reflex in men and women when all participants showed similar saliva levels of estradiol and progesterone. This is a cohort design study involving healthy men and women with a mean age of 22.4±3.4 years. The H : M ratio of the H-reflex was assessed in wom...

Lower extremity injuries have immediate and long-term consequences. Lower extremity movement assessments can assist with identifying individuals at greater injury risk and guide injury prevention interventions. Movement assessments identify similar movement characteristics and evidence suggests large magnitude kinematic relationships exist between...

Context: A Functional Test Battery (FTB) has been proposed to determine the readiness of patients for full activity following ACL reconstruction (ACLR). However, the knee joint landing biomechanics of ACLR patients who have passed (ACLR-Pass) or failed (ACLR-Fail) a FTB before and after exercise have not been investigated. Thus, it is difficult to...

Context: Emerging evidence suggests that explosive strength of the quadriceps, quantified as the rate of torque development (RTD), is associated with sagittal plane knee kinematics related to ACL injury risk. Initial work from our laboratory indicates that healthy females with lesser quadriceps RTD land with lesser knee flexion angle at initial con...

Background: Best practice recommendations for sports-related emergency preparation include implementation of venue-specific emergency action plans (EAPs), access to early defibrillation, and first responders-specifically coaches-trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator (AED) use. The objective was to determine...

Objectives: Normalization of joint moments to reduce anthropometric influences prior to making group comparisons is a widely-accepted practice. However, a seminal prospective study reported greater non-normalized knee abduction moment (KAM) in nine females who subsequently sustained an ACL injury. It is not clear if this finding may have been infl...

Objective: To introduce athletic trainers to the benefits of using a population-based approach to injury and illness prevention and to explore opportunities for partnering with public health professionals on these initiatives. Background: Athletic trainers play leading roles in individual injury and illness prevention but are less familiar with...

Background: The relationships between hip abductor and extensor strength and frontal plane hip and knee motions that are associated with anterior cruciate ligament injury risk are equivocal. However, previous research on these relationships has evaluated relatively low-level movement tasks and peak torque rather than a time-critical strength measu...

Context: The NATA encourages coaches to receive training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), automated external defibrillator (AED) use, and first aid (FA) so they can provide emergency care (EC) for student-athletes until a medical professional arrives. AED availability at athletic venues is also essential as early defibrillation (<4 minutes)...

Despite documented efficacy of injury prevention programs (IPPs) to reduce sport-related lower extremity injury risk, there is evidence of a lack of widespread IPP adoption by high school coaches. This study identified factors related to non-adoption of IPPs by assessing coaches' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to prevention programs an...

The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationships between maximum vertical jump height and 1) rate of torque development (RTD) calculated during two time intervals, 0-50ms (RTD50) and 0-200ms (RTD200) after torque onset; and 2) peak torque (PT) for each of the triple extensor muscle groups. Thirty recreationally active individuals p...

During explosive movements and potentially injurious situations, the ability to rapidly generate torque is critical. Previous research has suggested that different phases of rate of torque development (RTD) are differentiately controlled. However, the extent to which supraspinal and spinal mechanisms predict RTD at different time intervals is unkno...

Previous observations suggest that females utilize a more erect initial landing posture than males with sex differences in landing posture possibly related to sex-specific energy absorption (EA) strategies. However, sex-specific EA strategies have only been observed when accompanied by sex differences in initial landing posture. This study (a) inve...

Context: Rate of torque development (RTD) is an indicator of muscle performance which quantifies the ability of an individual to generate joint torque during a specific time period. It is often calculated during the initial 50 and 200 milliseconds (ms) of isometric contraction in studies related to injury prevention and athletic performance, respec...

The use of injury prevention programs (IPPs) during organized warm-up activities is encouraged to reduce lower extremity injury risk. However, the prevalence of structured IPP use by high school teams in Oregon is unknown. 1) Describe the warm-up practices of Oregon high school teams; and 2) evaluate if these behaviors are influenced by team access...

Context: Greater hamstrings stiffness is associated with less anterior tibial translation during controlled perturbations. However, it is unclear how hamstrings stiffness influences anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) loading mechanisms during dynamic tasks. Objective: To evaluate the influence of hamstrings stiffness on landing biomechanics relate...

Greater hamstring musculotendinous stiffness is associated with lesser ACL loading mechanisms. Stiffness is enhanced via training, but previous investigations evaluated tendon rather than musculotendinous stiffness, and none involved the hamstrings. We evaluated the effects of isometric and isotonic training on hamstring stiffness and ACL loading m...

Context: Greater sagittal-plane energy absorption (EA) during the initial impact phase (INI) of landing is consistent with sagittal-plane biomechanics that likely increase anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) loading, but it does not appear to influence frontal-plane biomechanics. We do not know whether frontal-plane INI EA is related to high-risk fro...

Context: Eccentric muscle actions of the lower extremity absorb kinetic energy during landing. Greater total sagittal-plane energy absorption (EA) during the initial impact phase (INI) of landing has been associated with landing biomechanics considered high risk for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. We do not know whether groups with differ...

Background: Excessive trunk motion and deficits in neuromuscular control (NMC) of the lumbopelvic hip complex are risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. However, the relationship between trunk motion, NMC of the lumbopelvic hip complex, and triplanar knee loads during a sidestep cutting task has not been examined. Purpose: To...

Context : Greater hamstrings stiffness is associated with less anterior tibial translation during controlled perturbations. However, it is unclear how hamstrings stiffness influences anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) loading mechanisms during dynamic tasks. Objective : To evaluate the influence of hamstrings stiffness on landing biomechanics related...

The effects of hip muscle strength and activation on anterior cruciate ligament injury biomechanics, particularly knee valgus loading, have been reported in isolation and with equivocal results. However, the combination of these factors influences joint biomechanics. This investigation evaluated the influence of hip strength on gluteal activation a...

To determine the effect of oral contraceptives (OC) on hamstring neuromechanics and lower extremity stiffness across the menstrual cycle (MC). Causal comparative. Research laboratory. Thirty, healthy, normally menstruating female volunteers who were using OC (OC group, n = 15) or not (non-OC group, n = 15). Stiffness and hamstring neuromechanics we...

Hormonal fluctuations are one potential reason why females might have a greater rate of noncontact ACL injury. The hamstrings are capable of limiting anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) loading. This study examined whether relationships existed between reproductive hormones (estradiol-β-17, free testosterone, and progesterone) and hamstring neuromecha...

A smaller amount of ankle-dorsiflexion displacement during landing is associated with less knee-flexion displacement and greater ground reaction forces, and greater ground reaction forces are associated with greater knee-valgus displacement. Additionally, restricted dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) is associated with greater knee-valgus displacem...

Excessive anterior tibial translation is a prospective risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament injury, thus factors which limit this motion may reduce injury risk. Stiffness quantifies a muscle's resistance to lengthening, and stiffer hamstrings may resist changes in length induced by anterior tibial translation more effectively. Anterior tibial...

Fibular repositioning tape purportedly corrects the anterior fibular fault that often accompanies chronic ankle instability (CAI). Although anecdotal evidence suggests that fibular repositioning tape possesses clinical use, the associated mechanisms are unclear in patients with CAI. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of fibular r...

Gluteal musculature weakness is associated with lower extremity injury and greater frontal plane knee motion. A method for functionally evaluating hip abduction and external rotation strength by observing knee motion would be beneficial for clinicians. This study evaluated the association between hip abductor and external rotation strength and knee...

Normalization of electromyographic (EMG) amplitudes is necessary in the study of human motion. However, there is a lack of agreement on the most reliable and appropriate normalization method. This study evaluated the reliability of single leg stance (SLS) and maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) normalization methods and the relationship...

Background: Musculotendinous stiffness provides an estimate of resistance to joint perturbation, thus contributing to joint stability. Females demonstrate lesser hamstring stiffness than males, potentially contributing to the sex discrepancy in anterior cruciate ligament injury risk. However, it is unclear if the sex difference in hamstring stiffn...

The hamstrings limit anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) loading, and neuromuscular control of these muscles is crucial for dynamic knee joint stability. Sex differences in electromechanical delay (EMD) and rate of force production (RFP) have been reported previously, and attributed to differences in musculotendinous stiffness (MTS). These characteris...