Introduction: Stiffness (k) describes a material's resistance to deformation and is useful for understanding neuromuscular function, performance, and injury risk. The aim of this study is to compare the lower limb stiffness method (kLLS), which uses only force plate data, with methods combining force plate and motion capture data to calculate stiffness during the eccentric phase of a countermovement.
Material and methods: Twelve resistance-trained males: age 24.9 (4.4) years, height 1.81 (0.05) m, weight 88.2 (14) kg) performed three maximal effort countermovement jumps (CMJ). Data were collected synchronously using three-dimensional (3D) kinematic and kinetic data (dual force plate setup). Lower limb stiffness (z), joint stiffness (x, y, and z), and leg stiffness (linear, sagittal plane, and 3D) were calculated for the eccentric phase of all CMs.
Results: kLLS showed high concurrent validity with strong correlations to kinetic-kinematic methods (r = 0.90-0.97, p < 0.05). A linear mixed model revealed no significant differences in k-values between kLLS and leg stiffness, indicating high concurrent validity.
Discussion: kLLS offers valid and valuable information affecting performance, injury risk, and return-to-sport decisions.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that kLLS is a valid method for calculating stiffness in CMJs and equal to 3D leg stiffness.
Keywords: Jumping; kinematics; kinetics; stiffness.