Research

Mixed

Sharper change of direction angles (≥60°) and higher approach velocities significantly increase knee joint loading and injury risk due to greater braking forces and lateral ground reaction forces, creating a performance-injury conflict.

When coaching change of direction, recognize that sharper cuts (60 degrees or more) and faster approaches place significantly higher loads on the knees. To reduce injury risk, focus on strengthening the athlete's ability to produce force rapidly and improving their neuromuscular control, which helps them tolerate these higher loads safely.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
faster and sharper CODs elevate the relative risk of injury due to the greater associative knee joint loading; however, faster and sharper directional changes are key manoeuvres for successful performance in multidirectional sport, which subsequently creates a ‘performance-injury conflict’ for practitioners and athletes.
Thomas Dos’Santos et al. · Sports Medicine · 2018

Why this rating

Review article synthesizing multiple biomechanical studies with consistent findings on GRF and joint loading trends.

Source

The Effect of Angle and Velocity on Change of Direction Biomechanics: An Angle-Velocity Trade-Off

Thomas Dos’Santos et al. · Sports Medicine · 2018

DOI 10.1007/s40279-018-0968-3

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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