Temporal and kinetic analysis of unilateral jumping in the vertical, horizontal, and lateral directions

The aims of this study were to: (1) assess the reliability of various kinetic and temporal variables for unilateral vertical, horizontal, and lateral countermovement jumps; (2) determine whether there are differences in vertical ground reaction force production between the three types of jumps; (3) quantify the magnitude of asymmetry between limbs for variables that were established as reliable in a healthy population and whether asymmetries were consistent across jumps of different direction; and (4) establish the best kinetic predictor(s) of jump performance in the vertical, horizontal, and lateral planes of motion. Thirty team sport athletes performed three trials of the various countermovement jumps on both legs on two separate occasions. Eccentric and concentric peak force and concentric peak power were the only variables with acceptable reliability (coefficient of variation = 3.3-15.1%; intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.70-0.96). Eccentric and concentric peak vertical ground reaction force (14-16%) and concentric peak power (45-51%) were significantly (P < 0.01) greater in the vertical countermovement jump than in the horizontal countermovement jump and lateral countermovement jump, but no significant difference was found between the latter two jumps. No significant leg asymmetries (-2.1% to 9.3%) were found in any of the kinetic variables but significant differences were observed in jump height and distance. The best single predictors of vertical countermovement jump, horizontal countermovement jump, and lateral countermovement jump performance were concentric peak vertical power/body weight (79%), horizontal concentric peak power/body weight (42.6%), and eccentric peak vertical ground reaction force/body weight (14.9%) respectively. These findings are discussed in relation to monitoring and developing direction-specific jump performance.