Muscle-Specific Contributions to Vertical Ground Reaction Force Profiles During Countermovement Jumps: Case Studies in College Basketball Players

Abstract Kipp, K and Kim, H. Muscle-specific contributions to vertical ground reaction force profiles during countermovement jumps: case studies in college basketball players. J Strength Cond Res 37(7): 1523–1529, 2023—The purpose of this study was to determine muscle-specific contributions to various types of vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) profiles in collegiate basketball players. Players from a men's (n = 5; height: 1.84 ± 0.14 m; mass: 92.8 ± 11.4 kg) and a women's (n = 5; 1.71 ± 0.09 m; mass: 80.1 ± 17.6 kg) basketball team completed 3–5 countermovement jumps (CMJ) while motion capture and force plate data were recorded. Muscle-specific contributions to vGRF were calculated through vGRF decomposition analysis. Profiles of vGRF were analyzed based on the presence of unimodal or bimodal peaks during the CMJ. The results showed that the soleus (SOL), gastrocnemii (GAS), vastii (VAS), and gluteus maximus (GMX) muscles all contributed to upward vGRF generation throughout the entire CMJ duration. The contributions were greatest for the SOL (1.78 body weight [BW]), intermediate for the GAS (0.96 BW) and VAS (0.72 BW), and negligible for the GMX (0.11 BW). For unimodal vGRF profiles, SOL contributions coincided with peak vGRF, whereas VAS contributions were stable throughout most of the CMJ. For bimodal vGRF profiles, SOL and VAS contributions explained the presence of the first vGRF peak, whereas GAS and VAS contributions explained the second vGRF peak. Differences between vGRF profiles appear to be the result of distinct force contributions from the VAS muscle, which may have implications for the analysis of vGRF time series data during CMJ testing.