• Gillian McCarren, Meredith Chaput, Dustin R Grooms, Cody R Criss, Sean Buckley, Philip Brazalovich, Jae Yom, and Janet E Simon.
• Intercollegiate Athletics, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
• Mil Med. 2023 Jul 22; 188 (7-8): e2102e2108e2102-e2108.

IntroductionMilitary duties require immense cognitive-motor multitasks that may predispose soldiers to musculoskeletal injury. Most cognitive challenges performed in the research laboratory are not tactical athlete specific, limiting generalizability and transferability to in-field scenarios. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a cognitive-motor multitask (forward drop jump landing while simultaneously performing simulated shooting) on knee kinetics and kinematics.MethodsTwenty-four healthy collegiate Reserve Officer's Training Corps members (18 males and 6 females, 20.42 ± 1.28 years, 174.54 ± 10.69 cm, 78.11 ± 14.96 kg) volunteered, and knee kinetics and kinematics were assessed between baseline and cognitive-loaded conditions. Repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted for each dependent variable with the within-subject factor of condition (baseline vs. cognitive load).ResultsUnivariate ANOVAs indicated that knee flexion angle at initial contact (IC) (decreased 6.07°; d = 3.14), knee flexion displacement (increased 6.78°; d = 1.30), knee abduction angle at IC (increased 2.3°; d = 1.46), peak knee abduction angle (increased 3.04°; d = 0.77), and peak vertical ground reaction force (increased 0.81 N/kg; d = 2.13) were significant between conditions (P < .001). Therefore, cognitive load resulted in decreased knee flexion and increased knee abduction angle at IC and greater peak vertical ground reaction force, all factors commonly associated with knee injury risk. Peak knee flexion angle and knee abduction displacement were not significant between conditions (P > .05).ConclusionsCognitive challenge induced knee landing biomechanics commonly associated with injury risk. Injury risk screening or return-to-training or duty assessments in military personnel might consider both baseline and cognitive conditions.© The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2023. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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