Effects of cognitive tasks on forward lunge performance: a biomechanical analysis

The forward lunge is a common movement pattern present across a range of sports, daily activities, training and rehabilitation programmes. Often motor-cognitive dual tasking is also required. Dual-tasking can cause performance decrements in one or both of the tasks, which can result in injuries. This study investigated the effects of cognitive tasks on the performance of the forward lunge.
Method: Six able-bodied participants (Male=3,Female=3; Age 23.66±2.29 years) performed forward lunges under four conditions: no task, serial 3s task, Stroop task, and mental arithmetic. The Stroop and mental arithmetic tasks were displayed on a large TV screen, and created and controlled using D-Flow software. Three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data were collected and analysed.
Results: Under the dual-task conditions, participants exhibited significantly decreased mean peak hip flexion (p0.05). Mean lunge step distance was most affected in the Stroop task, and showed greatest inter-subject variability for the arithmetic task, but neither reached significance (p>0.05).
Discussion and Conclusions: Motor-cognitive dual-tasking appears to impact lunge performance. The results could be utilised to improve training programmes and enhance rehabilitative practice. The tasks using the screen may be able to better identify those at risk of injury, and create more challenging rehabilitation programmes due to the greater unpredictability of these tasks. Further exploration of the effect of different cognitive tasks on lunging is required.