Movement Analysis of the Euro Step: Part 1

The sport of is a major world sport and is constantly adapting with thousands of people of all skill levels participating worldwide. The NBA finals start tonight with the best players in the world competing for a championship. From a physiotherapy and movement perspective there are many things to break down and look at in terms of basketball related movement skill. Arguably the most intriguing and challenging movement skill in today’s game is the Euro Step. youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfJVJcR1K6Y&w=560&h=315

Popularized by players like Manu Ginobili, , and The Greek Freak (shown above), the euro step has become a prerequisite skill for top basketball players at any level. This movement analysis series will include three parts. Part 1 will include background history of the euro step and explain why it is relevant to the world of PT, fitness and performance. Part 2 is a biomechanical breakdown of the movement and a discussion of the requirements needed to successful implement the euro step. The final part will focus on implications for rehab and performance training and provide some options for specific drills/training for the move and basketball in general. Whether you are a youth athlete trying to add this movement to your repertoire, a pick up player trying to dominate the local circuit, a high level looking to refine their abilities or a PT/coach who trains basketball players this series will hopefully provide some benefit to your performance or practice. Part 1 drops TONIGHT before Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

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Movement Analysis of the Euro Step: Part 2

This section of the Euro Step series is meant to investigate the biomechanical requirements needed to complete the euro step. We will break down how the numbers came to be, take a look at the amount of force transmitting through crucial joints, and most importantly explain the relevance of the calculations to athletes and health professionals alike.

DISCLAIMER: I am a third year doctor of physical therapy student and in NO WAY an expert in the extensive mathematics presented in this section. I did my best to use the basic biomechanics knowledge I possess because I was intrigued how this complex movement would hold up in comparison to similar athletic feats. Also, due to the (what will become) evident lack of resources available at my disposal as a student, assumptions had to be made about certain aspects of the equations I used. But enough excuses, let’s get it!

Due to the lack of kinematic data available on the euro step, the first important step was choosing a movement that was both similar to the euro step and had been researched previously. Thankfully, Perttunen and his colleagues and looked extensively at the triple jump. The triple jump and euro step maneuvers have some parallels, but also significant differences. The triple jump historically is broken down into three steps called the hop, step, and jump. This can also hold true for the euro step – we will call the three phases the gather, pivot, and take off. However, the main difference is that the triple jump is essentially completed in the sagittal plane with no change in direction. A successful euro step often requires large amplitude changes in direction, therefore making it a frontal plane movement as well (the significance of this will be discussed later).

3rd step push off (PREPARE FOR THE MATH!!!)

Unfortunately, due to limits on time and resources – only one step, 1st step (gather) weight acceptance was analyzed. However, it is important to note that much of the calculations are based upon the ground reaction forces (GRF) that the aforementioned Perttunen et al, 2000 reported in the article Biomechanical Loading in the Triple Jump.

The force used body weight in the following equations was 960.2 N or the approximate weight of

Therefore, the data for subsequent steps (the pivot and take off) can be extrapolated based on the numbers presented in that study. The GRF of the “hop” was essential because in order to begin solving for variables, you need at least one known value. Having that initial value is great, but there are many other variables and numbers that needed to be created based on the principle of the “educated guess.” Examples of these educated guesses include but are not limited to: the distance away from the center of rotation the GRF and all other forces (including from the muscles) are acting, the horizontal acceleration was neglected due to the relative insignificant weight of the body part being analyzed, and the joint reaction force (JRF) was placed at the center of rotation in order to create a moment arm of zero and cancel its value in the initial sum of moments equations.

In reality, in a forum like this it is near impossible to present all of the steps involved in calculating the number that were found. What I can and will do is attach images of the work that lead to the final numbers for those who are interested. The data I want to draw your attention to are the final JRFs found at each joint.

Joint Reaction Forces (presented in terms of amount of body weight) on the first step (“gather”) of the euro step

 Ankle = 11.91 x BW  Knee = 21 x BW  Hip = 63 x BW

Rationale: Once again, I am no master biomechanist – however it makes sense there would be an additive effect has you move up the chain and larger body segments and muscles are part of the equation. I was surprised at the magnitude of these numbers as I’m sure you are, but the exact numbers should not be the primary focus of this section.

Clinical Relevance: Why do these numbers matter?

In order to attach meaning to these values, we need to investigate the literature and see the JRFs that were found by authors examining joints during other activities. A dated, but relevant study looked at loading of the hip joint for numerous different activities. They found the following (activity:hip joint force in terms of BW): walking:2.5, running:5.2, cross country skiing:4, downhill skiing:7.8 (van den Bogart, 1999). A different study analyzed how much force the patellar tendon at the knee in dancers landing from a vertical jump. These investigators found that the force on the tendon was 11 times BW for a 86 pound dancer (Cluss, 2005).

So how do these values compare to what was calculated for the euro step? Fairly obviously, the euro step JRFs are larger across the board. To me, it is logical that the knee JRF of the euro step (using 216 lbs Giannis in the example) is almost double what Cluss et al. found in an 86-pound dancer. Regardless of how the numbers compare, it is clear that there are LARGE amounts of force transmitting through the hips, knees, and ankles of anyone who is performing a euro step.

These large forces at the joint must be absorbed by the body as one of two mediums – bone or the soft tissues surrounding the joint. Predominantly, the soft tissues including muscles, tendons, synovial membranes, ligaments, etc. are responsible for absorbing the forces the euro step creates.

As health professionals we are able to most positively affect the muscles ability to absorb force. One clear way to accomplish this is to hypertrophy the muscle, for the larger the cross sectional area of the muscle, the more potential it has to take on forces. However, another area which I would argue that is perhaps even more important in helping athletes deal with large forces is the neuromuscular system.

The notion that the neuromuscular control system is vital to complex movement is nothing new (follow link for explanation of neuromuscular control – https://taphysio.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/neuromuscular-control-what-does-it-mean). When an injury occurs, and impairments in the quality of someone’s movement is at fault, the neuromuscular system is often addressed. The system is also commonly associated with the position of dynamic valgus – a word feared by athletes and clinicians alike, because it puts the knee joint in a position more susceptible to injury.

The idea that a competent neuromuscular system is a fundamental piece to completing maneuvers such as the euro step is reinforced after calculating the amount of values stress on the knee during the “gather” phase of the euro step. The value is only 0.304 times BW, revealing that the issue isn’t necessarily the soft tissues ability to absorb this minimal amount of force. More likely, the neuromuscular system has been under-trained and there is deficits in how well athletes are able to connect how their brain is telling them to move and how efficiently the body is able to complete that task. So all these math equations and numbers lead to us being left with answering the question – How do we properly train the body to be able to handle the tremendous forces placed upon it through movements such as the euro step?

Don’t worry little birds, we will feed you the answer in part 3 of this series. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading!

Questions/comments: contact us at [email protected]

About the Author: Erik Kust is a 3rd year DPT Student at Arcardia University and is completing his final clinical internship at Brooks Center for Sports Therapy in Jacksonville, FL. @ErikKust

Resources:

Cluss M, Laws K, Martin N, Nowicki T. The indirect measurement of bio-mechanical forces in the moving body. Am J Physics. 2006;74(2): 102-8.

“Neuromuscular Control – What Does It Mean??” Web log post. Tom Astley Physiotherapy. WordPress, 13 May 2013. Web. 3 June 2016.

Perttunen JO, Kyröläinen H, Komi PV, Heinonen A. Biomechanical loading in the triple jump. Journal of sports sciences. 18(5):363-70. 2000. van den Bogert AJ, Read L, Nigg BM. An analysis of hip joint loading during walking, running, and skiing. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 31(1):131-42. 1999

Movement Analysis of the Euro Step: Part 3

So far in this series we have introduced the Euro Step, and provided a biomechanical breakdown of the movement courtesy of Erik Kust. The final part of the series will focus on the implications for rehab and performance. Although the areas I will discuss are specific to the euro step, they can be applied to all basketball training in general and really any sport or activity that requires dynamic stability. No matter what level of basketball you participate in these exercises will be beneficial additions to your training regimen to decrease chance for injury and improve performance.

In part 3 of the Movement Analysis of the Euro Step I have broken down the training/rehab considerations of the euro step into 5 fundamental components. For each component I will provide rationale to why it is an important training area, list some examples of how to include it into a training or therapy routine and offer some tips on how to program it in. Remember, this is part of the euro step series but these movement components can be applied to the sport skill of basketball in general at any level.

#1 Prerequisite Strength and Movement Quality

This is a fairly broad category, but as a physiotherapist I believe it is one of the most important. Before we even get into training specifically for the stability and strength demands of the sport of basketball, fundamental strength and movement quality must be cleared. There is no reason to even teach an athlete the euro step if he/she does not have the foundational strength, or quality of movement to obtain and maintain challenging sport specific movement positions.

There are numerous ways to target strength in fundamental strength patterns, which will be a topic of future blog posts, but many times physiotherapists lose this concept of building strength. The three movement patterns I would choose to train if an athlete lacks strength are the squat, lunge, and hip hinge. Every person who has a desire to participate in movement related activities MUST understand and own these patterns with and without load. ACSM lists the guidelines for building muscular strength as 60-100% 1RM 1-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions or 2-6 sets of 1-8 repetitions with higher load.

Goblet squat/Reverse lunge/RDL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMfdNpOAbwg

The other prerequisite are we must knock off the list before progressing is movement quality. An athlete must know how to obtain and maintain appropriate positioning during dynamic movement before layering on requirements of sport skill. This is where your local physiotherapists come into play. As the movement specialists it is our job to watch an athlete move, determine what movement qualities are deficient and remediate them accordingly. I would break down movement into categories of jump, hop and bound. As far as training volume for these movements using 120 ground contacts per week is a good baseline. Also, in an athlete’s program it is important to progress from the least demanding position of jumping to the most demanding of hopping in order to ensure appropriate patterning. Non-counter movement jump/Bound/Hop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lez1dNiI7QA

#2 Lumbopelvic Stability in Standing

Lumbopelvic stability is the next training component for the Euro Step. This training is done in the standing position as this is the position of sport activity and an athlete must understand how to stabilize in this position. With that said, it does not mean the athlete begins the progression in the standing positions. Often times even high level athletes need to be regressed to demonstrate quality motor control in less demanding positions. (See Zach Long’s post on functionalmovement.com) For the sake of this series we will focus on the standing position.

All core training needs to be three dimensional in nature and this must be reflected in the programming of pillar stability. In all principle planes of motion there must be exercises that occur in that plane of movement and resist that direction of movement. (See this post on drjohnrusin.com) Including core into your rehab or performance programming is very versatile as it can be included in the warmup or included in a superset with other exercises excluding the heavy compound movements. An important sub component of lumbopelvic stability specifically relating to the euro step is closed chain hip rotation. Dynamic valgus includes a component of hip internal rotation, which can lead to risk of injuries such as ACL injury. The ability to stabilize the lumbopelvic complex and limit excessive hip internal rotation places the athlete in a position to reduce chance for injury and allows the athlete to optimize force production and transmission.

Single leg stance with med ball rotation/Pallof press/Cook bar lift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh4s8baaNzg

#3 Single Leg Dynamic Stability

The third focus area for euro step training is single leg dynamic stability. As described in part 2 (hyperlink) of this series, there are 3 different instances of single leg stance during the movement and at no do both feet touch the ground at the same time. Each of these instances includes a weight acceptance and push off phase with force production occurring in different directions. Additionally, gameplay involves athlete contact adding more instability to the situation. All of these situations demand a high level of single leg DYNAMIC stability to prevent compromised positions and to allow the athlete to efficiently complete the move. Dynamic is a phrase in this component because the body is in constant motion and the body must react and adapt quickly to different situations in split seconds. Again, there are many ways to train SL dynamic stability but below are top three movements I would use to train for single leg dynamic stability during the euro step. Half kneeling (HK) to Single leg stance (SLS)/Bound with partner catch/Cook lunge with med ball https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSCPyg1N0VI

#4 Lateral (Frontal Plane) Movement Training

The euro step is most commonly used to avoid a defender attempting to draw a charge while the player is driving to the basket. In order to use the move effectively a significant amount of lateral (frontal plane) movement is required to successfully complete the move. This is where the fourth component of training and rehab comes in. All the training areas state previously set an athlete up to successfully complete lateral movement exercises. Once the athlete understands how to stabilize and organize their body in the appropriate positions then a more sport specific training method can be added to their program. The focus of proper positioning and stabilization is not lost during this component of training, but now the athlete is required to produce a forceful and power lateral movement without sacrificing quality of movement.

Banded assisted or resisted lateral bounding/3 + 1 lateral/3+1 rotation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_Hedi4QRFs

#5 Single Leg Strength and Power

The final component in training and rehab considerations for the euro step is single leg strength and power. As previously stated, the euro step is completed with several instances of single leg weight acceptance and push off. In order to make this movement effective an athlete muscle possess the ability to produce strength and power from a single leg position. This will not only allow them to increase their magnitude of change of direction, but will also allow them to produce more vertical strength and power to finish the movement.

Single Leg Step Up/Deficit Split Squat/Load and Lift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDd2OnGGGXI

Over the next week or so I will be providing descriptions of these movements on our Instagram page. So please give us a follow at thefundamentalphysios. Comment or contact us on twitter/facebook with any questions, comments, complaints or concerns.