Movement Analysis of the Euro Step: Part 1 The sport of basketball 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, James Harden, 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. Please share this article and spread the word about The Fundamental Physios by following us on social media Twitter: @FundamentalPTs Instagram: Facebook page: The Fundamental Physios 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 Giannis Antetokounmpo 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.