Dominant-limb landing mechanics during countermovement jump and controlled jump-shot landings in male collegiate basketball players: effects of fatigue

Background Countermovement jumps (CMJ) and jump shots (JS) impose different task demands, but how their dominant-limb landing mechanics differ and whether these differences are modified by fatigue remain unclear. This study compared CMJ and controlled JS landings under non-fatigued and fatigued conditions using complementary discrete and full-waveform analyses. Methods Sixteen male collegiate basketball players completed CMJ and controlled JS trials before and immediately after a basketball-relevant fatigue protocol. Fatigue was confirmed by an individual ≥25% reduction in CMJ height. Three-dimensional kinematics and ground-reaction forces were recorded, and dominant-limb joint angles and body-mass-normalized net joint moments were analyzed from initial contact to peak knee flexion. Discrete outcomes were assessed using two-way repeated-measures ANOVA with false-discovery-rate-adjusted pairwise comparisons, while continuous waveforms were examined using exact two-sided sign-flip statistical nonparametric mapping (SnPM). Results All participants met the fatigue criterion, with CMJ height decreasing by 26.9% on average. Under non-fatigued conditions, CMJ showed greater peak hip and knee flexion than JS, while hip, knee, and ankle net joint-moment differences varied across specific portions of the normalized landing interval. Exact SnPM identified significant jump type × fatigue interactions for hip, knee, and ankle angle waveforms and for hip and knee net joint-moment waveforms. Fatigue was associated with reduced hip flexion and hip extension moment within CMJ and reduced knee extension moment within JS over specific portions of the normalized landing interval, whereas no uniform fatigue-related change was observed across all joints. Conclusion CMJ and controlled JS exhibit distinct dominant-limb landing mechanics in male collegiate basketball players. Fatigue modifies the magnitude and temporal expression of these between-task differences in a joint- and interval-specific manner. Full-waveform analysis complements discrete measures by revealing where along the normalized landing interval task- and fatigue-dependent differences occur.