Jumping isn’t just for kids and playgrounds anymore! You may be surprised to learn that it’s actually a fast, productive way to gauge your joint health and functionality. We spoke with CPT, NCPT, PMA, ACE and AFAA certified Portia Page, Balanced Body Educator, who outlines the benefits of jumping, along with how to perform a test to identify potential weaknesses, imbalances, or stiffness in your joints that may put you at risk of injury.
All you need to get started is a convenient floor space. Portia recommends taking a video of yourself so you can evaluate how you’re jumping and make any necessary improvements. So grab your phone and get ready to jump!
How To Do the Broad Jump Test
- Stand tall with your feet hip-distance apart.
- Bend both knees, press your hips back, and lower into a squat, swinging your arms behind you.
- Explosively jump forward or straight up.
- Land gently with your hips and knees bent.
- Repeat 2 to 3 times.
“Pay attention to the following: Takeoff: are you pushing evenly through both feet? Are your knees tracking over your toes or collapsing inward? Landing: are you as quiet as possible, or thudding and wobbly? Knees should stay aligned, and hips shouldn’t collapse,” Portia stresses.
There are several warning signs to look out for, which may signify your body is compensating for weak glutes, poor motor control, tight hips, or unstable ankles. Your joints may be overworking to “share the load.”
“[Beware of] pain in the knees, ankles, hips, or lower back—this signals overload or poor mechanics; instability or wobbling—especially if one side feels weaker or gives out on the landing; knees caving in (valgus collapse) during takeoff or landing—often tied to glute weakness or poor ankle mobility; [and] uneven landings—one foot hits first, or you shift to one side,” Portia explains.
How To Interpret Your Jump Test Results
When evaluating your performance, be mindful of the following:
- Symmetry: Make sure both legs are working just as hard.
- Control: Are you landing like a “bowling ball” or a “ninja”?
- Mobility and Stability: Are your joints flexible and absorbing impact? Are they receiving the landing without collapsing? (Stiff ankles can destroy landing mechanics and it will move right up the chain, so to speak.)
- Knees: Your knees should be tracking straight, not turned inward. “Poor alignment here is often the first sign of an issue in the alignment of the leg and the entire kinetic chain,” says Portia.
- Hips: Are your hips powering your jump or just hanging out? “Weak or stiff hips usually lead to overworked knees and back pain,” Portia stresses.
- Spine/Core: Your torso should be stable and controlled, not floppy/wobbly or too stiff/rigid. “Your core needs to be strong enough to ‘brace’ and support the landing (absorbing the energy vs collapsing on impact),” Portia explains.
“If you can’t jump or land without discomfort, or if your form is off, that’s your body giving you a warning sign,” Portia tells us. “It doesn’t mean stop—it just means adjust your training to strengthen weak areas before they cause injury and/or get worse.”
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