No instruction no problem: Habitual technique achieves balanced load management during two-metre parkour drop-landings

Background Parkour involves high-impact landings, frequently from considerable heights. Indeed, over 60% of documented injuries are sustained during landings. Efficient load management during the landing process is therefore critical for performance and injury prevention. Although traceurs (parkour athletes) have been shown to employ softer, knee-dominant landing strategies compared to untrained individuals, the influence of landing technique on joint mechanics under conditions simulating environments typically experienced in parkour remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the effects of landing instructions, habitual, soft, and stiff, on lower-limb joint dynamics during two-metre drop landings in experienced traceurs. Methods 14 male athletes (training age = 8.8 ± 2.4 years) performed drop landings from a two-metre platform while sagittal-plane video and ground reaction forces were recorded. Ankle, knee and hip joint moments, powers, and mechanical work were derived using 2D inverse dynamics and compared using statistical parametric mapping (α = 0.05). Results Ground reaction forces frequently exceeded seven times bodyweight, displaying a consistent bimodal pattern, with peaks at ∼9 and ∼ 35 ms after ground contact. Stiff landings resulted in increased plantarflexor moments and eccentric power in comparison to habitual and soft techniques, indicating higher ankle loading. In contrast, soft landings exhibited a reduced absorption of experienced energy, resulting from decreased total eccentric work across joints. Conclusion These findings suggest that habitual parkour landing strategies are favourable for effective high-load management, and that verbal instructions may alter joint loading without improving overall landing mechanics. This study provides insight into impact management strategies under realistic parkour conditions and offers implications for safe skill progression in high-impact sports.