LEMPI Research Project
– Lower Extremity Mechanics and Performance–Injury Conflict
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is one of the most common serious sports injuries, and one-third of those affected develop knee osteoarthritis within 10–15 years of injury (Lohmander et al., 2007). ACL injuries are especially prevalent among young female athletes in sports involving rapid stops, changes of direction, and landings (Mall et al., 2014). They typically occur during a swift cutting maneuver or landing, when a nearly fully extended knee suddenly collapses inward at initial ground contact, subjecting the ACL to loads beyond its tensile strength (Hewett et al., 2005; Leppänen et al., 2015). Although athletes are coached to avoid these risky knee positions, dynamic valgus still occurs during fast changes of direction, and ACL injury rates have not declined (Kulmala, 2019). The LEMPI study investigates why dynamic knee valgus appears in high-speed cuts and whether it is related to lower-limb force production.
Funding & Data Collection This research is funded by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and the Academy of Finland. Data have been collected at the Metropolia movement laboratory from healthy athletes and those recovering from ACL reconstruction. Data analysis is currently in progress.
Key Publications
Wang D, Valtonen AM, Thiel T, Stenroth L, Gao Y, Kulmala J-P. Effects of ACL exercise-based injury prevention interventions on knee motion in athletes: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2025;55(2):1–14. DOI: 10.2519/jospt.2024.12720.
Research Team
- Anu Valtonen, PhD, PT, Principal Lecturer, Metropolia UAS – Principal Investigator
- Juha-Pekka Kulmala, PhD, Academy Research Fellow, HUS & University of Helsinki
- Tom Thiel, M.Sc., Laboratory Engineer, Metropolia UAS
- Di Wang, M.Sc., Doctoral Researcher, HUS & University of Helsinki
- Gao Ying, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, Zhejiang University
- Andrey Zhdanov, D.Sc., Laboratory Engineer, HUS
- Mika Peltoniemi, M.Sc., Biomechanics Specialist, HUS
- Mikko Haara, MD, PhD, Paediatric Orthopaedist, HUS
- Matti Kantola, M.Sc., Podiatrist, Metropolia UAS
- Lasse Liikanen, M.Sc., PT, Doctoral Researcher, Metropolia UAS & University of Helsinki
Contact
Anu Valtonen
Principal Investigator, LEMPI
Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
Email: Anu.Valtonen [at] metropolia.fi (Anu[dot]Valtonen[at]metropolia[dot]fi)
TEKLI research project
– AI-Based Movement Analysis from Video: Reliability & Reproducibility
Traditional movement assessment in research has relied on laboratory-based 3D motion analysis—highly accurate but time-consuming, costly (e.g. Vicon systems), and requiring specialized staff and facility access. Today, pose estimation can be performed with lightweight solutions, such as smartphone video, significantly improving accessibility and expanding use cases (Cronin et al., 2023; Hellsten et al., 2021; Wade et al., 2022). Although AI models for pose estimation have existed for over a decade (Armitano-Lago et al., 2022), they often demanded specialized hardware or heavy computation. Recently, lightweight models (e.g. BlazePose) have been adapted for real-time movement analysis (Chen et al., 2022), fall detection (Liu et al., 2022), and temporal gait-event detection during running (Young et al., 2023).
The TEKLI research project evaluates the reliability and reproducibility of computer vision applications for analyzing squats, jumps, walking, and running by simultaneously recording movements with a laboratory-grade motion-analysis system and standard video.
Funding & Data Collection The research is funded by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and the Academy of Finland, data collection took place at Metropolia movement laboratory. Data analysis is currently in progress.
Research Team
- Anu Valtonen, PhD, PT, Principal Lecturer, Metropolia UAS – Principal Investigator
- Tom Thiel, M.Sc., Doctoral Researcher, Metropolia UAS & University of Jyväskylä
- Juha-Pekka Kulmala, PhD, Academy Research Fellow, HUS & University of Helsinki
- Neil Cronin, PhD, Professor, University of Jyväskylä
Contact
Tom Thiel
Doctoral Researcher, TEKLI
Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
Email: Tom.Thiel [at] metropolia.fi (Tom[dot]Thiel[at]metropolia[dot]fi)