Table 3.
Landing Error Scoring System scoring criteria
| LESS item | Operational definition of error |
| Knee flexion: Initial contact | Knee is flexed less than 30° at initial contact |
| Hip flexion: Initial contact | Thigh is in line with the trunk at initial contact |
| Trunk flexion: Initial contact | Trunk is vertical or extended on the hips at initial contact |
| Ankle plantar flexion: Initial contact | Foot lands heel to toe or with flat foot at initial contact |
| Medial knee position: Initial contact | Center of patella is medial to midfoot at initial contact |
| Lateral trunk flexion: Initial contact | Midline of trunk flexed to left/right side body at initial contact |
| Stance width: Wide | Feet positioned > shoulder width apart at initial contact |
| Stance width: Narrow | Feet positioned < shoulder width apart at initial contact |
| Foot position: External rotation | Foot is internally rotated more than 30° between initial contact and maximum knee flexion |
| Foot position: Internal rotation | Foot is externally rotated more than 30° between initial contact and maximum knee flexion |
| Symmetric initial foot contact | One foot lands before other or one foot lands heel to toe and other lands toe to heel |
| Knee flexion displacement | Knee flexes less than 45° between initial contact and max knee flexion |
| Hip flexion displacement | Thigh does not flex more on trunk between initial contact and maximum knee flexion |
| Trunk flexion displacement | Trunk does not flex more between initial contact and maximum knee flexion |
| Medial knee displacement | At maximum medial knee position, the center of patella is medial to midfoot |
| Joint displacement | Soft: Participant demonstrates large amount of trunk, hip, and knee displacement Average: Participant has some but not large amount of trunk, hip, and knee displacement Stiff: Participant goes through very little, if any, trunk, hip, or knee displacement |
| Overall impression | Excellent: Participant displays soft landing with no frontal or transverse plane motion Poor: Participant displays large frontal or transverse plane motion, or participant displays stiff landing with some frontal or transverse plane motion Average: All other landings |
Flaws 1-15 scored as present: 1 and absent = 0; Flaw 16 scored as soft: 0, average = 1, stiff = 2; Flaw 17 scored as excellent: 0, average = 1, poor = 2. LESS: Landing Error Scoring System.