Impact of IMU Placement on Vertical Jump Height Estimation: A Comparative Analysis in Countermovement Jumps

Vertical jump height (VJH) in countermovement jumps (CMJs) typically represents an indirect indicator for performance of the lower extremities. In the last decade, systems based on Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) have become a popular choice to assess jump-related metrics. Different IMU-based systems have been used to estimate VJH during CMJs, but there is still a lack of knowledge on how IMU’s positioning can affect VJH estimation. In this study, the influence of two different IMU’s placements on VJH calculation was assessed, either in doubleleg (DL-) and single-leg (SL-) CMJs. The corresponding VJH values were computed via Numeric Double Integration (NDI) method and compared with those retrieved from the technological gold standard, represented by force plates (FP). With respect to DL-CMJ, no significant differences in VJH estimation were found between the two IMU’s positions, as well as with respect to FP-based calculation. Conversely, VJH estimation appears to be affected by IMU’s placement in SLCMJ. The overall results seem to be promising in contributing to increase the knowledge of the effects of IMU’s positioning on jump-related metric estimations, as well as to open new perspectives for in-field analysis in sports.