Rate My Professor Catherine Wild

Dr. Catherine Wild is a Lecturer in the School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, within the Faculty of Health Sciences. She holds a PhD and conducts research focused on lower limb and trunk biomechanics during dynamic tasks such as landing and cutting maneuvers in female athletes. Her work examines injury mechanisms, prevalence, and severity, including anterior cruciate ligament ruptures and patellofemoral pain, across sports like ballet, field hockey, basketball, and Irish dance. Wild investigates the influence of factors such as fatigue, prophylactic taping, knee joint laxity, hamstring strength, and musculoskeletal and hormonal changes during puberty on biomechanics and landing techniques. Her studies highlight adaptations in landing strategies throughout the adolescent growth spurt and differences in biomechanics between skilled performers and novices or between dancers and non-dancers.

Wild has produced a substantial body of peer-reviewed publications. Key contributions include 'How Young Girls Change Their Landing Technique Throughout the Adolescent Growth Spurt' (2016), 'Higher anterior knee laxity influences the landing biomechanics displayed by pubescent girls' (2016), 'The Effect of the Mulligan Knee Taping Technique on Patellofemoral Pain and Lower Limb Biomechanics' (2016), 'Lower Limb and Trunk Biomechanics After Fatigue in Competitive Female Irish Dancers' (2017), 'Differences in lower limb biomechanics between ballet dancers and non-dancers during functional landing tasks' (2018), 'Mulligan Knee Taping Using Both Elastic and Rigid Tape Reduces Pain and Alters Lower Limb Biomechanics in Female Patients With Patellofemoral Pain' (2020), 'Why Do Girls Sustain More Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries Than Boys? A Review of the Changes in Estrogen and Musculoskeletal Structure and Function during Puberty' (2012), 'Insufficient Hamstring Strength Compromises Landing Technique in Adolescent Girls' (2012), 'The prevalence and severity of injuries in field hockey drag flickers: A retrospective cross-sectional study' (2016), and 'A biomechanical comparison in the lower limb and lumbar spine between a hit and drag flick in field hockey' (2018). Her research informs injury prevention strategies and performance optimization in sports settings.