Comparison of dynamic balance in adolescent male soccer players from rwanda and the United States.
Abstract
PURPOSE/BACKGROUND: Dynamic balance is an important component of motor skill development.
Poor dynamic balance has previously been associated with sport related injury. However,
the vast majority of dynamic balance studies as they relate to sport injury have occurred
in developed North American or European countries. Thus, the purpose of this study
was to compare dynamic balance in adolescent male soccer players from Rwanda to a
matched group from the United States. METHODS: Twenty-six adolescent male soccer players
from Rwanda and 26 age- and gender-matched control subjects from the United States
were screened using the Lower Quarter Y Balance Test during their pre-participation
physical. Reach asymmetry (cm) between limbs was examined for all reach directions.
In addition, reach distance in each direction (normalized to limb length, %LL) and
the composite reach score (also normalized to %LL) were examined. Dependent samples
t-tests were performed with significant differences identified at p<0.05. RESULTS:
Twenty-six male soccer players from Rwanda (R) were matched to twenty-six male soccer
players from the United States (US). The Rwandan soccer players performed better in
the anterior (R: 83.9 ± 3.2 %LL; US: 76.5 ± 6.6 %LL, p<0.01), posterolateral (R: 114.4
± 8.3 %LL ; US: 106.5 ± 8.2 %LL, p<0.01) and composite (R: 105.6 ± 1.3 %LL; US: 97.8
± 6.2 %LL, p<0.01) reach scores. No significant differences between groups were observed
for reach asymmetry. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent soccer players from Rwanda exhibit superior
performance on a standardized dynamic balance test as comparison to similar athletes
from the United States. The examination of movement abilities of athletes from countries
of various origins may allow for a greater understanding of the range of true normative
values for dynamic balance. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE: 3b.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/8907Collections
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Robert John Butler
Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Construction of standards for a functional testing continuum for ACL patients to optimize
durability and performance.Development of field expedient tests to predict musculoskeletal
injury. Predictors of the early presentation of knee osteoarthritis following a joint
injury.
Robin Marie Queen
Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
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