CONTEXT: The Y-Balance Test (YBT) is a dynamic balance assessment used as a preseason musculoskeletal screen to determine injury risk. While the YBT has demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability, it is unknown if YBT performance changes following participation in a competitive athletic season. OBJECTIVE: Determine if a competitive athletic season affects YBT performance in field hockey players. DESIGN: Pretest-posttest. SETTING: Laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: 20 NCAA Division I women's field hockey players (age = 19.55 ± 1.30 y; height = 165.10 ± 5.277 cm; mass = 62.62 ± 4.64 kg) from a single team volunteered. Participants had to be free from injury throughout the entire study and participate in all athletic activities. INTERVENTIONS: Participants completed data collection sessions prior to (preseason) and following the athletic season (postseason). Between data collections, participants competed in the fall competitive field hockey season, which was ~3 months in duration. During data collection, participants completed the YBT bilaterally. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The independent variable was time (preseason, postseason) and the dependent variables were normalized reach distances (anterior, posteromedial, posterolateral, composite) and between-limb symmetry for each reach direction. Differences between preseason and postseason were examined using paired t tests (P ≤ .05) as well as Bland-Altman limits of agreement. RESULTS: 4 players sustained a lower extremity injury during the season and were excluded from analysis. There were no significant differences between preseason and postseason reach distances for any reach directions on either limb (P ≥ .31) or in the between-limb symmetries (P ≥ .52). The limits of agreement analyses determined there was a low mean bias across measurements (≤1.67%); however, the 95% confidence intervals indicated there was high variability within the posterior reach directions over time (±4.75 to ± 14.83%). CONCLUSION: No changes in YBT performance were identified following a competitive field hockey season in Division I female athletes. However, the variability within the posterior reach directions over time may contribute to the limited use of these directions for injury risk stratification.
CONTEXT: The Y-Balance Test (YBT) is a dynamic balance assessment used as a preseason musculoskeletal screen to determine injury risk. While the YBT has demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability, it is unknown if YBT performance changes following participation in a competitive athletic season. OBJECTIVE: Determine if a competitive athletic season affects YBT performance in field hockey players. DESIGN: Pretest-posttest. SETTING: Laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: 20 NCAA Division I women's field hockey players (age = 19.55 ± 1.30 y; height = 165.10 ± 5.277 cm; mass = 62.62 ± 4.64 kg) from a single team volunteered. Participants had to be free from injury throughout the entire study and participate in all athletic activities. INTERVENTIONS:Participants completed data collection sessions prior to (preseason) and following the athletic season (postseason). Between data collections, participants competed in the fall competitive field hockey season, which was ~3 months in duration. During data collection, participants completed the YBT bilaterally. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The independent variable was time (preseason, postseason) and the dependent variables were normalized reach distances (anterior, posteromedial, posterolateral, composite) and between-limb symmetry for each reach direction. Differences between preseason and postseason were examined using paired t tests (P ≤ .05) as well as Bland-Altman limits of agreement. RESULTS: 4 players sustained a lower extremity injury during the season and were excluded from analysis. There were no significant differences between preseason and postseason reach distances for any reach directions on either limb (P ≥ .31) or in the between-limb symmetries (P ≥ .52). The limits of agreement analyses determined there was a low mean bias across measurements (≤1.67%); however, the 95% confidence intervals indicated there was high variability within the posterior reach directions over time (±4.75 to ± 14.83%). CONCLUSION: No changes in YBT performance were identified following a competitive field hockey season in Division I female athletes. However, the variability within the posterior reach directions over time may contribute to the limited use of these directions for injury risk stratification.
Authors: Joel Mason; Anna Lina Rahlf; Andreas Groll; Kai Wellmann; Astrid Junge; Astrid Zech Journal: Int J Sports Med Date: 2021-09-17 Impact factor: 3.118