Preseason functional testing in young basketball players: asymmetries and intercorrelations

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the existence and degree of possible asymmetries of functional test performance and their intercorrelations in the lower extremities of young basketball players. [Participants and Methods] Twenty-seven healthy male basketball players (age: 15.52 ± 1.37 years) were examined for the symmetric function of their lower extremities using triple hop for distance tests in the sagittal and frontal plane (medial-lateral), the Y-balance test and a vertical jump test. [Results] Participants exhibited statistically significant side-to-side differences in only the medial triple hop test, as they jumped further on their non-dominant for stability lower limb. No other asymmetries were observed in the rest of the functional tests. Significant correlations were also indicated between the vertical jumptest and the three directions of the triple hop test for both lower limbs. [Conclusion] Our findings proved that young basketball players present a symmetrical picture of functional performance, as revealed by the evaluation of various functional tests. The only significant asymmetric adaptation observed in the medial triple hop test will have to be strengthened by future studies to be implemented in injury prevention programs.

Triple hop test ability performed by athletes in the regional athletic center during the competition period

“…Therefore, in this study, researchers attempted to observe the triple hop test's level of ability, which focused on strength and power. The triple hop test is considered and reported in the literature as a valid predictor for measuring lower limb strength and power (Bakaraki et al, 2021;Hamilton et al, 2008;Hoog et al, 2016).…”

Is Basketball a Symmetrical Sport?

“…This is because, although both studies are basketball studies, the study by Delextrat et al [31] measures imbalances with a four-second sprint before and after the competition. There are numerous studies that use non-specific tests to measure asymmetry [20,21,24], something that is useful to determine if a player has asymmetries, but not to determine if the sport itself has produced such asymmetry. In order to conclude whether a sport is symmetrical or not, it is necessary to know if its movements can produce an asymmetry, for which sport-specific tests can be used, as conducted by Gómez-Carmona et al [23,25].…”

“…Research to date has been conducted with tests that were unrelated to the sport performed by the athletes, using non-specific tests that only allow us to know the presence of an asymmetry, but not to contextualize what the asymmetry is due to. These are useful interventions when detecting asymmetries by physical trainers, but they do not represent an advance in knowledge to investigate the origin of this asymmetry [20][21][22]. Although inertial devices are validated for the measurement of asymmetries in a sports context in real time [23], research on asymmetries in the basketball environment (with specific tests outside the real game) is scarce, and null when talking about the real sport, either in training itself or even in official competition.…”

“…Research analyzing asymmetries in basketball generally compare the differences obtained among groups in test batteries. These test batteries are essentially composed of two types of tests: laboratory tests, in which flexion-extension is measured through peak torque [22,24], and field tests, in which essentially straight runs and vertical jumps with one or two legs are used [20,21]. The first study, analyzing peak torque [24], also includes a battery of tests with jumps and a 10 m sprint.…”

The potential of a targeted unilateral compound training program to reduce lower limb strength asymmetry and increase performance: a proof-of-concept in basketball

“…Research analyzing asymmetries in basketball compares the differences obtained among groups in test batteries. These test batteries are essentially composed of two types of tests: laboratory tests, in which flexion–extension is measured through peak torque ( Schiltz et al, 2009a ; Parpa and Michaelides, 2022 ), and field tests, in which straight runs and vertical jumps with one or two legs are used ( Bakaraki et al, 2021 ; Barrera-Domínguez et al, 2021 ). Theoharopoulos and Tsitskaris (2000) and Rahnama and Bambaecichi (2005) suggest that reaching a certain level of expertise in basketball can lead to lower limb strength and flexibility asymmetries.…”