Abstract
ObjectivesLower extremity (LE) injuries are common in Gaelic games and lead to a significant economic and injury burden. Balance is considered a predictor of injury in other sports, however no research has examined its effect on LE injury in Gaelic games. This study aims to present normative data for the Y Balance Test (YBT), determine whether the YBT can identify those at risk of contact and non-contact LE and ankle injuries and generate population specific cut-off points in adolescent and collegiate Gaelic games. DesignProspective cohort study. MethodsA convenience sample of 636 male adolescent (n=293, age=15.7±0.7 years) and collegiate (n=343, age=19.3±1.9 years) Gaelic footballers and hurlers were recruited. The YBT was completed and injuries were assessed at least weekly over one season. Univariate and logistic regression was performed to examine if the YBT can classify those at risk of LE-combined and ankle injuries. ROC curves were used to identify cut-off points. ResultsGaelic players performed poorly in the YBT and between 31-57% of all players were identified as at risk of injury at pre-season using previously published YBT cut-off points. However, poor YBT scores were unable to ascertain those at risk of contact or non-contact LE-combined and ankle injuries with sufficient sensitivity. High specificity was noted for contact LE-combined and non-contact ankle injuries. ConclusionsThe YBT as a sole screening method to classify those at risk of LE and ankle injuries in Gaelic games is questionable. However, the YBT may be a useful preliminary screening tool to identify those not at risk of contact LE-combined or non-contact ankle injury. Generalising published cut-off points from other sports is not supported.
Highlights
With regard to contact (AUC = 0.39−0.55) and non-contact (AUC = 0.45−0.52) LE-combined and contact (AUC = 0.23−0.55) and non-contact (AUC = 0.45−0.59) ankle injuries, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for all Y balance test (YBT) scores produced an area under the curve (AUC) value of ≤0.6, cut-off points were unable to be generated
While we found that poor scores identified using the YBT as the sole screening was not able to or did not have sufficient sensitivity to classify those at risk of LE injury, incorporating it as part of a large pre-participation screening, involving other tests and assessments may be useful and should be further examined
Adolescent and collegiate Gaelic footballers and hurlers perform worse in the YBT than previous research, and a significant proportion of them were identified as at risk of sustaining a LE or non-contact LE injury when using previously published cutoff points
Summary
The modified star excursion balance or Y balance test (YBT) is a commonly used field balance measure as it is a simple to administer, relatively dynamic and utilises portable standardized inexpensive equipment.[5,6,9] It is a multidirectional test of balance, where a single leg stance on one leg is required to be maintained on a plastic platform, while maximally reaching with the contralateral leg in an anterior, posteriomedial and posteriolateral direction with the distance reached being measured.[10] The YBT has demonstrated high inter-6,10 and intra-tester reliability.[5,6,10,11] Six prospective studies have examined the ability of this test to identify those at risk of sustaining injury in the sporting population,[5,12,13,14,15] with conflicting findings Four of these studies reported positive findings. Both Lai et al.[15] and Wright et al.[16] reported that the YBT did not predict LE injury in NCAA division 1 athletes and cautioned clinicians against solely using the YBT as a screening method for LE injury in this population
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