Abstract
The Y-Balance Test-Lower Quarter has shown promise as a screening tool for identifying athletes at risk of injury. Subsequent studies, utilizing heterogeneous populations or different operational definitions of injury, have presented equivocal findings. Therefore, studies evaluating the efficacy of the Y-Balance Test to discriminate injury risk in a homogeneous population is warranted. One-hundred sixty-nine male (mean age 19.9 ± 1.5 y) collegiate basketball players were recruited during 2 consecutive seasons (2016–2017/2017–2018). Athletes completed the Y-Balance testing protocol at the start of each preseason. Athletic trainers tracked noncontact time-loss lower quadrant injuries over the course of the season. Receiver operator characteristic curves failed to identify cutoff scores; therefore, previously reported cutoff scores were utilized when calculating relative risk. There was no association between preseason Y-Balance Test scores and noncontact time-loss lower back or lower extremity injury in a population of male collegiate basketball players. This study adds to a growing body of evidence that demonstrates no relationship between preseason Y-Balance Test scores and subsequent injury.
Highlights
The Y-Balance Test–Lower Quarter (YBT-LQ) is a functional performance test utilized to evaluate dynamic balance during clinical rehabilitation [1,2,3,4,5,6]
There were no significant associations found between preseason YBT-LQ scores and injury
This prospective cohort study adds to the growing body of research demonstrating that no relationship exists between preseason YBT-LQ and injury in athletic populations
Summary
The Y-Balance Test–Lower Quarter (YBT-LQ) is a functional performance test utilized to evaluate dynamic balance during clinical rehabilitation [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The YBT-LQ has been used to identify athletes who may be at a greater risk of injury [7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Plisky et al [14], using the star excursion balance test (SEBT; a precursor to the YBT-LQ) [15], evaluated preseason dynamic balance in high school basketball (BB) players. Butler et al [7], utilizing the YBT-LQ reported that a lower composite score (albeit a different one from Plisky et al [14]) was associated with a three-fold risk of a noncontact lower extremity injury in collegiate football players [7]
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