Reliability of the running vertical jump test in female team sport athletes

Abstract

Injury rates to the lower limb have increased over the past 40 years, coinciding with increases in female sport participation rates. Sport specific tests such as the running vertical jump (RVJ) are utilised for injury risk profiling, however the test-retest reliability is unknown. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the test-retest reliability of the thorax, pelvis and lower limb joint angular kinematics and kinetics for the RVJ test in female team sport athletes. DesignThree-dimensional motion capture with force plate integration was utilised as participants performed five trials on each limb on three separate days. SettingTesting occurred in a biomechanics laboratory. ParticipantsThirty-four females (Australian Rules Football = 15, Netball = 12, Soccer = 7) participated in this study. Main Outcome MeasuresIntraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), effect sizes and typical errors (TE) of segment and joint angular kinematics and kinetics were calculated. ResultsPoor to excellent reliability (ICC = −0.12 – 0.92), small to large effect sizes (0.00–0.90) and TE (0.02–289.24) were observed across segment and joint angular kinematics and kinetics. ConclusionsThe RVJ test is recommended when analysing ground reaction forces and joint angular kinematics in female team sport athletes.