The Relationship between Hop Performance and Lower Extremities Muscle Strength

Abstract

This scoping review aims to identify the link between an individual’s hop performance and muscle strength of hip extensors, knee flexors and extensors, as well as ankle plantar flexors through isometric or isokinetic (eccentric-concentric) testing. The literature review ascertained articles from 2005-2015 through Medline (PubMed), SPORT Discus, CINAHL and Google scholar, which included the connection between a minimum of one leg’s distance performance through hop testing in comparison to muscle strength (isokinetically or isometrically). The articles were screened by the researcher through their title, abstract and assessment relevance by criteria of inclusion and exclusion. Apart from one investigation, the obtained studies utilised isokinetic measures or isometric peak force outcome for muscle strength of the lower extremities, together with a comparison of healthy individuals’ hop performance. Many researchers have documented the existing connection between lower extremity strength of a subject with the overall intended function of the test. However, the data findings that were used were rigorously limited purely to the knee muscles that were tested through the use of an isokinetic dynamometer. Research has proven to be vital to this field, as the strength of muscles is affected by the performance of a hop in a functional test, although a clear unequivocal understanding is not present from prior investigations relating the connection between muscle strength (isokinetically) in an individual’s legs and the performance of the hop test. Furthermore, the researcher is required to analyse particular results from training sessions in order to evaluate the improvement of a subject’s performance, which will develop the benefits of the study in question, and gain a clearer comprehension of how to prevent injury.