Side Bridge Test Research Articles

The role of lumbo-pelvic hip complex strength (often referred to as core stability) in lower extremity injuries has received recent attention. Female athletes have been shown to be at greater risk for lower extremity injuries compared to their male counterparts. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if differences in trunk and hip muscle performance exist between male and female collegiate basketball athletes. Prior to the beginning of the organized season, a series of tests designed to measure core strength were conducted on 75 female and 25 male varsity collegiate basketball athletes. Endurance time of the back extensor (BE) muscles was tested using a modified Biering-Sorensen test. A side bridge (SB) test was used to measure endurance time of the quadratus lumborum and lateral trunk flexors. Abdominal (AB) muscle performance was assessed in degrees with the straight leg-lowering test. A hand-held dynamometer was used to measure isometric strength for hip external rotation (ER) and abduction (Abd). Isometric force measurments were normalized to body weight for comparisons between individuals. Student t-tests were used to compare muscle performance between males and females. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to examine relationships among the various muscle performance measures. Results showed that males performed significantly better than females for all of the activities tested. (See Table) Significant correlation was found between external rotation and abduction strength (r = .64). Side bridging was significantly correlated with external rotation strength (r = .58) and back extension endurance (r = .64). Weakness of key muscles of the lumbopelvic-hip complex may be related to increased risk of lower extremity injury, particularly in female athletes. This study is currently being extended to determine if athletes who perform poorly on these tests are more likely to be injured during the season.Table

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