EVALUATING BALANCE AS AN INJURY RISK FACTOR IN GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Abstract

Portable, fast, and cost effective screening tests are needed to identify areas of weakness that could potentially lead to injury in female middle school and high school basketball athletes. Deficits in balance have been correlated with increased ankle sprains, and specific training can help alleviate these deficits and reduce risks. The Y balance test (YBT) determines dynamic balance deficits in three reach directions. As part of a larger study, this project is concerned with testing the Y balance test in pediatric female basketball athletes. Scores did not improve with age from the under fourteen group to the fourteen and older group supporting data that, unlike their male counterparts, motor control in females does not improve with age. Asymmetries between legs, which have been observed as a risk indicator previously, were also observed in every reach direction with a peak seen around eleven years old. Pilot data gathered in this study may help form a baseline for injury risk prediction in this population.