An examination of the intra-rater reliability of the Y Balance test for high school female athletes.
Hiroto Takahashi, Tatsuya Igawa, Shomaru Ito and 6 others
PMID 39764302WHAT IT FOUND
For female high school athletes, the Y Balance test shows high reliability when using the average of the third, fourth, and fifth trials.
Earlier trials often show a learning effect, so discarding the first two attempts yields more consistent balance scores.
Key findings
01The intra-rater reliability of the Y Balance test was high across all directions, with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.8 for the third to fifth trials.
02Reach distances improved significantly between the first trial and later trials in several directions, indicating a learning effect.
03No statistically significant differences were found between the third, fourth, and fifth measurements, suggesting results stabilize by the third attempt.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted at a single high school in Tochigi Prefecture, limiting generalizability. The sample consisted only of active female athletes, so findings may not apply to non-athletic populations or males. Only five trials were conducted per direction, whereas some previous protocols used nine; results might differ with a higher number of repetitions. Rest periods between trials were standardized at 10 minutes, but previous studies have varied in their rest protocols.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest, and the research received no external funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the first YBT trial is representative of an athlete's true balance ability. The study shows a clear learning effect where reach distances significantly improved after the first attempt, so using only the first trial may underestimate stability.