Better Dynamic Balance as a Predictor of Better Horizontal Hop Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Mathias K Pedersen, Sofie H Kristensen, Emil R Hansen and 4 others
Better dynamic balance on the Y-Balance Test was associated with longer single-leg hop distances in 135 healthy young adults.
The link held regardless of hip muscle strength level. The anterior reach direction showed no such association.
Key findings
1Better composite dynamic balance (YBT) was associated with longer single-leg hop distances (β = 0.59, 95% CI 0.29–0.88, p < 0.001).
2The posteromedial (β = 0.58) and posterolateral (β = 0.54) YBT directions predicted hop performance, but the anterior direction did not (β = 0.14, p = 0.393).
3The balance-to-hop association was similar in participants with hip strength above and below the sample mean in all four directions; the Z-test found no significant differences in regression slopes between subgroups.
Still to come
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Cross-sectional design: the study shows an association, not a cause. It cannot tell you whether improving balance will improve hop performance. Participants were healthy, young (median age 25), and more physically active than the general Danish population, so the reference values may not apply to older or less active patients. Six different testers performed the assessments, which introduces some intertester variability even with standardised protocols. Participants could use their arms during the YBT but not during the SLHD, an inconsistency the authors acknowledge. No formal sample size calculation was performed; the sample was set pragmatically to serve as reference data for another trial. Stratifying by the sample mean means participants with nearly identical strength values could have been placed in different groups.
Declared interests
All authors declare no competing interests. The work was funded by Danske Fysioterapeuter and Gigtforeningen.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the balance-hop association as evidence that balance training will improve hop performance. The study is cross-sectional, so it shows a link, not a cause. The participants were also healthy young adults with a median age of 25, so the finding may not hold for patients recovering from injury or for older, less active populations.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →