Dynamic balance ability in single-leg drop jump landing in junior female athletes after shin splints-assessment from a preventive perspective.
Shinya Kishi, Kenta Fujiwara, Yuuji Kimura
PMID 34658520WHAT IT FOUND
Junior female athletes who had recovered from shin splints showed greater early body sway and higher landing forces on the previously injured leg compared to the healthy leg.
This suggests lingering dynamic balance deficits despite returning to sport.
Key findings
01Peak vertical force and early center of pressure area (20-200 ms) were significantly larger on the affected side than the healthy side.
02The center of pressure area during the 1-5 second period was significantly larger on the healthy side than the affected side.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 10 participants, which is a very small sample size for drawing general conclusions. There was no control group of athletes without a history of shin splints, so it is unclear if the observed differences are specific to shin splints or common in junior athletes. The study did not track whether these athletes actually re-injured, so the clinical consequence of the balance deficits is inferred rather than proven.
Declared interests
The authors declared no funding and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the smaller body sway in the 1-5 second window on the injured leg as better stability. The authors suggest this may reflect an excessive locking of the joint to compensate for poor early control, rather than healthy balance.