Performance on a Motor Control Test in an Asymptomatic Adolescent Population.
Kari Lindegren, Kristin Bastian, Christopher Kovacs and 3 others
PMID 35136684WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescents performed worse on the supine double leg lowering test than adults, with females scoring lower than males.
Sport participation did not affect scores. This suggests adult normative values are not appropriate for assessing motor control in healthy adolescents.
Key findings
01Healthy adolescents aged 13-18 scored an average of 72.36 degrees on the supine double leg lowering test, which is worse than previously reported adult norms of 15-55 degrees.
02Females performed significantly worse than males (76.99 vs 68.49 degrees), but there was no difference between those involved in organized sports and those who were not.
03There was no significant correlation between body mass index and test performance, though age and BMI were weakly positively correlated.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Small sample size limits generalizability. Leg length was not accounted for, which may affect the muscle recruitment required. Hamstring tightness was not formally assessed, though knee flexion was allowed. Height and weight were self-reported. Fatigue from physical education class was not controlled. A learning effect was observed, with some participants improving on the second trial.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume poor performance on this test indicates pathology in adolescents. The study found that even healthy, asymptomatic adolescents performed significantly worse than adults, likely due to developmental factors or test sensitivity, so adult norms should not be applied directly.