Sex-related Anthropometrics in a Lower-Body Mobility Assessment Among Professional Soccer Athletes.
Corbin A Hedt, Jessica T Le, Tyler Heimdal and 4 others
PMID 35391861WHAT IT FOUND
Female professional soccer athletes scored higher on FMS deep squat, in-line lunge, and straight leg raise than male athletes, but sex differences vanished on the Y-balance after adjusting for limb length.
Height, lean mass, and pelvic width tracked with scores.
Key findings
01Female professional soccer athletes scored higher than male athletes on the FMS deep squat, in-line lunge, and straight leg raise.
02In-line lunge FMS scores were lower in athletes with greater height and lean mass.
03Y-balance reach measures showed no sex differences after normalizing to limb length.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Data came from only two clubs, so the results may not apply to other teams or sports. Athletes were 22 to 32 years old, so younger and older athletes are not represented. The study did not collect injury history, so it cannot show whether FMS or Y-balance scores predict injury. It was a single timepoint cross-sectional study, not a trial of intervention or injury outcomes. The authors note uncertainty about how to incorporate anatomical factors into current scoring systems.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest and no funding support was provided.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that higher FMS scores mean women have lower injury risk. The study did not collect injury history, and the authors suggest anatomical features such as pelvic width, height, and lean mass may bias FMS scoring.