Star Excursion Balance Test as a Predictor of Lower Extremity Injury in High School Basketball Players

Phillip J. Plisky, Mitchell J. Rauh, Thomas W. Kaminski, Frank B. Underwood
Study Design: Prospective cohort. Objective: To determine if Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) reach distance was associated with risk of lower extremity injury among high school basketball players. Background: Although balance has been proposed as a risk factor for sports-related injury, few researchers have used a dynamic balance test to examine this relationship. Methods and Measures: Prior to the 2004 basketball season, the anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral SEBT reach distances and limb lengths of 235 high school basketball players were measured bilaterally. The Athletic Health Care System Daily Injury Report was used to document time loss injuries. After normalizing for lower limb length, each reach distance, right/left reach distance difference, and composite reach distance were examined using odds ratio and logistic regression analyses. Results: The reliability of the SEBT components ranged from 0.82 to 0.87 (ICC_3,1) and was 0.99 for the measurement of limb length. Logistic regression models indicated that players with an anterior right/left reach distance difference greater than 4 cm were 2.5 times more likely to sustain a lower extremity injury (P<.05). Girls with a composite reach distance less than 94.0% of their limb length were 6.5 times more likely to have a lower extremity injury (P<.05). Conclusions: We found components of the SEBT to be reliable and predictive measures of lower extremity injury in high school basketball players. Our results suggest that the SEBT can be incorporated into preparticipation physical examinations to identify basketball players who are at increased risk for injury.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2006; 36(12):911-919. doi:10.2519/jospt.2006.2244

Key Words: female athlete, neuromuscular control, postural stability

Second International Ankle Symposium

Jay Hertel, Thomas W. Kaminski

The Second International Ankle Symposium was a multidisciplinary conference focused on topics related to ankle instability and associated pathologies and was held on the campus of the University of Delaware in October 2004. The first symposium was held in Ulm, Germany in 2000 and its success served as the catalyst for the second symposium. The most recent symposium brought together over 75 clinicians and scientists from disciplines such as physical therapy, athletic training, orthopedics, podiatry, and biomechanics. Participants represented many countries, including Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Sweden, and the United States. A call for abstracts was initially distributed in the fall of 2003. Members of the organizing committee reviewed all submitted abstracts for scientific merit. Thirty-two abstracts were accepted and presented at the symposium. The educational program consisted of several invited plenary lectures from internationally recognized experts and 19 podium and 13 poster presentations of original research. The symposium also provided for considerable scholarly interaction among the attendees. The meeting culminated with the formation of the International Ankle Consortium, a multidisciplinary group aiming to further the scientific understanding and to improve the clinical care of ankle instability and related pathologies. This group will work to develop standards for ankle instability research, such as guidelines for inclusion and exclusion criteria in ankle instability studies and development of a standardized clinical outcomes tool for use in ankle instability studies. Plans have already commenced for the third International Ankle Symposium to be held at University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, September 1-3, 2006. This special supplement to the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy includes a summary statement, synopses of 5 plenary lectures, and the abstracts of the original research presentations from the second International Ankle Symposium.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2005; 35(5):A1-A28. doi:10.2519/jospt.2005.0301

Key Words: ankle instability, outcomes tool, clinical care

Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy - Thomas W. Kaminski, PhD, ATC, FACSM

Star Excursion Balance Test as a Predictor of Lower Extremity Injury in High School Basketball Players

Second International Ankle Symposium