Investigation of the relationship between lower extremity functional performance of American football players and their anthropometric characteristics and jump test results
Ogün Köyağasıoğlu1
, Seçkin Şenışık2, Mehmet Açık3, Semiha Özgül4
1Sports Medicine Clinic, Manisa City Hospital, Manisa, Türkiye
2Department of Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, İzmir, Türkiye
3Sports Medicine Clinic, Hatay Antakya State Hospital, Antakya, Türkiye
4Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, İzmir, Türkiye
Keywords: Football, hop test, asymmetry, playing position, speed, agility
Abstract
Objective: Hop tests have well-known benefits when evaluating the rehabilitation process after sports injuries. However, utilization of hop tests to evaluate functional athletic performance of healthy athletes is currently uncertain and is not common in clinical practice. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between hop performance, their symmetries and functional test performance in American Football (AmF) players.
Materials and Methods: Twenty-six collegiate AmF players aged 20.9±2.5 years participated in this study. According to their playing positions, players categorized as Skill Players (SP), Big Skill Players (BSP) and Linemen (LM). Body Mass Index (BMI) and body fat ratio were measured. Then, subjects were performed hop tests and 10-yards Lower Extremity Functional Test (LEFT). Players were also analysed by dividing into low and high performers for LEFT, according to their LEFT test duration.
Results: Hop test performance of the SP was superior to LM for SLH, TH, and CH. The performance of BSP was inferior to SP for CH, and was superior to LM for SLH. In LEFT, the SP group was significantly faster than LM. For LEFT, TH, CH and 6H test results were significantly different between low and high performer players.
Conclusion: Hop tests may be utilized to evaluate the functional athletic performance of AmF players. Physical characteristics and playing positions should also be considered. Symmetry had no effect on LEFT.
Cite this article as: Koyagasioglu O, Senisik S, Acik M, Ozgul S. Investigation of the relationship between lower extremity functional performance of American football players and their anthropometric characteristics and jump test results. Turk J Sports Med. 2023; 58(3):125-32; https://doi.org/10.47447/tjsm.0751
The approval for this study was obtained from Ege University, Clinical Research Ethics Committee, Izmir, Türkiye (Decision no: 21-5T/64 Date: 06.05.2021).
Concept – OK,MA; Design - OK,MA; Supervision – SS; Material - OK,MA ; Data Collecton and/or Processng – OK,MA; Analysis and Interpretaton – SO; Literature Revew – OK; Writing Manuscript - OK; Critical Reviews - SS
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to authorship and/or publication of the article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or publication of this article.
