COMPARISON of LOWER QUARTER Y-BALANCE TEST SCORES for FEMALE COLLEGIATE VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS BASED on COMPETITION LEVEL, POSITION, and STARTER STATUS

Abstract

Background: The Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test (YBT-LQ) is used by sports medicine professionals to measure an athlete's dynamic balance. The YBT-LQ is used by clinicians to track recovery during clinical rehabilitation, assess an athlete's readiness to return to sport after injury, and to identify athletes potentially at-risk for a time-loss injury. Normative data for the YBT-LQ are lacking for female collegiate volleyball (VB) players. The purpose of this study was to examine preseason YBT-LQ scores and their relationships to level of competition, starter status, player position, and prior lower quadrant (i.e., low back and lower extremities) injury history. Methods: One-hundred thirty-four female collegiate VB players (mean age = 19.3 ± 1.1 years) representing athletes from three levels of competition (D II = 32, D III = 77, NAIA = 25) participated in this study. Athletes reported their prior injury history and performed the YBT-LQ testing protocol. Results: NAIA and D III athletes demonstrated significantly greater reach measures on the YBT-LQ than D II athletes in several directions. Starters demonstrated significantly greater reach measures in five out of eight reach directions. Liberos/defensive specialists/setters demonstrated significantly greater posterolateral and composite reach measures bilaterally. There was no difference in reach measures based on prior history of lower quadrant (low back and lower extremities) injury. Conclusion: This study provides normative data for YBT-LQ in female collegiate volleyball players. The data presented in this report may be used by coaches and rehabilitation professionals when evaluating dynamic balance in healthy volleyball players and by clinicians to compare an injured athlete's recovery to norms.

Differences in Upper Quarter Y Balance Test Performance According to Playing Position in Youth Handball Players

“…In terms of static balance abilities and postural priority, Jadczak et al [16] reported signi cant differences between playing positions, with mid elders achieving better results than the other playing positions. These ndings go in line with Brumitt et al [17] who detected signi cantly greater posterolateral and composite reach measures bilaterally in the Lower Quarter Y Balance Test (YBT-LQ) in liberos/defensive specialists/setters. In baseball, a sport comparable to handball in terms of upper extremity importance, Ryu et al [18] were able to detect signi cant differences between the pitchers and in elders in mean right posteromedial normalized reach distances and the composite score executing the YBT-LQ.…”

Association between the Upper Quarter Dynamic Balance, Anthropometrics, Kinematics, and Swimming Speed

“…The dynamic balance scores have been used to screen deficits in neuromuscular control due to pathologies [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ], injury prediction [ 45 , 46 , 47 ], the effect of a certain treatment [ 44 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], or rehabilitation/physical activity program [ 42 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ] in patients with various diseases and return to sport readiness [ 55 , 56 ]. Furthermore, the performance delivered in these tests has also been positively related to physical fitness [ 57 , 58 ] and sports performance [ 22 , 23 , 59 ]. The present results are in tandem with the literature, as higher scores in the UQ-YBT (better upper quarter dynamic balance) were correlated to faster swimming speeds (better performance).…”

“…Dynamic balance and, notably, the upper quarter Y-balance Test (UQ-YBT) have been selected to monitor swimmers less than a handful of times as far as our understanding goes. Studies explored the differences in balance scores between athletes of different sports [ 20 ], competitive levels [ 21 , 22 , 23 ], and under different types of training regimes [ 24 ]. One study selected the UQ-YBT as a benchmark standard to validate another balance test in adolescent swimmers [ 25 ].…”

Diverging Playing Positions do not Lead to Differences in YBT-UQ Performance in Youth Handball Players

“…For instance and contrary to our findings, Patel and Choudhary 19 were able to detect significant differences in balance performance as assessed through the long nose test between the playing positions of handball players in favor of right wingers when compared with center players ( p =0.001), goalkeepers ( p <0.001), back left ( p =0.003), and back right ( p <0.001) as well as pivots ( p <0.001). Further, Brumitt et al 20 reported significant differences in the Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test (YBT-LQ) between volleyball players with different playing positions, with liberos, defensive specialists, and steers taken together displaying significantly better results (posterolateral reach direction: 106.1±10.7% leg length, p =0.001; CS: 106.9±12.8% leg length, p <0.001) than the outside hitters, middle blockers, and opposite right side hitters (posterolateral reach direction: 99.8±10.6% leg length; CS: 94.8±10.8% leg length) when the right lower extremity was tested. Also for the left lower extremity, significantly (posterolateral reach direction: p =0.002; CS: p <0.001) better results were reported for the liberos, defensive specialists, and steers taken together (posterolateral reach direction: 105.8±9.1% leg length; CS: 1070.0±11.4% leg length) than for the outside hitters, middle blockers, and opposite right hitters taken together (posterolateral reach direction: 100.1±10.8% leg length; CS: 95.6±10.4% leg length).…”