Background: Musculoskeletal injuries in the lower limbs are common in taekwondo athletes. The first step in preventing these injuries is to predict their injury risk factors.
Purpose: This prospective cohort study aimed to identify whether single leg hopping Test scores is associated with lower limb injury incidence in adult elite Taekwondo athletes.
Method: Seventy elite taekwondo athletes in the adult age category (n = 70, Males: n=39, age= 21.27. ± 2.98 years, height= 1.79 ± 0.06 m, mass= 67.00 ± 12.17 kg, BMI=20.65 ± 2.84 kg.m-2) participated in this prospective cohort study. All the participants were active member of the national taekwondo team. single leg hopping test were assessed as a pre-participants screening test at the pre-season time, before starting the national team camping. Lower extremity injuries that occurred during training or competition within 6 months were recorded by the team physiotherapist at the national team camp. logistic regression was used to create a model for prediction. The statistical significance level was set at p<.05.
Results: The mean of the SLH test records was 196.95± 29.92 cm on the left limb and 196.72 ± 35.35 cm on the right. The overall model created via the logistic regression for the left and right limb was statistically significant when compared to the null model (X2(1) = 40.411, p˂0.001, and X2(1) = 40.411, p˂0.001 respectively for left and right limb), this model explained 45% and 31% of the variation of the lower limb injury incidence (meaning that lower limb incidence can be explained by this full model), suggesting that predictions are fairly reliable. Furthermore, 72.3% and 65.6% of the individuals were correctly classified using the model (provided respectively for the left and right limb composite scores).
Conclusions: Results indicate that the SLH test in left and right scores have a significant association with future lower limb injuries in adult elite Taekwondo athletes. The SLH test scores is a reliable and effective screening test that can help practitioners to identify Taekwondo athletes at risk of sustaining lower limb injury before injuries occur.