Intra- and Inter-Limb Strength Asymmetry in Soccer: A Comparison of Professional and Under-18 Players
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Faculty of Science and Technology, London Sports Institute, Middlesex University, London NW4 1RL, UK
2
Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università Degli Studi di Milano, 20126 Milan, Italy
3
School of Health and Sports Science, University of Suffolk, Ipswich IP4 1QJ, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Corrado Lupo
Sports 2021, 9(9), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9090129
Received: 24 August 2021
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Revised: 3 September 2021
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Accepted: 7 September 2021
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Published: 13 September 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strength and Conditioning and Biomechanics for Sports)
(1) Background: the present study examined the isokinetic peak torque exerted by both knee extensors and flexors, anterior–posterior imbalance and the magnitude and direction of inter-limb asymmetry in professional and academy soccer players. (2) Methods: one hundred soccer players (professional = 50, elite academy = 50) volunteered to take part in this investigation. An isokinetic dynamometer was used to measure the knee extensor (quadriceps) and flexors muscle (hamstrings) torques of the limbs as well as inter-limb asymmetries—using a standard percentage difference equation. (3) Results: professional players exhibited significantly greater (effect size [ES] = large) strength levels in the quadriceps and hamstrings under both testing conditions, significantly higher (small to moderate) intra-limb ratio values for 60°·s−1 but not for the 300°·s−1 test condition, significantly (small to moderate) lower inter-limb asymmetry values for all test conditions, with the exception of the hamstrings at 60°·s−1 and the direction of asymmetry was poor to slight, indicating that limb dominance was rarely the same between groups. (4) Conclusions: this study shows that isokinetic assessments, i.e., peak torque exerted by both knee extensors and flexors and intra-limb ratio, and the subsequent inter-limb asymmetry, i.e., magnitude and direction, can differentiate between professional and academy soccer players.
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Keywords:
football; strength; isokinetic; sports; prevention
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MDPI and ACS Style
Bishop, C.; Coratella, G.; Beato, M. Intra- and Inter-Limb Strength Asymmetry in Soccer: A Comparison of Professional and Under-18 Players. Sports 2021, 9, 129. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9090129
AMA Style
Bishop C, Coratella G, Beato M. Intra- and Inter-Limb Strength Asymmetry in Soccer: A Comparison of Professional and Under-18 Players. Sports. 2021; 9(9):129. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9090129
Chicago/Turabian StyleBishop, Chris, Giuseppe Coratella, and Marco Beato. 2021. "Intra- and Inter-Limb Strength Asymmetry in Soccer: A Comparison of Professional and Under-18 Players" Sports 9, no. 9: 129. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9090129
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