Comparing the Dominant and Non-Dominant Leg Strength of Division I Collegiate Female Cutting Athletes to Jumping Athletes: A Pilot Study.

Abstract

Background: Assessing lower extremity strength and performance is common practice in sports medicine. Sport-specific demands could impact the amount of leg strength asymmetry between the dominant and non-dominant leg present in athletes.

Hypothesis/purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the amount of lower limb strength asymmetry between the dominant and non-dominant of female collegiate athletes across different sports.

Study design: Case control study.

Methods: A total of 43 female Division I collegiate athletes from soccer, tennis, and volleyball teams participated in the study. Subjects were separated into groups based on participation in a jumping sport (volleyball) versus a cutting sport (soccer and tennis). Differences in concentric quadriceps peak torque between the dominant and non-dominant legs at 60 deg/sec, measured using the Biodex System 3 isokinetic dynamometer, were compared across groups. Athletes of each sport type were classified as "dominant stronger", "equal", or "non-dominant stronger" based on the differences between leg strength using a cut-off value of a difference of 10ft-lbs of torque. Odds ratios were calculated to determine the association between sport exposure and quadriceps strength on the dominant side.

Results: Jumping athletes were 30 times (OR=29.96 (CI 95%, 1.56 - 577.25) more likely than cutting athletes to have a stronger dominant quadriceps. In jumping athletes, the participants were distributed almost evenly across the "dominant stronger", "non-dominant stronger", and "equal" groups. In cutting athletes, 76.9% fell into the "equal" category, while the remaining 23.1% fell into the "non-dominant stronger" category.

Conclusion: Female collegiate jumping athletes were much more likely to have a stronger quadriceps on the dominant vs non-dominant leg than were cutting athletes. This information can be used to help develop specific strength and conditioning and rehabilitative programs for female athletes.

Level of evidence: Level 3.