Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026
07:30
Muscle Imbalances: Testing and Training Functional Eccentric Hamstring Strength in Athletic Populations
Published on: May 1, 2018
Explosive strength imbalances in professional basketball players
Marc Schiltz1, Cédric Lehance, Didier Maquet
1University Hospital Center, Liège, Belgium. mschiltz@clstjean.be
Journal of Athletic Training
|January 31, 2009
Summary
Professional basketball players show no dominant limb effect in explosive strength, but knee injury history significantly impacts performance and increases asymmetries. This highlights the importance of considering injury history in athlete assessments.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Biomechanics
- Athletic Performance
Background:
- Lower limb injuries are common in basketball.
- Elite athlete studies often overlook injury history's impact on the dominant-limb effect.
- Understanding strength asymmetries is crucial for injury prevention and performance optimization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare lower limb explosive-strength asymmetries between professional basketball players, junior players, and healthy controls.
- To investigate the influence of injury history on these asymmetries in professional athletes.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study involving 15 professional players, 10 junior players, and 20 controls.
- Isokinetic examination of knee extensor and flexor torque at various speeds.
- Functional assessments including jump tests and sprints.
Main Results:
- Basketball players (professional and junior) outperformed controls in strength and functional tests.
- No significant differences in relative performance or dominant-limb effect were found between professional and junior players.
- Professional players with a knee injury history exhibited reduced strength and greater bilateral asymmetries compared to uninjured counterparts.
Conclusions:
- Professional basketball players do not display a dominant-limb effect in explosive strength.
- Previous knee injuries in professional athletes are linked to persistent strength deficits and functional asymmetries.
- Injury history is a critical factor to consider when evaluating explosive strength and asymmetries in basketball players.
Related Concept Videos
01:04Social Facilitation
Not all intergroup interactions lead to negative outcomes. Sometimes, being in a group situation can improve performance. Social facilitation occurs when an individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the individual performs the behavior alone. This typically occurs when people are performing a task for which they are skilled.
01:17Force and Momentum
Force and momentum are intimately related. Force acting over time can change momentum, and Newton's second law of motion can be stated in its most broadly applicable form in terms of momentum. Momentum can be applied to systems where the mass is changing, such as rockets, as well as to systems of constant mass. Also, momentum continues to be a key concept in the study of atomic and subatomic particles in quantum mechanics. One can consider systems with varying mass in some detail; however, the...
01:28Conservation of Linear Momentum for a System of Particles
In the dynamic realm of billiards, a fascinating interplay of forces governs the motion of cue balls and stationary balls. When the cue ball collides with a stationary ball, linear momentum is exchanged. The cue ball imparts a fraction of its linear momentum to the stationary ball, causing the cue ball to decelerate while initiating the motion of the stationary ball.
The impulsive force at play during this interaction is of extremely short duration, rendering its impulse negligible. When...
The impulsive force at play during this interaction is of extremely short duration, rendering its impulse negligible. When...
01:15Elastic Collisions: Case Study
Elastic collision of a system demands conservation of both momentum and kinetic energy. To solve problems involving one-dimensional elastic collisions between two objects, the equations for conservation of momentum and conservation of internal kinetic energy can be used. For the two objects, the sum of momentum before the collision equals the total momentum after the collision. An elastic collision conserves internal kinetic energy, and so the sum of kinetic energies before the collision equals...
01:20Strength of Cement
Strength tests for cement are not performed directly on neat cement paste due to difficulty in obtaining consistent, reliable specimens. Instead, cement is typically tested in the form of cement-sand mortar.
For compressive strength tests, ASTM C 109-05 standards prescribe a cement-sand mix ratio of 1:2.75 and a water/cement ratio of 0.485 for making 2-inch cubes. These cubes are mixed, cast, and cured in saturated lime water at 23°C until testing. Flexural strength testing, outlined in ASTM C...
For compressive strength tests, ASTM C 109-05 standards prescribe a cement-sand mix ratio of 1:2.75 and a water/cement ratio of 0.485 for making 2-inch cubes. These cubes are mixed, cast, and cured in saturated lime water at 23°C until testing. Flexural strength testing, outlined in ASTM C...
03:48Behavior of Gas Molecules: Molecular Diffusion, Mean Free Path, and Effusion
Although gaseous molecules travel at tremendous speeds (hundreds of meters per second), they collide with other gaseous molecules and travel in many different directions before reaching the desired target. At room temperature, a gaseous molecule will experience billions of collisions per second. The mean free path is the average distance a molecule travels between collisions. The mean free path increases with decreasing pressure; in general, the mean free path for a gaseous molecule will be...