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Updated: Apr 23, 2026
Evaluating Postural Control and Lower-extremity Muscle Activation in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability
Published on: September 18, 2020
Dynamic postural stability in young adolescent male and female athletes
Sinéad Holden1, Colin Boreham, Cailbhe Doherty
1School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science (Ms Holden, Mr Doherty, Mr Wang, Dr Delahunt, and Dr Boreham); Institute for Sport and Health (Dr Boreham and Mr Delahunt), University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Purpose:
To investigate dynamic postural stability performance of young adolescent athletes.
Methods:
Eighty-nine male and 81 female athletes participated. Each participant performed 3 trials of the anterior, posterior-medial, and posterior-lateral reach directions of the Star Excursion Balance Test on each limb. Distance achieved for each direction was expressed as a percentage of leg length, with the composite reach distance of these directions being used for statistical analysis.
Results:
No significant interaction effect for sex and limb dominance (P > .05) was found, nor was a significant main effect for sex or limb dominance (P > .05) observed. Notably, the composite reach distance achieved by both male and female athletes was less than 94% of leg length, a value that has previously been identified for increased injury risk in adolescent athletes.
Conclusion:
Further longitudinal research is needed to fully understand how dynamic postural stability changes over adolescence.
