Barbell Squat Relative Strength as an Identifier for Lower Extremity Injury in Collegiate Athletes

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Exercise Physiology
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Lower extremity (LE) injuries are common in collegiate athletes.
• Identifying athletes at risk for LE injuries is crucial for injury prevention.
• Preseason screening tools are needed to assess LE injury risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if relative strength in the One Repetition Maximum (1RM) barbell back squat can identify collegiate athletes at risk for seasonal LE injuries.
• To compare relative back squat strength between injured and uninjured male and female collegiate athletes.
• To establish potential strength thresholds for LE injury risk.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective collection of 1RM back squat (kg) and LE injury data from Division I male football and female volleyball/softball athletes.
• Calculation of relative strength by normalizing 1RM back squat to body mass.
• Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to compare relative strength between injured and uninjured groups.

Main Results:

• Significantly lower relative barbell back squat strength was observed in injured male and female athletes compared to their uninjured counterparts.
• A moderate to large effect size (g = 0.86-0.85) was found for this difference.
• Potential risk thresholds identified: relative squat strength below 2.2 for males and 1.6 for females.

Conclusions:

• Relative 1RM barbell back squat strength shows potential as a screening tool for identifying collegiate athletes at risk of LE injury.
• Body mass-normalized squat strength can be incorporated into multi-factor preseason screening protocols.
• Strength professionals should consider utilizing this metric to assess seasonal LE injury risk in college athletes.