Support for a reduction in the number of trials needed for the star excursion balance test.
Robinson RH, Gribble PA. Support for a reduction in the number of trials needed for the Star Excursion Balance Test.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the number of trials necessary to achieve stability in excursion distance and stance leg angular displacement for the 8 directions of the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT).


METHODS
One-way repeated-measures analysis of variance.


METHODS
Athletic training laboratory.


METHODS
Twenty participants (10 men, 10 women) without any known musculoskeletal injuries or neurologic deficits that could have negatively affected their dynamic balance volunteered for the study.


METHODS
Participants completed 6 practice and 3 test trials in each of the 8 reach directions of the SEBT.


METHODS
Excursion distances of the reaching leg normalized to leg length and angular displacement at the hip and knee of the stance leg in all 3 planes of movement were determined.


RESULTS
There were significant increases in excursion distance, hip flexion, and knee flexion for 7, 4, and 5 of the 8 reach directions, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
For the majority of the reach directions, maximum excursion distances and stance leg angular displacement values achieved stability within the first 4 practice trials, thus justifying a reduction in the recommended number of practice trials from 6 to 4 and supporting the trend toward simplifying SEBT administration.
Robinson
Richard H
RH
Department of Kinesiology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.
Gribble
Phillip A
PA
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D012107:Research Design