title: Dynamic postural stability in young adolescent male and female athletes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Further longitudinal research is needed to fully understand how dynamic postural stability changes over adolescence.
authors.affiliation: School 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.
authors.forename: Sinéad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Holden
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boreham
authors.forename: Cailbhe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doherty
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Eamonn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delahunt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D056352:Athletes; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*