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. 2023 Apr;21(2):210-217.
doi: 10.1016/j.jesf.2023.02.003. Epub 2023 Feb 27.

Validity and reliability of upper extremity star excursion balance test in adolescent swimmers

Hao-Ran Xu  1 , Yong-Hui Zhang  1 , Yuan Mao  2 , Thanh Luan Ngo  1 , Qiong Zhang  3 , Gang He  3 , Zhimin Feng  3 , Wenjia Sun  3 , Xue-Qiang Wang  1   4
Affiliations

Validity and reliability of upper extremity star excursion balance test in adolescent swimmers

Hao-Ran Xu et al. J Exerc Sci Fit. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Upper limb balance is one of the important physical fitness parameters for all populations, especially overhead athletes like swimmers. Upper extremity star excursion balance test (UESEBT) is a comprehensive dynamic balance assessment, this study aims to explore the reliability and validity of UESEBT among adolescent swimmers.

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 70 adolescent swimmers. All participants were required to complete UESEBT, upper quarter Y-balance test (UQYBT), maximal isometric strength (MIS) tests in upper limb, closed kinetic chain upper extremity stability test (CKCUEST), trunk flexor endurance test (TFET) and lateral trunk endurance test (LTET). The intra- and inter-operator reliability and the correlation of UESEBT with other physical performances were conducted.

Results: For reliability, the intra- and inter-operator reliability of all directions and composite score were high-to-excellent (ICC = 0.706-1.000) among all participants. For validity, the UESEBT has a moderate-to-strong correlation with UQYBT (r = 0.42-0.72, p < 0.001), and a weak-to moderate one with CKCUEST (r = 0.25-0.42, p < 0.05). Furthermore, the UESEBT performance showed weak-to-moderate correlations with MIS (r = 0.24-0.44, p < 0.05). UESEBT was correlated to LTET (r = 0.24-0.33, p < 0.05) whereas no relationship was found with TFET.

Conclusions: UESEBT was a reliable and valid tool to screen upper extremity dynamic balance among adolescent swimmers. UESEBT provides more detailed information in eight directions to assess the upper limb sport performance. Further study should explore the prediction ability of UESEBT for injury.

Keywords: Adolescent; CKC, closed kinetic chain; CKCUEST, closed kinetic chain upper extremity stability test; D, dominant limb as stance limb; Dynamic balance; ICC, intraclass correlation coefficients; LQYBT, lower quarter Y-balance test; LTET, lateral trunk endurance test; MDC, minimum detectable change; MIS, maximal isometric strength; ND, non-dominant limb as stance limb; Reliability; SEM, standard error of measurement; Swim; TFET, trunk flexor endurance test; UESEBT, upper extremity star excursion balance test; UQYBT, upper quarter Y-balance test; Validity.

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Conflict of interest statement

This article is an original research which has not been published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. The authors declare that they have no competing interests and this work has been approved for publication by all author.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Correlation Matrix of UESEBT and other outcomes Note: Outcomes with statistical significance (p < 0.05) were labeled by r-values and those without were marked by ‘X’. Abbreviations: CKCUEST: Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test; TFET: Trunk Flexor Endurance Test; N-LTET: Lateral Trunk Endurance Test on non-dominant side; D-LTET: Lateral Trunk Endurance Test on dominant side.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Correlation Coefficient between UESEBT and UQYBT on dominant side Note: Spearman test was applied to carry out r-value and it is labeled on the top left of each graph. Abbreviations: UESEBT: upper extremity star excursion balance test; UQYBT: upper quarter Y-balance test.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Correlation Coefficient between UESEBT and UQYBT on non-dominant side Note: Spearman test was applied to carry out r-value and it is labeled on the top left of each graph. Abbreviations: UESEBT: upper extremity star excursion balance test; UQYBT: upper quarter Y-balance test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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