Balance Performance of Professional Footballers with Long-term Lower Limb Musculoskeletal Injury

Abstract

Lower limb musculoskeletal injury (LLMI) is a common occurrence in athletes. Balance impairments have been implicated as contributory to poor balance performance following LLMI. It is usually expected that once the initial rehabilitation period is over, subsequent recovery should continue until the pre-injury state is reached. Some studies on certain physically-active individuals and amateur athletes have reported that this is usually not the case. This study therefore investigated balance performance (BPf) in professional footballers with longterm LLMI, the effect of limb dominance on BPf and comparison of BPf in injured footballers with their uninjured counterparts. A sample of 115 professional footballers – 104 males and 11 females, participated in the study and they consisted of two groups - injured group of participants (IGP) and uninjured group of participants (UGP). Balance performance (BPf) was assessed using the Stork balance stand test. The time in seconds for which the participant is able to stand on the ball of the foot of one leg is indicative of the BPf for that lower limb. The results indicated that poor balance performance was observed in the injured limb compared to the uninjured limb in IGP (P=0.000). BPf was poorer in the dominant limb of IGP compared with the dominant limb of UGP (P= 0.000). Time lapse since injury did not have any effect on BPf (P=0.868). It was concluded that balance problems persist in professional footballers with LLMI irrespective of time lapse since injury.

Keywords: footballers, lower limb, injuries, balance, dominance