PRESEASON LOWER EXTREMITY FUNCTIONAL TEST SCORES ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER QUADRANT INJURY - A VALIDATION STUDY WITH NORMATIVE DATA ON 395 DIVISION III ATHLETES.

Background: Preseason performance on the lower extremity functional test (LEFT), a timed series of agility drills, has been previously reported to be associated with future risk of lower quadrant (LQ = low back and lower extremities) injury in Division III (D III) athletes. Validation studies are warranted to confirm or refute initial findings.

Hypothesis/purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to examine the ability of the LEFT to discriminate injury occurrence in D III athletes, in order to validate or refute prior findings.