THE LOWER EXTREMITY GRADING SYSTEM (LEGS) TO EVALUATE BASELINE LOWER EXTREMITY PERFORMANCE IN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES.

Background And Purpose: Lower extremity athletic injuries result in impairments in balance, power, and jump-landing mechanics. Unilateral injury has bilateral effects and the literature supports that it is important to assess neuromuscular impairments such as balance, power, and jumping mechanics following injury and for safe return to sport after injury rehabilitation. Currently, individual tests are established in the literature, but no combined approach or clinical tool exists for this purpose.

PROSPECTIVE FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE TESTING AND RELATIONSHIP TO LOWER EXTREMITY INJURY INCIDENCE IN ADOLESCENT SPORTS PARTICIPANTS.

Background: Due to the high number of adolescent athletes and subsequent lower extremity injuries, improvements of injury prevention strategies with emphasis on clinic-based and practical assessments are warranted.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to prospectively investigate if a battery of functional performance tests (FPT) could be used as a preseason-screening tool to identify adolescent athletes at risk for sports-related acute lower extremity injury via comparison of injured and uninjured subjects.

Methods: One hundred adolescent volleyball, basketball and soccer athletes (female, n=62; male, n=38; mean age = 14.