Context:
Anecdotal evidence suggests a relationship between strength imbalances and injury incidence.
Objective:
To examine the relationship between bilateral strength imbalance and incidence of injury.
Participants and Design:
Thirty national- or international-standard flatwater kayakers were classified as noninjured, trunk injured, or upper-limb injured based on the number of days lost from training over the last 6 months. Bilateral strength imbalance was measured using a kayak ergometer, producing data for peak force and force impulse for each side of each stroke. Bilateral strength imbalance was then compared between the noninjured, trunk-injured, and upper-limb-injured groups by means of 2 one-way ANOVAs. No participants reported training days lost through lower-limb injury.
Results:
A significantly elevated bilateral peak-force strength imbalance was observed between the upper-limb-injured and the noninjured groups.
Conclusion:
These data support the existence of a relationship between strength imbalance and incidence of injury.