The Effect of Muscle Imbalance on Running Performance in Collegiate Level Athletes

The existence of a lower body muscle imbalance has previously been correlated with increased injury risk, and has the potential to alter running mechanics and influence running performance. The purpose of this investigation was to identify lower body functional asymmetry in a wide range of collegiate level athletes and to determine how these imbalances, if they exist, correlated with anaerobic performance. Participants underwent a standing long jump test consisting of one-leg and two-leg jumps, followed by a running-based sprint test. Significant anthropometric and performance differences between males and females were observed, however, no differences were found in lower limb power asymmetries between sexes. Significant differences were found in maximum jumping distance between the dominant and nondominant leg (p\u3c0.05). Fatigue index and maximum power were correlated with increased performance, measured as a percentage of the Canadian record, however, lower limb power asymmetry was not correlated with either of these performance variables