Analysis of Balance and Functional Hop Tests in Athletes With Lower Extremity Injuries by Dual Task Study

Plain-language summary

Functional Hop tests and balance measurements are frequently used to decide on returning to sports after lower extremity injuries. Although the athletes show proficiency in these tests and measurements, re-injuries occur when returning to sports. The causes of these re-injuries are mostly functional deficiencies such as inadequate neuromuscular control and stability. In the competition or sports environment, especially in team games, the athlete also shows cognitive performance, such as communication with teammates and following the game, which are included in the game setup, as well as the physical performance. Performing many tasks or performances at the same time divides the focus of attention on the activities performed, and if the person cannot adequately meet the attention demands, the quality of one or more of the tasks performed will deteriorate. As the level of expertise in the sport increases, the athlete tends to manage his posture, balance and movement with automatic postural control and can focus his attention on a new task. The concept of focus of attention has been evaluated from different perspectives over time. If it is examined in terms of direction; It is divided into two as the internal focus of attention, which is used by focusing on body movements during the performance of the person, and the external focus of attention, which is used by focusing on the effect of the movement during the performance of the person. As the investigators planned in this study, a second cognitive task assigned to the participant simultaneously during his or her physical performance acts as an external focus of attention, allowing movement control during performance to be carried out by unconscious or automatic processes. The investigators's aim; It is to examine the balance and functional hop tests that the investigator will apply in athletes by combining them with a simultaneous dual cognitive task that will reflect the field conditions more realistically. In the meantime, investigators think that with the sharing of our results with the literature, it can contribute to both the decision-making processes to return to sports after injury and preventive rehabilitation programs.

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