Normative values for single-leg hop performance in Saudi healthy population

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of functional outcome measurement is to assess the performance of patients with knee joint injuries and their ability to return to physical activity. However, normative data for these measures are limited and generally include a wide range of ages and activity levels. Normative data can be used to make comparisons with patient populations. It can also be used to compare differences between individual legs. The purpose of this study is to establish normative data for single-leg hop for distance in healthy population. Methods: One hundred and five healthy and active male participants were recruited to participate in the study, 35 in each age group (18–24, 25–34, and 35–44 years old). Participants who voluntarily participate in the study are physically active people. They also ensured that in the past 6 months, they had not suffered any injuries to their lower limbs, which prevented them from performing daily exercises. Participants were asked to perform a single-leg hop on right and left leg and measure the hop distance by using a tape measure. The distance of the jump was calculated by dividing the hop distance by the length of the participant's leg and then multiplying by 100, the hop data is normalized to the length of the limb to obtain a percentage value. Results: For all participants, the mean distance for single-leg hop was 136 cm. Aditionally, normalising the hop to leg length was 151%, which means the participants could hop 1.5 their leg's length. The results showed that there was no difference in the performance of the left and right legs of the middle-aged group (25–34). For the youngest and oldest age groups (18–24 and 35–44), there was a statically significant difference in the performance of the left and right legs. All of the participants scored 85% of limb symmetry index. There were significant differences in hop performance according to age, as aging results in changes and a decrease in hop performance, and in older group, hop performance decreases are considerable. Conclusion: This study has generated normative reference data that may be used to determine the impairments linked to musculoskeletal and neuromuscular disorders, along with ways of monitoring the progression of the disorder over time.