The usefulness of balance test in preseason evaluation of injuries in amputee football players: a pilot prospective observational study

Background. Low balance ability is generally associated with an increased risk of ligament injuries. It seems that assessing the level of stability in amputee football players can help evaluate the accompanying risk of sports injuries. Thus, the study aimed to examine the usefulness of the balance test in preseason evaluation by calculating between-group differences in stability parameters between injured and non-injured amputee players.Methods. The study was designed as a pilot prospective observational study. Twentyfive elite amputee football players representing the Polish National Team and the highest division in Polish League completed one-leg preseason balance tests on the Biodex Balance System before the start of the football season. All players in this study were male, with an average age of 29 years (SD = 7.9), a stature of 174.2 cm (SD 5.2) and a body mass of 80.1 kg (SD = 13.1). Then, players were prospectively observed over one football season, and lower leg injury data were prospectively collected through the nine months. The between-group differences were tested using the non-parametric Mann Whitney U test for players who sustained an injury (yes) and those who did not within the analysed season (no). Overall (OSI), medial-lateral (MLSI), and anterior-posterior stability index (APSI) were analysed as primary outcomes. Results. The preseason values of the balance tests were not predictive (p > 0.05) regarding sustaining an injury during the season. No between-group differences were noted for any analysed outcomes (p values ranged from 0.093 to 0.453).Conclusions. Although static balance tasks offer a chance to make a preliminary assessment of injury prediction in amputee footballers, in overall, the balance test results cannot be regarded as the sole predictive injury risk factor in amputee football.