Bilateral strength comparisons among injured and noninjured competitive flatwater kayakers

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.