Analysis of functional hop test with dual task on injured and uninjured athletes

Abstract

Purpose: Maladaptive neuroplasticity may develop after injury. However, most of the test applications in the return to the sport process mainly focus on the motor end of the sensorimotor system. In this study, we aimed to examine the performance outputs of the functional hop tests with the dual task methodology. Methods: Triple hop for distance (THD), crossover hop for distance (CHD) and 6-meter hop for timed (6MHT) tests were done. For the cognitive task the backward digit span test of the Wechsler intelligence scale was preferred. Nineteen athletes with a history of unilateral lower extremity injuries were assigned to the previously injured group (PIG), and 20 athletes with no previous injury were assigned to the control group (CG). Results: There were no significant differences between the results of the cognitive task levels and Mini Mental State Examination scores of the athletes in our study (p>0.05). PIG athletes showed significantly lower jump performances compared to CG athletes; in the injured extremity side, differences were found between the groups' THD, CHD, and 6MHT values during a single task (p