Inter-limb differences in unilateral countermovement jump height are not associated with the inter-limb differences in bilateral countermovement jump force production

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to explore the relationship between the inter-limb differences in unilateral countermovement (CMJ) height and the inter-limb differences in bilateral CMJ force production, and to elucidate whether the self-reported preferred leg contributes more to force production than the non-preferred leg. Twenty-three senior basketball players performed in a single session eight unilateral CMJs (four with each leg) and four bilateral CMJs. Impulse, peak force, mean force were recorded during the bilateral CMJ, and jump height during the unilateral CMJ. Small correlations were observed between the inter-limb differences in unilateral CMJ height and the inter-limb asymmetries in bilateral CMJ impulse, peak force, and mean force (p ≥ 0.171; r≤-0.142). The self-reported preferred leg revealed a higher performance in 7 out of 23 participants (Kappa = −0.20) for the unilateral CMJ height, 7 out of 23 participants (Kappa = −0.11) for the bilateral CMJ impulse, 6 out of 23 participants (Kappa = −0.36) for the bilateral CMJ peak force, and 8 out of 23 participants (Kappa = −0.34) for the bilateral CMJ mean force. These results highlight that the asymmetries detected during bilateral CMJs cannot be extrapolated to unilateral CMJs, and that the preferred leg generally contributes less to force production than the non-preferred leg during both bilateral and unilateral CMJs.

KEYWORDS:

• Asymmetries
• basketball
• force platform
• limb dominance
• limb preference

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the participants who selflessly participated in the study. This study is part of a PhD Thesis conducted in the Doctoral Programme in Education Sciences of the University of Granada, Spain.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [PID2019-110074GBI00/SRA (State Research Agency)/10.13039/501100011033).