The aim of the study was to determine whether football players of different age groups, who use their dominant leg more frequently in a football game, exhibit larger body and functional asymmetries between the right and left side of the body. The goal was also to examine body and functional symmetries and correlation between them, the percentage of movement directions and their correlation with body and functional symmetries, as well as differences between age groups in body and functional symmetries. This study included 116 football players (U12 – 17, U13 – 18, U14 – 15, U15 – 16, U16 – 18, U17 – 13, U18 – 10 and U19 – 9). Body symmetries were measured by bioelectrical impedance machine (InBody 720) and 3D body scanner (NX-16). The number of actions with the right and left leg, percentages of dominant leg use and directions of movements were determined through video analysis. Functional symmetries were established using motoric abilities field tests and force plate measurements. Significant body (27 out of 72) and functional (62 out of 144) asymmetries were identified along with significant correlations between them (97 of 1215). The percentage of dominant leg use is rarely significantly correlated with body symmetries (3 out of 81), while more significant correlations were observed with functional symmetries (23 out of 144). The percentage of movement directions was several times significantly correlated with body (15 out of 243) and functional (38 out of 432) symmetries. Significant differences in body symmetries were observed between all groups (2 out of 9) and between specific groups (9 out of 252). Significant differences in functional symmetries were identified between all groups (6 out of 16) and between specific groups (1 out of 448).
|