RESEARCH SUMMARY: Measurement Properties of [GroinBar] in AFL athletes (Ryan et al., 2018)

Title: Measurement Properties of an Adductor Strength Assessment System in Professional Australian Footballers

Author/s:  Ryan (@Sam_Ryan1), Kempton (@tom85kempton), Pacecca (@Mids9) and Coutts (@AaronJCoutts)

Year: 2018

Journal: International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance (ISSN: 1555-0273)

Question: Is the GroinBar a reliable measurement system for professional Australian football (AFL) players?

Key Takeaway: The GroinBar proved superior in accuracy to common alternatives (sphygmomanometers and handheld dynamometers) in AFL athletes.  For regular monitoring, 6.3% change week-to-week was found to be the threshold for detecting meaningful change.

Link: https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/ijspp.2018-0264?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed 

Summary: This was the first published study examining the reliability of the GroinBar Hip Strength Testing System.  Ryan, Kempton, Pacecca and Coutts set out to assess the GroinBar as a weekly monitoring tool for adductor strength in AFL players.  To do so, they used the GroinBar to test Carlton Football Club players’ hip adduction strength each week (for 23 weeks) at 48, 72 and 120 hours post-competition, examining force (N) output and pain scores (0-10).  

Key Findings:

• The GroinBar was found to have excellent reliability (ICC = 0.94)
• Increased groin pain appeared to have a moderate effect on reducing hip adduction force production on the GroinBar
• “Real” change (coefficient of variation, which exceeded smallest worthwhile change) in week-to-week adduction strength was 6.3%
• The GroinBar proved to have greater precision than other common measures (sphygmomanometers and handheld dynamometers) in AFL athletes