Perfil da amplitude de dorsiflexão de tornozelo em atletas de futsal de alto rendimento

Abstract

The dorsiflexion movement is essential for performing futsal sports gestures, such as accelerations, decelerations, and direction changes. The primary objective of this study was to characterize the dorsiflexion range of motion in futsal athletes, considering lower limb dominance, asymmetry between lower limbs, and playing positions. The secondary objectives were: (1) to verify if the dorsiflexion range of motion in each lower limb and its asymmetry differed between playing positions; (2) to verify if athletes with an injury history during the past year differed in the magnitude of dorsiflexion in each lower limb and in its asymmetry between limbs compared to athletes without an injury history during the past year. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted with 140 athletes (26.0 ± 5.8 years old, male) from nine teams in the Brazilian National Futsal League. Dorsiflexion was measured using the Lunge Test. Injury history was recorded using a form, considering the record of injuries that occurred one year before the collection date. Descriptive statistics were performed by calculating the mean and standard deviation for parametric variables and median (Mdn) and interquartile range (IQR) for non-parametric variables. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the dorsiflexion range of motion of the dominant and non-dominant sides between playing positions. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare dorsiflexion asymmetry between playing positions. An independent t-test was used to verify if there was a difference in the dorsiflexion of the dominant and non-dominant side between athletes with and without an injury reported in the past year. The results showed that the dorsiflexion range of motion was approximately 39°, with no differences between playing positions and between those with and without an injury history (p > 0.05). The dorsiflexion asymmetry between lower limbs was approximately 5% and did not differ between playing positions (p = 0.896). The asymmetry was greater in athletes with an injury history (Mdn = 6.0°, IQR = 8.2°) compared to those without an injury (Mdn = 4.2°, IQR = 5.0°, p = 0.033). Thus, the findings suggest that the dorsiflexion range of motion required in different playing positions is similar among futsal players and that side-to-side asymmetry may be an important clinical variable to consider.