Relationship between agility and lower limb muscle strength, targeting university badminton players

J Phys Ther Sci. 2018 Feb;30(2):320-323. doi: 10.1589/jpts.30.320. Epub 2018 Feb 28.

Abstract

[Purpose] Targeting university badminton players, this study investigated the relationship between agility, which is associated with performance in badminton, and lower limb muscle strength, and examined which muscles influence agility. [Subjects and Methods] A total of 23 male university badminton players were evaluated for side-shuffle test scores and lower limb strength. The relationships between agility, lower limb strength, and duration of experience playing badminton were evaluated using a correlation analysis. Moreover, the relationship between agility and lower limb strength was evaluated by partial correlation analysis, adjusting for the effects of experience of each badminton player. [Results] The agility score correlated with hip extension and ankle plantar flexion strength, with adjustment for badminton experience. [Conclusion] This study suggests that hip extension training and improvement in ankle plantar flexion strength may improve agility.

Keywords: Agility; Badminton; Muscle strength.