The Effect Of Firefighter Age On Anterior Reach Distance Asymmetry

Evidence suggests that asymmetry between the legs of greater >3 cm on an anterior reach test (ART) for balance places firefighters (FF) at risk for ankle sprains. Currently, there is no literature exploring the effect age may have on ART asymmetry. If age is a significant contributor to ART asymmetry older FFs may be a at greater risk for injury. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if ART asymmetry differs across age groups. METHODS: The study was a retrospective analysis of archived data from a local fire department’s annual fitness assessment. As part of their annual fitness assessment, firefighters performed an ART using the motor control screen with a slide box, which is based on the anterior reach direction of the y-balance test. The FFs performed the ART on both the right and left legs. The anterior reach distance was measured in inches and later converted to centimeters. Data from 95 male FFs were analyzed. FFs were allocated to one of four groups based on their age: 20-29 yrs (n = 19), 30-39 yrs (n = 36), 40-49 yrs (n = 34), 50-59 yrs (n = 6). The absolute difference between the right and left anterior reach distance (cm) was used as the measure of asymmetry [|right reach (cm) - left reach (cm)|]. The Kruskal-Wallis H Test was used to explore between-group differences. RESULTS: The Kruskal-Wallis H test was run to determine if there were differences in asymmetry values between four groups of participants based on age grouping (20-29 yrs, 30-39 yrs, 40-49 yrs, 50-59 yrs). Distributions of asymmetry values were similar for all groups, as assessed by visual inspection of a boxplot. Median asymmetry values were not statistically significantly different between groups [20-29 yrs (mean = 3.1 ± 2.7; med = 2.5), 30-39 yrs (mean = 2.9 ± 3; med = 1.9), 40-49 yrs (mean = 2.9 ± 2.4; med = 2.5), 50-59 yrs (mean = 2.5 ± 1.1; med = 2.5)], H (3) = 0.522, p = 0.914. CONCLUSION: In FFs 20-59 years of age, ART asymmetry does not appear to be significantly influenced by age.