Understanding Movement Control Abilities: A Comparative Study of Male and Female Collegiate Basketball Athletes

To investigate the differences in low-threshold and high-threshold movement control ability between male and female collegiate basketball player.

Ten male (Age: 19.5±1.2 years) and ten female (Age: 21.9±1.2 years) collegiate basketball players participated in this study. The subjects performed a series of lower extremity movement control tests, including two low-threshold tests (small knee bend + lunge and lean + heel lift, single-leg ¼ squat + hip turn) and three high-threshold tests (split squat + fast feet change, low lunge, lean + leg lift, lateral stair hop + rotational landing control). All test movements were evaluated using a standardized scoring method based on performance quality. A multivariate test was used to compare score differences across all tests between male and female players.

The study found that two high-threshold movement control tests (split squat + fast feet change, lateral stair hop + rotational landing control) revealed significant differences between male and female subjects (p = 0.02, and 0.048, respectively). However, two low-threshold tests and one high-threshold test showed no significant differences between the sexes. These findings suggest that sex may influence high-threshold motor control abilities, while low-threshold control abilities appear to be similar between male and female collegiate basketball players.

This study revealed that male and female collegiate basketball players exhibit significant differences in high-threshold movement control abilities, while their low-threshold movement control abilities are generally similar. Specifically, male players performed better on high-threshold tasks requiring rapid, powerful movements, such as the split squat and lateral stair hop with rotational landing control. These differences may be attributed to variations in muscle strength, neuromuscular coordination, and physical conditioning between genders. In contrast, both sexes showed comparable abilities in low-threshold tasks, suggesting that balance and controlled movements are equally developed in male and female athletes at the collegiate level.

The findings of this study have important implications for basketball training and injury prevention programs. Coaches and trainers should consider incorporating gender-specific training protocols, particularly focusing on improving high-threshold motor control abilities in female players to bridge the performance gap.