With everyone jumping into Olympic fever we couldn't help but think of the similarities between one of the more unusual events and some of our favourite tests at MAT.

The Triple Jump.

The hop, step and jump may look a bit strange on the athletics track but a use of similar triple hopping techniques can be useful when assessing your clients using the Triple Hop For Distance Test or the Crossover Hop For Distance Test.

These two tests have been well researched as part of the Limb Symmetry Index testing battery and have been shown to have implications in performance and injury risk.

Firstly the Triple Hop For Distance. In this test the aim is to jump as far as possible on one leg three consecutive times, without losing balance and landing with balance. The distance is measured from the start line to the heel of the landing leg.

While initially this test was developed to assess functional capacity of an injured lower limb, it has also been shown to be an effective test to determine power, strength, and balance in athletic individuals. Hamilton et al 2008 investigated this in their study. They found that across 20 male and 2 female NCAA Soccer athletes was 547cm. They also concluded that the Triple Hop For Distance is a strong predictor of lower limb muscular strength and power in a healthy soccer population and support its clinical usefulness as a preseason screening test. It also had advantages as it requires simple equipment like the Hop MAT to perform and was quick and easy to execute.

Check out the full research paper Hamilton et al 2008 here. 

The Crossover Hop For Distance was investigated alongside other tests including the Triple Hop For Distance as part of assessing the reliability of a Functional Lower Extremity Evaluation by Haitz et al 2014.

In the Crossover Hop For Distance Test the aim is once again to jump as far as possible crossing side to side of a fixed marking medially, laterally and medially again, landing firmly and with balance at the end. Once again the distance is measured from the start line to the heel of the landing leg.

Their conclusions were that the reliability of tests like the Crossover Hop and Triple Hop For Distance were very high and that these types of tests could be used to help reduce lower extremity reinjury rates in athletes by setting baselines and tracking improvements in lower extremity function using tools like the Hop MAT.

Their normative values of: 493 cm for Male Athletes and 368 cm for Female Athletes also provide useful references that you can compare your patients and clients to when using this test.

Check out the full study by Haitz et al 2014 here.

Want to start using tests such as:

• Anterior, medial, lateral and rotational single-hop tests
• Anterior, medial and lateral triple hop for distance test
• Triple crossover hop test
• 6-m timed hop test
• Standing broad jump

Purchase a Hop MAT today to take you jump and hop assessment to the next level. 

Click Here To Learn More About The Hop MAT