Relationships among core endurance,lower limb strength,and dynamic balance in collegiate football players: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background

Core endurance and lower limb strength are frequently targeted in sports performance and injury prevention programs, However, their independent and combined influence on dynamic balance remains inadequately understood among collegiate football players.

Objective

To examine the relationships among core endurance, lower limb isometric strength, and dynamic balance performance in collegiate male football players

Methods

Sixty healthy athletes (aged 18–25 years) completed core endurance tests, isometric strength assessments using handheld dynamometry for the hip, knee, and ankle, and the Modified Star Excursion Balance Test (mSEBT). Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine associations and identify predictors of dynamic balance. Multiple linear regression focused on posteromedial reach score of the right leg as the primary outcome.

Results

Left ankle invertor strength had significant positive correlations with posteromedial (r = 0.47, p < 0.001) and posterolateral (r = 0.37, p = 0.004) SEBT reach distances, while trunk flexor endurance was a statistically significant inverse predictor of balance performance (β = –0.456, p = 0.001). The final regression model explained 20.4% of the variance in posteromedial reach performance (adjusted R² = 0.150, p = 0.008).

Conclusion

These findings underscore that dynamic balance in collegiate football players may depend more on specific distal joint strength and neuromuscular coordination than on overall core endurance, highlighting the importance of targeted ankle invertor and dynamic core stability training for injury prevention.