Gender Comparisons of Dynamic Restraint and Motor Skill in Children

Objectives:To assess differences in neuromuscular dynamic restraint between high-skilled and low-skilled prepubescent girls and boys. To determine the contribution of sport experience and physical characteristics to motor skill. Subjects:Nineteen girls and 17 boys (8.89-9.40 y) participated. Intervention:Isometric hamstring and quadriceps muscle strength was assessed. Subjects performed 3 landing trials for measurement of preparatory EMG and vertical leg stiffness. Motor skill was assessed through analysis of 12 fundamental tasks. Sport experience was reported as hours per week and total years in organized and nonorganized activity. Outcome Measures:Dynamic restraint variables of isometric strength, preparatory EMG activity, and vertical leg stiffness were measured between groups. The contributions of time in sport, type of sport, and physical characteristics on skill were analyzed. Results:No significant gender or skill differences were found in quadriceps strength (P = 0.73), hamstring strength (P = 0.96), hamstring-to-quadriceps ratio (P = 0.71), or vertical leg stiffness (P = 0.38). Low-skilled children exhibited significantly greater (47.8%) preparatory hamstring-quadriceps coactivation than high-skilled subjects (P = 0.03). Participation in organized and nonorganized sport accounted for 29% of the variance in motor skill. Conclusions:Neuromuscular differences between genders were not observed, but dynamic restraint EMG measures differed between skill levels. The factors predisposing females to noncontact injuries may develop prepuberty to postpuberty from a combination of variables. Greater coactivation in the low-skilled group appears consistent with immature feedforward neuromuscular control strategies. These unrefined motor skills are less economical, may compromise dynamic restraint, and appear partially determined by sport experience.