Hop Test

Objective[edit | edit source]

A series of hop tests are routinely used in the assessment for return to sports post-injury, be it an ankle sprain or anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. They are both functional and quantitative, allowing a measurement of power and strength of the affected to unaffected leg.

  1. Single hop test
  2. Triple hop test
  3. Crossover hop test
  4. 6 meter timed hop test

Insert picture of tests

Carrying out the hop tests[edit | edit source]

Single hop test[edit | edit source]

In this test, the aim is to jump as far as possible on a single leg, without losing balance and landing firmly. The goal is to have a less than 10% difference in hop distance between the injured limb and uninjured limb.

Triple hop test[edit | edit source]

In the triple hop test, the aim is to jump as far as possible on a single leg three consecutive times, without losing balance and landing firmly. The goal is to have a less than 10% difference in hop distance between the injured limb and uninjured limb.

Crossover hop test[edit | edit source]

In the crossover hop test, the aim is to jump as far as possible on a single leg three consecutive times, without losing balance and landing firmly. Between each hop, the athlete has to jump across a midline, hence including side-to-side movement in this test. The goal is to have a less than 10% difference in hop distance between the injured limb and uninjured limb.

6 meter timed hop test[edit | edit source]

In the 6 meter timed hop test, the aim is to jump as fast as possible on a single leg over a distance of 6 meters, without losing balance and landing firmly. The goal is to have a less than 10% time difference in hop distance between the injured limb and uninjured limb.

Evidence[edit | edit source]

It is recommended that an athlete has to score >90% on the tests to have a reduced risk of reinjury or injury. Quality of take-off and landing mechanics should also be assessed, on top of quantitive scores.

Even with meeting the criteria for the hop tests, there is still a chance of an injury again. However, the risk of reinjury is much lower should these criteria be met.

The hop tests are also not used as standalone in return to sports, Recent research has shown that RTS should be based on meeting key performance criteria, rather than just timeline after an injury.

Other functional tests commonly included in return to sports include the T-test for agility, shuttle runs, beep tests as well as static tests of range of motion of affected joint, strength and power. Subjective assessments include the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form (IKDC 2000), which has been shown to be a valid outcome measure for knee function in patients with ACL injuries.[1]

Reliability[edit | edit source]

Single leg hop tests have shown to have a strong intra-rater reliability (Intraclass Correlations Coefficient = 0.85 for dominant and non-dominant legs). [2]

Resources[edit | edit source]

  • Grindem H, Snyder-Mackler L, Moksnes H, et al. Simple decision rules can reduce reinjury risk by 84 % after ACL reconstruction: the Delaware-Oslo ACL cohort study. Br J Sports Med. 2016;50(13):804–8.
  • Kyritsis P, Bahr R, Landreau P, Miladi R, Witvrouw E (2016) Likelihood of ACL graft rupture: not meeting six clinical discharge criteria before return to sport is associated with a four times greater risk of rupture. Br J Sports Med 50(15):946–95

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Irrgang JJ, Anderson AF, Boland AL, Harner CD, Kurosaka M, Neyret P, et al. Development and validation of the international knee documentation committee subjective knee form. American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2001; 29(5):600–613.
  2. Sawle, Leanne. Intra-rater reliability of the multiple single-leg hop-stabilization test and relationships with age, leg dominance and training. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2017; 12. 190.