Research summary · Biomechanics
Inter-limb asymmetry and sprint performance
A systematic review evaluates whether lower-limb asymmetry measures are consistently associated with sprint performance in injury-free sprint athletes.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Systematic review
- Journal
- Sports Medicine - Open
- Population / context
- Healthy sprint athletes
What the publication reports
Ten studies were retained from 4,811 screened records. Overall associations between functional, morphological, kinetic or kinematic asymmetry and sprint performance were limited, with isolated task- and metric-specific relationships.
Limits and interpretation
Few studies were eligible and tasks, designs and asymmetry metrics were highly heterogeneous. The mixed evidence does not justify a general claim that more asymmetry means slower sprinting.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
The Relationship Between Inter-limb Asymmetry and Sprinting Performance in Sprint Athletes: A Systematic Review
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42821043DOI: 10.1186/s40798-026-01082-1Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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