Upper Quarter Y-Balance Test

The purpose of the UQYBT is to provide an assessment of UE mobility and stability.

Link to Instrument

Area of Assessment

Assessment Type

Cost

Actual Cost

Cost Description

$319.95 (for standard Test Kit) $349.95 (for the Professional Test Kit)
Only available through www.ybalancetest.com

Populations

Key Descriptions

• The UQYBT places a patient in a closed chain (Push Up) position and tests their ability to maintain that position while reaching with one hand in 3 test directions (Medial Reach, Inferolateral Reach, Superolateral Reach) as far as possible during the entirety of the movements.

Number of Items

Equipment Required

• Y-Balance Test Kit

Time to Administer

Required Training

Age Ranges

Instrument Reviewers

Initially reviewed by Sara Regan, SPT; Hannah Jasurda, SPT; Aram Simonian, SPT; Lisa Delmedico, SPT; Taylor Chapman, SPT; Kirstin McCoy, SPT; Madison Haller, SPT; Elizabeth Charney, SPT; Justin Losciale, SPT, CSCS; Evan Vasilauskas, SPT; Rachel Cesario, SPT; Melissa Gunner, SPT; Jeffrey Wimsatt, SPT; Elizabeth Roscoe, SPT; Breanne Mitcham, SPT.

Body Part

ICF Domain

Measurement Domain

Professional Association Recommendation

Recommendations for sports professionals in identifying movement limitations and asymmetries in athletes before implementation of training and conditioning programs.

• Coaches and sports medicine professionals may consider incorporating the YBT-UQ as part of their pre-program testing to identify movement limitations and asymmetries in athletes and thereby may reduce injury. Recommendation for future studies to determine whether asymmetries and poor performance in upper extremity movement testing are predictive of future injury

• Recommendations for use based on acuity level of the patient: N/A
• Recommendations based on level of care in which the assessment is taken: N/A
• Recommendations based on SCI AIS Classification: N/A
• Recommendations based on EDSS Classification: N/A
• Recommendations for entry-level physical therapy education and use in research: Research is necessary to establish the responsiveness of the UQYBT to wrist, elbow, and shoulder pathology and to determine which muscles or muscle groups are recruited during performance on the UQYBT.

Considerations

Patients/subjects may watch the instructional video prior to performing the UQYBT.

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Non-Specific Patient Population

Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)

Recreational Fitness Subjects (Gorman, 2010)

• Medial direction: SEM= 2.9 cm
• Superolateral direction: SEM= 2.3 cm
• Inferolateral direction: SEM=2.2 cm

General Population (Westrick, 2012)

• Dominant Composite: SEM= 2.5
• Non-Dominant Composite: SEM= 2.3

Minimal Detectable Change (MDC)

Recreational Fitness Subjects (Gorman, 2010)

• Medial direction: MDC= 8.1 cm
• Superolateral direction: MDC= 6.4 cm
• Inferolateral direction: MDC= 6.1 cm

General Population (Westrick, 2012)

• Dominant Composite: MDC= 6.9
• Non-Dominant Composite: MDC= 6.5

Normative Data

Recreational Fitness Subjects (Gorman, 2012) Average Upper Quarter Y Balance Test scores, reported as a percentage of limb length (%LL) for all reach directions and the composite.

• Medial Direction: Mean= 97.2%, SD 9.6 cm (males)
• Medial Direction: Mean= 95.2%, SD 10.6 cm (females)
• Superolateral Direction: Mean= 70.9%, SD 9.6 cm (males)
• Superolateral Direction: Mean= 70.4%, SD 9.3 cm (females).
• Inferolateral Direction: Mean= 84.2%, SD 9.1 cm (males)
• Inferolateral Direction: Mean= 82.7%, SD 10.1 cm (females).

Teyhen, 2014 - No Age effect. Total Composite Score of all 3 reach directions reported as percentage of Limb Length (%LL):

• 89.5 +/-9.6 (males)
• 84.9+/-9.1 (females)

General Population (Westrick, 2012; n=33, mean ages= 19.5 men and 18.8 women)

• Dominant Composite: Mean= 86.5%, SD 8.1 cm (males)
• Dominant Composite: Mean= 82.9%, SD 9.2 cm (females)
• Non-dominant: Mean= 88.1%, SD 7.4 cm (males)
• Non-dominant: Mean= 85.2%, SD 11.7 cm (females)

Test/Retest Reliability

Recreational Fitness Subjects (Gorman, 2012)

• Excellent: ranged from ICC=0.80 (inferolateral direction)to ICC= 0.99 (superolateral direction)

General Population (Westrick, 2012; n=33, mean ages= 19.5 men and 18.8 women)

• Excellent: ICC of 0.91 and 0.92 for dominant and nondominant UE measurements, respectively.

Interrater/Intrarater Reliability

Recreational Fitness Subjects (Gorman, 2012)

• Inter-rater reliability was excellent(ICC= 1.00 for all tests).
• All testing was observed and scored by 2 raters simultaneously who were blinded to each other’s scoring. The raters independently determined whether a successful trial was completed. To reduce bias, the raters recorded the reach distance regardless of whether each rater through the trial was successful.

General Population (Westrick, 2012; n=33, mean ages= 19.5 men and 18.8 women)

• Excellent: Intra-rater reliability values ranged from ICC = 0.86 left shoulder IR, to ICC = 0.98 right shoulder flexion.

• SMRT intrarater reliability was same for both sides ICC = 0.99

Internal Consistency

Recreational Fitness Subjects (Gorman, 2012)

• The YBT-UQ evaluates joint mobility and stability simultaneously, by requiring the patient to use balance, proprioception, strength, and greater range of motion. Some limitations causing potential error would be fatigue, practice effect, lack of control for training level, training cycle, nutrition or hydration. The YBT-UQ has shown good reliability with standardized equipment and methods.

Construct Validity

General Population (Westrick, 2012; n=33, mean ages= 19.5 men and 18.8 women)

• There was a significant convergent relationship observed between the UQYBT and core stability measures (Dominant side LTET; p=0.04, r=.38; non-dominant; p=0.01, r=.45) and UE CKC performance measures (CKCUEST p=0.01, r=0.49 and APFT pushups p=0.02, r=.41).
• There was not a significant relationship observed between the UQYBT and measures of trunk rotation, trunk flexor and extensor endurance tests, APFT sit-ups, shoulder AROM, or shoulder isometric strength.

Bibliography

Butler, Robert J., Myers, Heather S., Black, Douglass et al. (2014). Bilateral Differences in Upper Quarter Function of High School Aged Baseball and Softball Players. The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 9(4). 518-524.

Garrigues, G., Gorman, P., Plisky, P., Kiesel, K., Myers, H., Black, D. Queen, R., Butler, R. (2012). Differences on the Upper Quarter Y Balance Test Between High School and College Baseball Players. American College of Sports Medicine.

Gorman, P. P., Butler, R. J., Plisky, P. J., & Kiesel, K. B. (2012). Upper quarter y balance test:reliability and performance comparison between genders in active adults. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26(11), 3043-3048.

Hazar, Z., Ulug, N., Yuksel, I. (2014). Upper Quarter Y Balance Test score of patients with shoulder impingement syndrome. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 2(3).

Teyhen, Deydre S., Riebel, Mark A., McArthur, Derrick R. et al. (2014). Normative Data and the Influence of Age and Gender on Power, Balance, Flexibility, and Functional Movement in Healthy Service Members. Military Medicine, 179(4), 413-420.

Westrick, R. B., PT, DPT, DSc, OCS, SCS, Miller, J. M., PT, DPT, DSc, OCS, SCS, Carow, S. D., PT, DPT, DSc, OCS, & Gerber, J. P., PT, PhD, SCS, ATC. (2012). Exploration of the Y-balance test for assessment of upper quarter closed kinetic chain performance. The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 7(2), 140-147.

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