Is the Side Bridge Test Valid and Reliable for Assessing Trunk Lateral Flexor Endurance in Recreational Female Athletes?

Abstract

The side bridge test (SBT) is one of the most popular tests to assess isometric trunk lateral flexor endurance. The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the SBT in healthy females. Twenty-four (24.58 ± 3.92 years) physically active (1–2 h of moderate physical activity, 2–3 times a week) females voluntarily participated in this study. The surface electromyography (EMG) of eight abdominal, back, shoulder and hip muscles was measured during the SBT. Normalized median frequency slopes (NMFslope) were calculated to analyze the muscle fatigue. The EMG amplitudes were normalized to maximum EMG values to assess muscle activity intensity. A one-week test-retest design was performed to evaluate the SBT reliability through the ICC3,1 and typical error. Higher NMFslopes and normalized EMG amplitudes were found in deltoids, abdominal obliques, rectus abdominis, and erector spinae in comparison to latissimus dorsi, gluteus medius, and rectus femoris. However, no significant differences were found between the trunk lateral flexors and the deltoids. Linear regression analysis showed that SBT performance could be significantly predicted by external oblique and deltoid NMFslope (adjusted R2 = 0.673) and by body mass and trunk height (adjusted R2 = 0.223). Consistency analysis showed a high intraclass correlation coefficient (0.81) and a relatively high typical error (10.95 s). Despite the good relative reliability of the SBT, its absolute reliability was low and its validity questionable, as the shoulder muscle activation and fatigue and the individuals’ anthropometric characteristics played an important role in SBT performance.