Results
Raw data were collected for 117 subjects; the intraclass correlations for the two trials were
extremely high (0.91 to 0.94). As the frequency distributions of the results approximated to a
normal curve, parametric statistics were considered appropriate. The dependent measures
were submitted to separate four way analyses of variance with main eVect for sport, sex, limb,
and trial, with repeated measures on trial.
Flexibility of the iliopsoas was expressed as the angle of hip flexion, and the grand mean
was −11.9°. This meant that most athletes exhibited flexibility that allowed the leg to hang
below horizontal. The analysis of variance showed that the non-dominant limb was more
flexible than the dominant limb, and that the tennis players and rowers were less flexible than
the runners. The mean angle for test 2, the quadriceps, was 52.5°. Significant diVerences were detected in flexibility, and a post hoc analysis using Neuman-Keuls showed that the runners
and tennis players were less flexible than rowers and basketball players. Tightness of the TFL/
ITB was suggested to be evident as an increased angle of hip abduction (test 3). The
mean for all subjects was 15.6°, and there were no significant diVerences between sport, gender,
or limbs.