Movement quality and postural control are crucial for performance and injury prevention in team-sport athletes. Although FMS and YBT are commonly used, their ability to predict injury risk is limited when used alone. Therefore, integrating functional assessment with body composition and biochemical markers may provide a more comprehensive evaluation of athletes' functional status. The study aimed to investigate the relationships among functional performance, body composition, and chosen biochemical markers in young men's team-sport athletes. The study included 48 young Polish professional athletes competing in team sports (football, futsal, handball, volleyball, rugby), who were divided into a lower-limb-dominant group (group 1, n = 34) and an upper-limb-dominant group (group 2, n = 14). Body composition, functional performance (FMS, Y Balance Test), training characteristics, and blood biomarkers for stress, muscle damage, and inflammation were assessed. Selected anthropometric, functional, and biochemical parameters were compared between the groups. Significant differences were observed mainly in body composition-group 2 had a higher BMI, percentage of body fat, lean body mass, and total body water content (p ≤ 0.05; Hedges' coefficient g = 0.64-0.89). Training experience was significantly longer in group 1, whilst no differences were found in age or height. Functional performance assessed using the FMS and YBT did not differ significantly between the groups. Similarly, no significant differences were observed in biochemical markers, including cortisol, CK, CRP, IL-6, TNF-α, and TGF-β. ANCOVA analysis showed that body weight had a significant effect on cortisol levels (F = 6.22, p = 0.02) and CRP (F = 58.45, p < 0.001), whilst training experience significantly affected CK activity (F = 4.63, p = 0.04). Despite differences in body composition between the groups, functional movement quality, dynamic balance, and biochemical markers were comparable. However, body weight and training experience significantly influenced selected biochemical indicators, suggesting their role in shaping physiological responses to training.
Widłak et al. (Mon,) studied this question.