Acute effects of exercise-induced fatigue on jump performance and jump-based inter-limb asymmetry in wushu athletes

Purpose The study aimed to investigate the acute effects of exercise-induced fatigue on jump and jump-based inter-limb asymmetry in Wushu Sanda athletes. Methods Fourteen national-level Wushu Sanda athletes (9 males, 5 females; 18–21 years) completed a pre–post within-subjects experimental design. Participants performed a series of bilateral and unilateral jumps before and after a standardised fatigue protocol that mimicked Wushu match demands. Countermovement jump (CMJ) and standing broad jump (SBJ) [as slow stretch-shortening cycle (SSC)], drop jump (DJ; as fast SSC), and triple hop for horizontal power were assessed. Inter-limb asymmetry was calculated using performance differentials. Paired t-tests and Hedges’ g were applied to analyse changes. Results Significant post-fatigue reductions were observed in bilateral CMJ height (p < 0.001, g = 0.43), DJ reactive strength index (p = 0.003, g = 0.36), and SBJ distance (p = 0.011, g = 0.51). Unilateral CMJ height decreased significantly for both legs (p = 0.001–0.002, g = 0.35–0.36) while unilateral SBJ distance decreased only for the left leg (p = 0.034, g = 0.47). No significant changes were found in DJ ground contact time or inter-limb asymmetry across CMJ, SBJ, and triple-hop tests (all p > 0.05). Conclusions The fatigue protocol elicited acute neuromuscular fatigue, evidenced by reduced jump performance. However, inter-limb asymmetry remained unaffected, likely due to uniform fatigue across the limbs. These findings suggest that while fatigue impairs jump performance in Wushu athletes, it does not significantly alter inter-limb asymmetry under the given protocol.