Association between functional movement quality, core stability, and athletic performance in male university basketball players.

To provide empirical evidence for the specialized training and injury prevention of male university basketball players, this study aims to investigate the correlations among core stability, functional movement quality, and basketball-specific performance, elucidating the independent contributions of functional movement patterns and core endurance to athletic performance. Thirty-three healthy male university basketball players were recruited. Core stability was assessed using McGill's trunk core endurance tests (i.e., trunk flexor, trunk extensor, left-side bridge, right-side bridge), functional movement quality via the Functional Movement Screen (FMS; including deep squat, hurdle step, in-line lunge, shoulder mobility, active straight leg raise, trunk stability push-up, and rotary stability), and basketball performance through specific tests: vertical jump, shooting, and change-of-direction dribbling. Pearson correlation analysis was employed to examine relationships between variables. The study found that functional movement levels had a strong correlation with vertical jump performance, but their associations with shooting and change-of-direction dribbling were weak or non-significant. Core muscle endurance, particularly of the back extensors, was strongly correlated with high-intensity dynamic change-of-direction performance, and performance was influenced by left-right asymmetry in lateral core endurance. Core stability and functional movement patterns were not significantly correlated in this study, suggesting they may be independent in structure and function. Based on these correlation results, subsequent training may consider optimizing functional movement patterns and strengthening core stability separately, to explore their potential effects on performance enhancement and injury prevention.