CORRELATION OF CONVENTIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL KNEE STRENGTH RATIOS IN ELITE SOCCER PLAYERS Ruas, CV.1, Pinto, RS.1, Pinto, MD.1, Brown, LE.2 1: UFRGS (Porto Alegre, Brazil), 2: CSUF (Fullerton, USA) Introduction Isokinetic hamstrings to quadriceps (H:Q) conventional ratio (CR) and functional ratio (FR) are frequently used to assess muscle imbalances and to screen for potential risks of knee injuries in sports. The CR has functional limitations compared to the FR, because it considers only the H:Q concentric (CON) strength relationship and does not evaluate the H eccentric (ECC) strength necessary to decelerate Q CON actions, included in FR calculations (Coombs, 1998). However, CR is an easier assessment compared to FR because it does not include an ECC strength test, which requires greater test coordination and may lead to significant muscle damage in athletes (Cheung, 2012). Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between knee CR and FR in Brazilian elite soccer players and create an equation to predict FR using CR to evaluate knee functionality, thus avoiding operational difficulties related to ECC testing. Methods One hundred and four elite soccer players (25.24 ± 5.3 yrs) performed maximal dominant knee isokinetic CON and ECC strength tests at 60°∙s ‐1 through 90° of range of motion on a CYBEX NORM. The Pearson correlation (r) was used to evaluate the relationship between CR and FR. A linear regression model was employed to identify adjustments for comparisons between variables and to create an equation to estimate FR from CR. All analyses were performed with SPSS 18.0 (α level 0.05). Results The correlation coefficient between knee CR and FR values was 0.546 (p < 0.01). The linear regression results demonstrated that an equation using CR explained 29.8% of the variance observed in FR (F = 47.048; p < 0.001). This suggested the use of a regression equation adjustment [Yi = (βο + β1 x Xi) + ε1] to estimate FR from β constant and βCR values. The equation at 60 °∙s 1 was indicated as followed: FR = [0,397 + (0,653 x CR) + 0,014] Discussion The CR and FR are important knee assessment tools, but have limitations regarding test operational difficulties and reproduction to sports functionality, respectively. Our study showed a moderate to strong correlation between ratios. Based on this, we recommend that knee screening assessments should use values of both ratios to determine knee imbalances conclusions (Aagaard et al., 1998). This positive correlation also suggests that the equation presented here can predict FR by only assessing CR in elite soccer players. This would avoid ECC test issues, diminish post‐test muscle damage and lead to a simpler and more accessible assessment tool to calculate both ratios values. References Aagaard P, Simonsen EB, Magnusson SP, Larsson B, Dyhre‐Poulsen P (1998) Am J Sports Med 26(2), 231‐7. Cheung R, Smith A, Wong D. (2012) J Hum Kinet, 33, 63‐71. Coombs R, Garbutt G (2002) J Sports Sci Medicine. Contact ronei.pinto@ufrgs.br