{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T17:45:57Z","timestamp":1792086357501,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790812800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Return-to-play (RTP) decision-making after lower-extremity injury has traditionally emphasized sagittal-plane assessments, including double and single leg vertical jump metrics, double and single-leg hop batteries, and quadriceps strength limb symmetry indices (LSI). Yet many sports place a disproportionate demand on frontal-plane, lateral force production; basketball players, for example, spend up to a third of their live game actions in a defensive shuffle or lateral cutting posture. Recent force-plate evidence supports the single-leg lateral countermovement jump (LCMJ) as a reliable, time-efficient, and low-load assessment capable of stratifying lateral movement competency in elite athletes. This clinical commentary reviews recent reliability and discriminant-validity data on the LCMJ, places the test within the broader RTP evidence base and its known limitations, and proposes a practical framework for incorporating relative lateral force testing into RTP and performance batteries used by physical therapists and sports medicine clinicians.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.26603\/001c.169844","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T17:08:43Z","timestamp":1792084123000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Beyond the Sagittal Plane: The Lateral Countermovement Jump as a Clinical Tool for Return-to-Play Decision-Making and Performance Evaluation"],"prefix":"10.26603","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Michael L.","family":"Voight","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/033vjpd42","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Belmont University","department":["School of Physical Therapy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert C.","family":"Manske","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00c4e7y75","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Wichita State University","department":["Department of Physical Therapy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Phil","family":"Page","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Franciscan University","department":["School of Physical Therapy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Draovitch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jacksonville Jaguars Football Club"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Barbara J.","family":"Hoogenboom","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/001m1hv61","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Grand Valley State University","department":["School of Physical Therapy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"11140","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]]},"reference":[{"issue":"5","key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"334","DOI":"10.2519\/jospt.2017.7285","article-title":"Limb symmetry indexes can overestimate knee function after anterior cruciate ligament injury","volume":"47","author":"E. 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