ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to analyze the body characteristics of university soccer players, especially the hip joint and pelvis where chronic injuries frequently occur among soccer players.<BR>Body characteristics of seventy male university soccer players were surveyed by an orthopedic medical check. The Micro FET value (MF) was used as the unique test for the potential stress on the pubic symphysis. MF was defined as the pressure value at which a subject claimed tenderness from compression on the pubic symphysis.<BR>Among the various tests of the orthopedic medical check, trunk extension in the prone position and external rotation of the hip joint in the standing position correlated with MF. The same tendencies were observed in soccer players with pubic symphysitis.<BR>Results indicate that these three simple tests : MF, trunk extension in the prone position and external rotation of the hip joint in the standing position, can be used as valuable indices for detecting pubic symphysitis in the early stages.