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28Physiological value of stabilometric studies in complex coordination sports
UDC 796.01:612
PhD, senior researcher T.V. Krasnoperova1 PhD, senior researcher N.B. Kotelevskaya1 Dr.Biol. T.F. Abramova2
1Federal State Budgetary Institution "Saint Petersburg Scientific Research Institute for Physical Culture", St. Petersburg 2Federal Science Center for Physical Culture and Sport, Moscow
Corresponding author: [email protected]
Abstract
Objective of the study was to theoretically ground and test benefits of a stabilometric model for complex coordination sports.
Methods and structure of the study. Stabilometric platform makes it possible to rate the postural control movements in projection onto the horizontal plane; with the major persistent deviations being often indicative of the musculoskeletal system functionality disorders or the movement coordination system disorders. The stabilometric test data and analyses make it possible to effectively track such disorders and make the relevant corrections to the individual training systems.
Sampled for the stabilometric model tests were the 16-24-year-old complex coordination sports athletes (n=89, 42.7% female and 57.3% male sample) competing in sailing (n=15), rock climbing (n=14), snowboarding (n=19 including 8 hearing-impaired individuals); biathlon (n=16); and speed-strength intensive track and field sports (n=25, including 9 visually impaired individuals) having 3-5-year basic sports experiences.
Results and conclusions. The results of the stubilometric study in complex coordination sports (on the example of sailing, climbing, snowboarding, double-event, speed-strength disciplines of track and field athletics) proved the appropriateness of this method. In the stabilometric test with the open eyes, regardless of the kind of sport, health restraints, and gender, the examined athletes were found to have either no or mild stabilometric disorders in the basic training period. In snowboarding and double-event, as well as in climbing and sailing, the static component of the coordination structure of the athletes' motor activity was found to be the most stable. In the test with eyes closed, the individual ability of each athlete to maintain balance was assessed.
Keywords: stabilometric method, balance function, vestibular balance disorders, complex coordination sports.
Background. Body balance function may be defined as the dynamic postural control quality secured by the vestibular apparatus controlled it its turn by the medulla oblongata, thalamus (diencephalon), cerebral cortex, cerebellum, visual analyzer, musculoskeletal and proprioceptive systems [8, 9]. Currently the research community is in need of a sound common concept to explain the origins of somatic and autonomic reactions in the postural control (vestibular balance) function, since the existing scientific concepts of reflexes-driven functionality controls are rather contradictory and dubious in many aspects [2].
As things now stand, the terms "equilibrium", "postural balance", "vestibular stability" and "postural control" are largely synonymic in the scientific literature with reference to the bodily vertical position securing mechanisms [6, 7]. Postural stability may be defined as the position where all forces of influence on the body are balanced in a quiescent state (static balance) or in movement (dynamic balance) to oppose every destabilizing effect [9].
Normally an upright bodily position is secured by only tonic and tonic-phasic muscles [7, 8]. Modern stabilometric tests the postural control function by a
range of quantitative, spatial and temporal test criteria and analyses. Thus D.V. Skvortsov reports benefits of the stabilometric tests and analyses for medicine [5, 6]; and E.M. Berdichevskaya demonstrates benefits of the modern stabilometric for balance function tests in wrestling sport [1]. Stabilometry applications have proved beneficial for studies of physical rehabilitation process, balance function and balance function variability analyses [1-5]. Stabilometric data and analyses are also highly important for the age-and skills-specific studies of the individual athletic postural controls; diagnoses of vestibular balance disorders; vestibular balance disorder severity rating tests; and vestibular balance progress tests and analyses. The individual postural control qualities and skills - both static and dynamic (particularly the movement correction and combining skills) - are critical for success in many modern complex coordination sports disciplines.
Objective of the study was to theoretically ground and test benefits of a stabilometric model for complex coordination sports.
Methods and structure of the study. Stabilo-metric platform makes it possible to rate the postural control movements in projection onto the horizontal plane; with the major persistent deviations being often indicative of the musculoskeletal system functionality disorders or the movement coordination system disorders. The stabilometric test data and analyses make it possible to effectively track such disorders and make the relevant corrections to the individual training systems [3]. This goal was attained in our study by a computerized stabiloanalyzer system that reads and analyzes fine postural control movements of the body pressure center on a stabilometric platform in the efforts to keep vertical posture and balance.
The stabilometric model included the following two tests. Test 1 rated the eyes-open 1min vertical postural control skills; and Test 2 rated the eyes-closed 1min dynamic postural control skills - with the disabled visual analyzer plus varied stressors on the other analyzer systems. The tests yielded the following test rates: R, mm - average pressure center travel radius; V, mm/s - average pressure center movement speed; SV, mm2/s - statokinesiogram area variation rate; EllS, mm2 - confidence ellipse; Angle, degrees - average oscillation vector; and KFR,% - equilibrium function quality correlated with the pressure center speed. Findings of the tests were classified as follows: no vestibular balance disorders; preclinical minor vestibular balance disorders; moderate vestibular balance disorders; and severe vestibular balance disorders [4]. These findings took into account the current typological age- and gender-specific variations in the vestibular balance and coordination function.
We sampled for the stabilometric model tests the 16-24-year-old complex coordination sports athletes (n=89, 42.7% female and 57.3% male sample) competing in sailing (n=15), rock climbing (n=14), snow-boarding (n=19 including 8 hearing-impaired individuals); biathlon (n=16); and speed-strength intensive track and field sports (n=25, including 9 visually impaired individuals) having 3-5-year basic sports experiences.
Results and discussion. The eyes-open and eyes-closed tests yielded the classical data arrays with the dominant movement vectors, and the test data analyses made it possible to produce the individual vestibular balance function quality rates for every athlete [3]. The analyses found no sport-, health- and gender-specific moderate or severe vestibular balance disorders in the sample - that means that the sample was tested with dominant good vestibular balance function with well-coordinated afferent and effector elements in the vestibular balance. Only 6 individuals with visual impairments and 4 individuals with hearing impairment were tested with minor preclinical vestibular balance disorders.
Despite the 4-plus-year experiences in sports, some of the athletes were tested with health disorders of disharmonizing effects on the postural control system, central nervous system and the auditory analyzer. Compensatory mechanisms in this group fail to effectively coordinate the vestibular balance function and, hence, expose the athletes to vestibular balance disorders. The snowboarders, biathletes, rock climbers and sailors were tested with the lowest vestibular balance disorders rates indicative of the perfect postural controls and movement coordination qualities. It should be mentioned that these sports are particularly demanding to the dynamic postural control and movement biomechanics and, hence, naturally develop better synergy of the postural system elements and mechanisms.
In track and field sports, the vestibular balance skills were found basically experience- rather than gender-dependant. The virtually healthy individuals are typically tested with the stabilometric oscillations within four degrees, whilst our stabilometric tests and analyses found the oscillations in the sample being 7-10% higher as a result of the more economical cardio-respiratory system performance in a quiescent state, slower heart rate and respiratory cycles, plus stronger cardiac outputs - that collectively allow a wider oscillation of the pressure center on the stabilometric platform. The eyes-closed test rates showed the individual vestibular balance and coordination abilities being skills-dependent - i.e. the higher are the skills and experience, the better is the vestibular balance quality in the closed eyes test. We found the
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visual analyzer assisted balance function being more effective in 36.6% of the sample regardless of the sports and gender grouping. Generally we found that the semi-automatic sport-specific movement patterns and skills improve the afferent and efferent movement control elements.
Conclusion. The stabilometric test data and analyses may be used for the sport research applications with the above-proposed vestibular balance disorders classification system and athletes' ratings on the sport-specific complex coordination scales. The stabilometric test rates and findings with valuations of the physiological meanings of the individual vestibular balance disorder data may be helpful for the coaches both for the athletes vestibular balance function control and sport selection purposes. The eyes-open stabilometric tests found no moderate or severe vestibular balance disorders in the sample; with only 6 individuals with visual impairments and 4 individuals with hearing impairment were tested with minor preclinical vestibular balance disorders. Based on the stabilometric test data and analyses, we ranked the sampled sports on the vestibular balance scale as follows: ranked on top was snow-boarding sport, with the particularly high dynamic vestibular balance and coordination test rates; followed by biathlon, rock climbing sport and sailing sports. In the speed-strength intensive track and field sports, the vestibular balance and coordination skills were found experience-dependent and gender-unspecific.
The eyes-closed test rates showed the individual vestibular balance and coordination abilities being skills-dependent - i.e. the higher are the skills and experience, the better is the vestibular balance quality in the test.
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