ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2021 October;180(10):545-50

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.20.04423-X

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Evaluation and comparison of static balance among different competitive female athletes

Alessandro ARDOINO ¹, Erika IERVASI ^{1, 2}, Daniela ZARCONE ¹, Daniele SAVERINO ^{1, 2} ✉

¹ Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; ² IRCCS San Martino University Hospital, Genoa, Italy

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to underline that the ability to balance is a fundamental component to train in order to improve sports performance.
METHODS: A total of 50 subjects, 40 female athletes who are in tennis, basketball, ballet, and rhythmic gymnastic branches and 10 sedentary girls, participated in the study voluntarily. Each participant was applied totally 3 balance measurements for both dominant and non-dominant limbs: Flamingo Balance Test, Flamingo Balance/skimmy Test and Stork Balance Test.
RESULTS: The balance ability is markedly different between the sport groups and the sedentary-control group. Gymnasts and ballet players, in some extent, show the better performance in balance tests. In contrast, basketball and tennis players displayed inferior balance capability.
CONCLUSIONS: Balance is a fundamental component to be trained specifically in order to not only improve one’s sporting performance but also to reduce the risk of injury.

KEY WORDS: Postural balance; Athletic performance; Female; Athletes