Use of a Textured Insole to Improve the Association Between Postural Balance and Ankle Discrimination in Young Male and Female Dancers

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nili Steinberg ◽  
Gordon Waddington ◽  
Roger Adams ◽  
Janet Karin ◽  
Oren Tirosh

Ballet dancers require a high level of postural balance (PB) and proprioception ability during performance. As textured insoles inserted into ballet shoes were found to improve proprioception ability, and better proprioceptive acuity was associated with better PB, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether the association between ankle inversion movement discrimination (AIMD) and PB changed following wearing textured insoles in young male and female dancers. METHODS: Forty-four dancers from the Australian Ballet School, ages 14–19 yrs, were tested for static and dynamic PB and AIMD under two conditions: in ballet shoes, and in ballet shoes with textured insoles inserted. RESULTS: Female dancers demonstrated a significant inverse relationship between AIMD and static PB in the medio-lateral direction when wearing ballet shoes, but not when wearing textured insoles. Male dancers showed a non-monotonic relationship when tested with ballet shoes only, but a significant inverse relationship between AIMD and dynamic PB in the vertical direction and with the waist/head cross-correlation acceleration in the three movement directions when they were tested with textured insoles. CONCLUSIONS: Male dancers demonstrated an improved association between dynamic PB and proprioception ability when using textured insoles, suggesting that the increased afferent information from the plantar surface had a beneficial effect on proprioception feedback about their PB. Conversely, for female dancers, that association was present when wearing ballet shoes, but not when using textured insoles, suggesting that the increased afferent information for female dancers who already had high proprioception ability was “overloaded” by wearing the textured insoles.

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nili Steinberg ◽  
Roger Adams ◽  
Gordon Waddington ◽  
Janet Karin ◽  
Oren Tirosh

Author(s):  
Tomas Vencúrik ◽  
Damir Knjaz ◽  
Tomislav Rupčić ◽  
Goran Sporiš ◽  
Feng Li

Basketball shooting is one of the most important offensive skills in basketball. Winning or losing a game mostly depends on the shooting effectiveness. The study aims to compare the selected kinematic variables of 2-point (2-pt) and 3-point (3-pt) jump shots (after making a cut and receiving the ball) and ascertain the differences between elite male under 16 and 18 (U16M, U18M) and female under 16 and 18 (U16F, U18F) basketball players. Overall, forty-eight young male and female basketball players participated in the study. 3D motion analysis using an inertial suit with the addition of utilizing a smart ball was performed for assessing the 2-pt and 3-pt shooting techniques. Players in male categories shot for 2-pt with a higher center of mass difference in the vertical direction (U16M 5.7 cm, U18M 3.9 cm vs. U16F 1.4 cm, U18F 0.6 cm), with higher release shoulder angle (U16M 110.9, U18M 113.8 vs. U16F 103, U18F 105), and with a higher entry angle of the ball (U16M 34, U18M 32 vs. U16F 30, U18F 30) when compared to female categories (p < 0.001). In the 3-pt shooting, there were differences between male and female categories in the shoulder angle when releasing the ball (p < 0.001). In the players shooting speed, there were differences between U16M vs. U18F (0.95 ± 0.1 vs. 0.88 ± 0.1; p = 0.03) and U16F vs. U18F (0.96 ± 0.06 vs. 0.88 ± 0.1; p = 0.02) players. Male categories shot 3-pt shots with a smaller center of mass difference in the horizontal direction when compared to 2-pt shots (p < 0.001). The entry angle was higher in successful shooting attempts compared to unsuccessful shooting attempts when shooting for 3-pt (p = 0.02). Player shooting speed was higher in all categories (except U18F) when shooting for 3-pt (p < 0.001). It appears that performers show difference in kinematic variables based on distance from the basket. Basketball coaches and players should work to minimize the kinematic differences between 2-pt and 3-pt shooting and to optimize the shooting technique.


Author(s):  
Max I. Phukan ◽  
Rohit K. Thapa ◽  
Gopal Kumar ◽  
Chris Bishop ◽  
Helmi Chaabene ◽  
...  

This study aimed to examine inter-limb jump asymmetries and their association with sport-specific performance in young swimmers. Thirty-eight (male, n = 19; female, n = 19) regional/national level young swimmers (age: 12.3 ± 1.2 years; height: 159.6 ± 8.2 cm; body mass: 52.5 ± 9.2 kg) participated in this study. Inter-limb asymmetries were assessed for single-leg countermovement jump (SLCMJ) and single-leg standing long jump (SLSLJ). Sport-specific performance was evaluated using front crawl (i.e., 50 m and 25 m) and front crawl kick (i.e., 50 m and 25 m). The kappa coefficient revealed a “slight” level of agreement (Κ = 0.156, 0.184, and 0.197 for female, male, and all, respectively) between the direction of asymmetry for SLCMJ and SLSLJ, indicating that asymmetries rarely favored the same limb during both tests. A paired sample t-test showed a significant difference (p = 0.025) between asymmetry scores obtained in SLCMJ and SLSLJ. No significant difference was found in asymmetry scores between males and females (p = 0.099 to 0.977). Additionally, no association between asymmetry scores and sport-specific performance was observed (p > 0.05). Our findings highlight the independent nature of inter-limb asymmetries derived from SLCMJ and SLSLJ among young male and female swimmers. Further, our results suggest no association between jumping asymmetries and sport-specific performance.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 972
Author(s):  
Susana Santiago ◽  
Itziar Zazpe ◽  
Cesar I. Fernandez-Lazaro ◽  
Víctor de la de la O ◽  
Maira Bes-Rastrollo ◽  
...  

No previous study has assessed the relationship between overall macronutrient quality and all-cause mortality. We aimed to prospectively examine the association between a multidimensional macronutrient quality index (MQI) and all-cause mortality in the SUN (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra) (University of Navarra Follow-Up) study, a Mediterranean cohort of middle-aged adults. Dietary intake information was obtained from a validated 136-item semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. We calculated the MQI (categorized in quartiles) based on three quality indexes: the carbohydrate quality index (CQI), the fat quality index (FQI), and the healthy plate protein source quality index (HPPQI). Among 19,083 participants (mean age 38.4, 59.9% female), 440 deaths from all causes were observed during a median follow-up of 12.2 years (IQR, 8.3–14.9). No significant association was found between the MQI and mortality risk with multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for the highest vs. the lowest quartile of 0.79 (95% CI, 0.59–1.06; Ptrend = 0.199). The CQI was the only component of the MQI associated with mortality showing a significant inverse relationship, with HR between extreme quartiles of 0.64 (95% CI, 0.45–0.90; Ptrend = 0.021). In this Mediterranean cohort, a new and multidimensional MQI defined a priori was not associated with all-cause mortality. Among its three sub-indexes, only the CQI showed a significant inverse relationship with the risk of all-cause mortality.


2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051988993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan ◽  
Lorraine Sheridan

Most stalking studies are conducted in the West. Limited information is available on victims of stalking from the Asian continent. This study specifically explored the victimization experiences of young male and female adults in Hong Kong. Using a large sample of university students ( N = 2,496) aged between 18 and 40 years, the gender distribution of stalking incident characteristics was examined, along with prevalence of various stalking behaviors, and victim–offender relationships by types of stalking behaviors. The differential role of demographic and psychosocial characteristics in stalking victimization experience was also explored. The lifetime prevalence rate of stalking victimization was 8.2%, with a higher estimate in females than males (11.6% vs. 3.8%). The sample analyzed in this study was 196 stalking victims. Although surveillance-oriented behaviors were most frequently reported by both males and females, significant gender differences in types of stalking behaviors were noted. Multivariate analyses indicated that increases in age and levels of self-esteem were correlated with an increased probability of experiencing stalking victimization, while being a male and higher levels of life satisfaction were related to a lower likelihood of falling prey to stalking victimization. This study concludes with a call for anti-stalking legislation in Hong Kong given the devastating nature and consequences of stalking victimization.


Author(s):  
Jijian Lian ◽  
Junling He ◽  
Wenjuan Gou ◽  
Danjie Ran

The downstream nappe wind caused by flood discharge has a great influence on the rainfall distribution, the operational safety of dams, and their surrounding ecological environments. A physical experiment was conducted to measure the spatial distribution of the downstream nappe wind and the splash for a continuous bucket (CB) and a tongue-shaped bucket (TB) for five bucket angles (40°, 45°, 50°, 55°, and 60°). The experimental results demonstrate that the trajectory width and height of the nappe increase as the angles increase, but the effect on the length is converse. The wind velocity and splash weight of the two buckets decrease along the flowing direction. In the lateral direction, the wind velocity and splash weight for the CB decrease as y increases, but the wind velocity of the TB trends to humplike; its splash weight decreases near the axis of the bucket, and is stable in the other region. In the vertical direction, the velocity for the CB increases and then decreases as z increases, but that for the TB decreases monotonously. The velocity of the wind and weight of the splash for the CB decreases with the increasing angles, but those of the TB peak at 45°. The findings are useful for the more accurate prediction of rainfall.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seema Aggarwal

Does money bring happiness? This study was undertaken to understand and analyze the relationship between materialism and happiness. The sample consists of on young male and female students in the age group of 18-21years belonging to service class family and living in the tri-city of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. For the purpose of study respondents were selected randomly who were administered the structured questionnaire to measure happiness and materialism using Oxford Happiness questionnaire, Richards and Dawson Materialism Scale. Descriptive analysis, correlations, and t-ratios was applied to the data. Results revealed non- significant relationship between materialism and happiness. Gender difference was also studied.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (19) ◽  
pp. 97-102
Author(s):  
Alexandru Andrei Gherman ◽  
Leon Gomboș ◽  
Adrian Pătrașcu ◽  
Sergiu Pop

Abstract Postural balance plays an important role in high performance sports. The line between success and failure may be decided at such a small scale. In handball, postural balance may affect the accuracy of every technique that a played use, especially the throwing of the ball towards the goal. Our study aimed to identify the degree of influence that izometric effort has over the balance stance during a handball throw. Subjects: 210 1st year students from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Babeș-Bolyai University from Cluj-Napoca, were involved in this study. The subjects were both male and female, with the ages between 18 and 21 years old, with and without former performance athlete background. Materials: We’ve conducted the balance test using the AMTI NETforce BP 400600 force platform and the actual isometric exercises were completed in the same laboratory. Two types of planks and a half-squat were used as the isometric exercises. Results: There was no significant statistical difference between the balance variables before and after isometric exercises while holding the ball in hand. There was a significant statistical difference between the displacement before and after for the position without the ball. Conclusion: There is no impact of the isometric effort over the balance stance while holding the handball ball in the throwing position. We’ve identified a strong relation between the isometric effort and the balance stance without the ball in hand.


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