2 research outputs found
Characteristics of Body Posture in the Sagittal Plane in 8â13-Year-Old Male Athletes Practicing Soccer
Background: An important part of a healthy lifestyle for children and adolescents is exercising to satisfy the natural need for physical activity. However, young athletes should take special care when they participate in intense physical training, to ensure their proper physical development. The aim of this study was to evaluate the body posture in the sagittal plane of soccer players in comparison with healthy untrained peers. Methods: A total of 245 young males aged 8â13 who participated in the study were divided into two groups: âGroup FâFootballerâ, elite youth soccer players comprising 132 male athletes, and âGroup CâControl groupâ, consisting of 113 boys from primary schools. The elite, youth soccer players played and trained in the Gold Standard Certificate Academy for their age group and belonged to the top 1% of all players from their category, respectively (Polish Soccer Association (PZPN)). The control group consisted of healthy boys from primary schools in Wroclaw not practicing any sport. A photogrammetric method based on the projection moirĂ© phenomenon was used to assess the body posture in all subjects. Results: The analysis showed statistically significant differences in body posture parameters in the sagittal plane between the trained (F) and non-trained (C) groups. In all age groups, a significantly higher value of the upper thoracic angle and a lower value of the trunk inclination angle were observed in the football playersâ group. Significant differences were also observed for the thoracic spine in each age group. In the groups of 8â9 and 12â13 years, they concerned the angle of thoracic kyphosis, and in the group of 10â11-year-old, the depth of thoracic kyphosis. In the group of children with ages 8â9 and 10â11, significantly higher values of lumbosacral angle and upper thoracic angle were observed in the group of soccer players. Conclusions: The soccer training load can influence the anteriorâposterior curvature of the spine. In the group of footballers in all age groups, higher angular values of thoracic kyphosis and greater tilt of the torso forward were found, compared with their untrained peers. There were also significant differences in body posture between children of different ages, both in the group of footballers and in the group of untrained children. In the group of footballers, the differences concerned mainly the size of the lumbosacral angle and the depth of both curves, which decreased with the age of the players. A similar phenomenon was observed in the group of untrained boys but only in children in the older age groups