Analysis of the postural balance and knee isokinetic muscle strength of female futsal players

<p></p><p>ABSTRACT Indoor football (futsal) is the sport with the largest number of practitioners nowadays, which implies a greater appearance of lesions. Thus, it is important to identify variables that may predispose the athlete to develop injuries, such as balance and muscle strength. This study aimed to assess the postural balance and knee isokinetic muscle strength in amateur female futsal players - 12 athletes were evaluated (22.07±3.61 years) - and to investigate the association between these variables. The knee muscle strength was evaluated using an isokinetic dynamometer and balance with computerized dynamic posturography, through sensory organization test (SOT), motor control, and unilateral test. The athletes showed greater visual dependency to maintain balance, which was perceived in the conditions of the unilateral test with visual restriction. Possibly, this situation indicates that the somatosensory and/or vestibular system of the athletes was affected by factors associated with the physical training and participation in competitions. Concerning the isokinetic muscle strength variables, there was no indication of muscle imbalance, through agonist-antagonist ratio, in the dominant lower limb (53.8±8.4%), nor in the non-dominant lower limb (55.1±10.9%). There was association between balance and variables of isokinetic strength, indicating that the greater the muscle power, the better the proprioceptive level (SOT 4 condition), and the higher the total work, the better the state of the proprioceptive and vestibular systems (SOT 5 condition).</p><p></p

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN POSTURAL BALANCE AND ANTHROPOMETRIC INDEXES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLCHILDREN

<p></p><p>ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the association between postural balance and anthropometric indicators in elementary school students. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive and quantitative study included children enrolled in the first year of elementary school, of both sexes, in the age group of 6 to 7 years. Children with any physical or cognitive impairment, children who did not participate in all stages of the study evaluation, or those who failed to perform postural balance assessments were excluded. The children underwent a balance evaluation through a computerized dynamic posturograph, with sensory organization tests (TOSs) in six different sensory conditions. In order to verify the anthropometric indicators, the body weight and height measurements were evaluated for later calculation of the body mass index (BMI), which was categorized into four groups: low weight, normal, overweight and obesity. Results: Eighty children with a mean age of 6.2±0.8 years were included, being 47 girls (58.8%). The analysis of the anthropometric indicators identified that 26.3% of students were overweight and 15% were obese. The children had averages below the reference values considered for their age range in conditions III and VI. There was a negative association between condition V and BMI and a positive association between values below normal in condition VI with overweight and obesity. Conclusions: There were associations between excess body weight and values below normal in some balance conditions, indicating that the anthropometric indicators interfered in the children’s postural balance.</p><p></p