To compare the lower extremity static & dynamic balance and core stability performance in different strength sports

Aim: The purpose of this study was to compare the lower extremity static & dynamic balance and core stability performance in three different types of strength athletes. Material and Method: For the purpose of the present study, sixty (N=60) strength athletes, comprising of Wrestlers (n1 =20); Weightlifters (n2=20); Bodybuilders (n3=20)] subjects between the age group of 18-25 years (Mean ± SD: Age 20.53 ± 1.57 years, height 165.98 ± 3.52 cm, body mass 57.60 ± 3.77 kg, leg length 87.51±2.03) were selected. Stork balance test, Y - balance test were used to assess static and dynamic balance of the dominant leg respectively. Modified beiring sorensen and prone plank test were used to measure core stability performance. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was used to determine the intra group differences in the lower extremity static & dynamic balance and core stability performance among the three groups of strength athletes. When a significant difference among the groups was observed, a pair-wise comparison of the groups was done by using the LSD post-hoc test to identify direction and significant differences between the groups. To test the hypothesis, the level of significance was set at 0.05. All the subjects, after having been informed about the objective and protocol of the study, gave informed consent and volunteered to participate in this study. Results: Significant differences were observed in static balance, dynamic balance and core stability among strength athletes of three groups (p≤0.05). Thus, when LSD Post-Hoc test was applied to study the direction and significance of differences between the paired adjusted final means for static balance, dynamic balance and core stability, the wrestlers were found to be significantly different when compared with its counterparts. It has been observed that wrestlers had demonstrated significantly better dynamic balance whereas weightlifters and bodybuilders had demonstrated superior static balance and core stability than wrestlers. However, when different sub-variables of dynamic balance i.e. anterior, posteromedial and posterolateral balance were compared, the results revealed insignificant differences in the anterior balance among strength athletes of three groups. But, posteromedial and posterolateral balance was superior in wrestlers than the weightlifters and bodybuilders. This study concludes that the female wrestlers have lower static balance performance and core stability performance as compared to weightlifters and bodybuilders whereas they have superior dynamic balance among the three groups.