Core is the
group of 29 muscles that are attached to spine, pelvis and hip, stabilizes and
controls them during upper and lower extremity movement. It stabilize
the spine, pelvis, and kinetic chain during functional movements. The core can
be characterized as a muscular box which has the abdominals in the front,
paraspinals and glutei in
the back, the diaphragm as the roof, and the pelvic floor and hip girdle
musculature as the bottom (Akhutota & Nadler.,2004). Core
muscle are composed of many muscles, mainly of local stabilizers which are
small and short muscles having short lever arm to span single joint (Length dependent muscle activation pattern).
It consist of Pelvic floor, Transversus abdominis,
Internal Obliques, Multifidus,
Diaphragm and other muscle group
is Global movers: These muscles span over
numerous spinal segments to produce force and function as prime movers (Force dependent activation pattern).It consist of Rectus abdominis,
External obliques,
Erector spinae, Quadratus lumborum, Hip muscle groups, for spinal
stabilization during movement coordination of both activation pattern is
required (Kibler et al., 2006).
Balance can
be defined as the ability to maintain line of gravity within the Base of support (BOS)
which is of two types, static and dynamic balance(Gabbard , 2008).
Athletes have
excellent control over the center of gravity, be it any sport, hence, they
train to achieve superior dynamic balance (Roetert,2001).Core stability results
in increased control of center of mass. As the center of mass moves away from
the base of support, results in increased risk for biomechanical deviations to
occur in the lower extremity. An improved ability to control this movement has
the potential to decrease excessive forces on the lower extremity lack of
neuromuscular control of the lower limbs which has been associated with knee
and ankle injuries (Kilber, et al, 2006). The core represents the biomechanical
connection between the extremities and the trunk and is responsible for
generating stabilization and mobility during power generation and absorption at
different levels (Mcgill & S., 2010). Core strength and stabilization play
an important role in efficiently transmitting the power generated during an
activity from the trunk to the extremities or from the extremities to the
trunk.
Core stability, strength and endurance are the most important
core abilities that ensure spine stability for force production and injury
prevention. Core endurance is the most crucial component in core training,
because it supports core muscles in maintaining an efficient trunk position
(Faries MD, Greenwood,2007). Barati et al.(2013) indicates that core endurance
is important to spinal stability during prolonged exercise.
According to a
latest longitudinal study in core stability parameters, weakness in the hip external
rotation was associated with incidence of knee injury (McConell.,2002). Study
done by Sadeghi et al. (2013), results suggest that core
stability training could be beneficial for improving balance by strengthening
core muscles most often associated with lumbar spine control to improve dynamic
balance.The Y-Balance Test (YBT), which is derived from the Star Excursion
Balance Test (SEBT), is an low cost and commonly used objective measure to
assess lower extremity dynamic balance, functional symmetry, and stability
(Ruffie et al., 2019). It was designed to improve the reliability and standardize
the SEBT test performance.Smith et al. (2015), found that risk for injury
across various sports was associated with an increased in a reach direction
asymmetry on the YBT. The performance of YBT on different surfaces produced a
change in the activation of many trunk and lower extremity muscles.
(Kaumantakis et al., 2005).
During dynamic movement
in sports, the body tends to attempt to offer stability by increasing the
muscle activation of core muscles to overcome the effects of instability, which
can be measured by surface EMG in clinical setting to know the involvement of
core muscles by measuring the activation level of muscles while maintain
balance during movement of lower limb. Fuglevand et al., (1993), observed that
muscle electrical activities are closely associated with muscle forces in
isometric contractions, which signifies that the body movements would show a
greater level of accumulated EMG activity which recruited more motor units from
the muscles.
Some studies have
demonstrated a general (global) exercise approach to be superior in reducing
disability (Norris & Matthew et al., 2008) (Kaumantakis et al., 2005). Both
the local and global systems are important and contributing factors to function
(Kavcis, 2004). Previous studies in terms of performance have significant
attention on the differentiation between the local and global muscle systems
(Wirth et al., 2008).
The myofascial slings
were first presented by Vleeming, and they function as anatomical keystone
connections between the global muscles that provide stability and transfer of
forces across multiple joints and the local stability provided by the local
stabilizers, TA and segmental MF (Tayen et al. 2007). The Myofascial-Sling
System is also known as core cylinder (Kibler et al., 2006), of lateral sling
(internal oblique and ipsilateral gluteus Medius), posterior oblique sling
(latissimus dorsi and contralateral gluteus maximus), and anterior oblique
sling (external oblique and contralateral adductors).
Catania et al., 2021 ,used the
clinical screening tool and Muscle ultrasound (MSUS) to compare the effects of
a rotary-based exercise program that targets both the global and local muscles
to a traditional exercise program on the activation of the abdominal and trunk
muscles, the rotation exercises were designed to target the “sling†muscles, showing
a number of significant differences between the Experimental and control groups.
In the study they found thickness of the Internal oblique (IO) and External
oblique (EO) muscles increased significantly more in those individuals who
completed the Rotation based exercises. Both the experimental and control
groups demonstrated increased thickness of Multifidus (MF) muscle, group
differences not observed in MF activation,
Using exercises
mentioned in the article by Catania et al., (2021), the
objective of this study is to find out (1) Effect of rotation-based core muscle
strengthening vs traditional core muscle strengthening on the dynamic balance
of male collegiate athletes and (2) core muscle activation after rotation based
and traditional core muscle exercise during dynamic balance
It is hypothesised
that Rotation based exercises would significantly improve dynamic balance and
muscle activation than traditional core muscle strengthening.
Need
for the Study
·
Core strength training
program is planned to improve the core strength, core stabilization, static and
dynamic balance to improve performance.
·
In previous studies no
work has been done on the effect of rotation-based exercises on dynamic
balance.
· In
this study we want to know which type of core muscle training would be more
beneficial in providing more dynamic balance & control and hence prevent
chances of non-contact injuries to the athlete, and can be introduced to the
athlete’s training
Research
Question
·
Which type of core
muscle training programme would result in more spinal stability, core muscles
endurance and core muscle activation during dynamic activity.
· Which
type of core muscle training programme would result in significant improvement
in dynamic balance of athlete.
Objectives
·
To find
out effect of rotation-based core muscle strengthening vs traditional core
muscle strengthening on the dynamic balance of male collegiate athletes.
·
To find
out core muscle activation after rotation based and traditional core muscle
exercise during dynamic balance.
·
To find
out the effects of rotation based and traditional core muscle exercise on core
endurance.
Significance
of the Study
·
Previous studies have not used
sling muscles specifically for long term into core training. This study helps
to strengthen the previous literature on core training benefits on dynamic
balance.
·
This study compares the effect
of rotation-based exercise (myofascial sling) and traditional core muscle
strengthening exercise on dynamic balance.
·
This can be used as a
means of rehabilitation and during training as well.
·
This study can be used
to decrease risk of injury and increase performance of athletes
Hypothesis
Null
Hypothesis: There is no significant effect of
rotation-based core muscle strengthening over traditional core muscle
strengthening on the dynamic balance
Alternative
Hypothesis: There is a significant effect of
rotation-based core muscle strengthening over traditional core muscle
strengthening on the dynamic balance
Sample:
Male collegiate
athletes from sports complex, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India.
Sample
Size: The
number of subjects (n=30)
Duration
of the study:
8 weeks Independent Variables: ·
Rotation based exercises ·
Traditional core muscles exercises Dependent Variables · Y balance test · EMG: During dynamic
activity (Y balance test) · EMG: MVIC % (Max. voluntary
isometric contraction). ·
Sports specific Endurance Plank Test
(SEPT) |