The Influence Of Karate Training On Postural Stability
Open Access
- Author:
- Sutton, Dane
- Graduate Program:
- Kinesiology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- November 08, 2012
- Committee Members:
- John Henry Challis, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
- Keywords:
- Karate
Postural Stability
Center of Pressure
Fall Prevention
Balance
Perturbations - Abstract:
- This paper explores two issues of importance for fall prevention programs. First, do relatively short 15-week postural stability enhancement programs produce meaningful improvements as measured by center of pressure (COP) metrics? Secondly, does a 15-week training program in Karate produce better results than a Strength Training program? Individual program evaluations, and between program comparisons, are based on pre- and post-training COP metrics. Injuries incurred from falls are a major public health concern. In the U.S., falls are the leading cause of injury across all ages. The morbidity and mortality rates increase dramatically for the segment of the population over the age of 65. Researchers have thus investigated various forms of exercise for their potential to improve postural stability. One fall prevention strategy that has received much attention recently is the use of the ancient martial art of T’ai Chi to improve balance. While T’ai Chi has been shown to improve static balance, it may not be effective in reducing the risk of falls in more dynamic tasks such as recovering from tripping over an obstacle while one is walking, or when one experiences sudden perturbations, such as being jostled in a crowd. In contrast, other martial arts, such as Karate, incorporate training in both stationary and dynamic postures. In addition, Karate emphasizes the maintenance of balance against perturbations. It is hypothesized that improvements in balance can best be obtained through an exercise program, such as Karate, that incorporates both static and dynamic training, as well as practice in postural responses to perturbations. The purpose of this study is to examine the difference in postural characteristics between Karate students and a control group after a relatively brief 15-week physical training session. It is hypothesized that the Karate students will show more improvement in balance as their training progresses compared to the control group. To test this hypothesis, anthropometric measures were obtained from two groups of subjects: Karate students and a control group consisting of students engaged in strength training. Before training, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in their body segment inertial parameters. Postural stability tests were performed at both the beginning and the end of a relatively brief 15-week training period. During these tests, data on the movement of the center of pressure was obtained using a force plate while subjects performed balancing tasks; both with and without perturbation. Analysis of this data indicates that there were only a limited number of statistically significant differences between the pre- and post-training center of pressure motion for the two groups. These differences did not show any trends in the metrics which were different from the pre- and post-training values. In summary, there were no statistically significant changes in the center of pressure motion for either the Strength Training group or the Karate Training group as a consequence of training for a period of 15 weeks. The conclusion of this study is that brief training periods will have no appreciable effect on improving postural stability. Future research on fall prevention programs should focus on the development of programs of longer duration.