1. Postural Balance in Young Tennis Players of Varied Competition Levels
- Author
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Selim Srihi, Ghada Jouira, Fatma Ben Waer, Haithem Rebai, Amal Majdoub, and Sonia Sahli
- Subjects
Uronic Acids ,Adolescent ,Case-Control Studies ,Tennis ,Humans ,Experimental and Cognitive Psychology ,Postural Balance ,Sensory Systems - Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of young tennis players’ expertise on their postural balance (PB) under sensorial conditions with eyes open (EO) and with eyes closed (EC). Our participants were 75 healthy adolescents aged 15–18 years, divided into three groups based on their skill levels: (a) national tennis players (NAT; n = 25), regional tennis players (REG; n =25), and a control group of non-sport practitioners (CG; n = 25). We recorded center of pressure area and mean velocity on a force platform while participants stood in bipedal and unipedal stances in EO and EC conditions for all three groups. Statistical analyses showed that NAT participants swayed less than CG participants in all conditions and less than REG participants in the bipedal stance with EC and in the unipedal stance, both with EO and EC. Thus, tennis practice/experience may have improved PB in this sample, as high-level tennis players had better PB compared to novices, especially in challenging conditions.
- Published
- 2022
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