The Effect of Eight Weeks of Training with Balance Board on Neuromuscular Variables of Karate Girl's Ankle

Proprioceptive receptors transfer joint and muscle information through sensory nerves to the central nervous system; and neuromuscular coordination improves the stability and the prevention of injury. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of training with balance board on proprioception range of motion and muscle strength of karate girls` ankle.
In the present quasi-experimental study, 25 karate girls of Kerman province were selected voluntarily and were divided into experimental group (13 subjects) (age 2.2 ± 12.8 years, height 15.1 ± 150 cm, and weight 7.2 ± 40.3 kg) and control group (12 subjects) (age 2.2 ± 13.5 years, height 12.2 ± 6.154 cm, and weight 10.7 ± 44.2 kg). Proprioception (pedal Goniometer), range of motion (universal Goniometer), muscle strength (Lafayette Manual Muscle Testing System) and Karate girls` ankle were evaluated in four directions (dorsal, plantar, inversion, Eversion) 8 weeks before and after the experiment. Control group continued Kata training, while the experiment group did balance board exercises and kata trainings for 3 times a week for 30 minutes. Chi-square test, T-test and covariance analysis at a significance level of less than (p≤0.05) were used for data analysis.
The results showed a significant improvement in proprioception (dorsal, plantar, inversion, eversion), range of motion (Dorsal, inversion, eversion), muscle strength (Dorsal, plantar, inversion, eversion) of the experimental group after eight weeks of training (p≤0.05). However, significant improvement was not observed in the control group (p≤0.05). In addition, significant improvement in the range of motion of ankle plantar flexion was not observed between the experimental and control groups before and after eight weeks of training (p≤0.05).
According to the findings of the study, it seems that balance board training is effective in improving neuromuscular factors and can be used as an effective intervention for prevention and harm reduction.