Evaluation of postural stability in girls and boys during the adolescence period

Abstract

Introduction. The purpose of the work was to assess the static and dynamic postural stability and to identify the risk of the locomotor system injuries in 14-year-old boys and girls. Methods. The study involved a group of 40 girls and 43 boys aged 14 who regularly attended physical education classes, 4 hours per week. The examination of static balance was carried out with the modified version of the first test of the Eurofit Physical Fitness Test Battery - the Flamingo Balance Test, and dynamic balance assessments were performed with the Y-Balance Test by using a specially designed test tool, the so-called Y-Balance Test Kit. To differentiate between the higher and lower risk of a motor system injury, an index proposed by Butler was applied. Results. With respect to both static and dynamic balance, the results obtained by the studied girls did not differ statistically significantly from those of the studied boys. Conclusions. in the group of girls, the index recommended by Butler was exceeded by 78% of the subjects for the left lower limb and by 80% of the subjects for the right one, while in the group of boys, the respective values were 74% and 79%. This indicates that the risk of a motor system injury among the study subjects was low.