The Effects of Kinesiology Treatment on Morphological Characteristics of Top Table Tennis Players with Disabilities

Abstract

Sports results of table tennis players with disabilities depend on the functionality level, but also on morphological characteristics. There is an increased risk of obesity in these athletes with disability due to a reduced level of locomotor functionality. The hitherto practice showed that leading table tennis players with disabilities in Serbia did not have an additional kinesiology treatment implemented as part of their training process, which would encourage both strengthening and flexibility of muscle groups relevant for the efficacy of table tennis game, and reduction of body mass and voluminosity. The goal of this paper is to apply an additional kinesiology treatment and determine its effect of on the morphological characteristics of leading table tennis players with disabilities. Eight representatives, table tennis players with disabilities, both male and female, aged between 23 and 52, were included in the additional kinesiology treatment that lasted for nine months. The measures of longitudinal skeleton dimensionality, body mass and volume, subcutaneous adipose tissue and body mass index were analyzed. In order to establish the effects of kinesiology treatment Student's t-test was used, while the results were processed by means of a statistical package SPSS, version 14.0. The values were estimated at p < 0.05 significance level. Male respondents demonstrated statistically significant changes in biceps skinfold (p = 0.05). In the case of female respondents no statistically significant difference was observed in anthropometric space. The additional kinesiology treatment indicates a trend towards reduced voluminosity and body mass of both male and female respondents, but not at a statistically significant level, which is probably the result of an insufficient number of respondents. Continued additional kinesiology treatment should be included in the training process of male and female table tennis players with disabilities, which has not been the case up until now.