The influence of curricular physical activities on the values of body balance indices in university students

Abstract

The investigation analyzes the effect of specific motor structures on the indicators of static and dynamic balance of the students of Dunărea de Jos University in Galați (99 boys aged = 20.29 years, body weight = 84.17 kg, height = 180.08 cm, respectively 96 girls aged = 20.09 years, mass body weight = 60.88 kg, height = 164.73 cm. The members of the tested group have no concerns related to performance sports or physical activities as a lifestyle. The application of the experimental program was made during the 28 weeks of the academic year 2018-2019, with 3 distinct moments: T1 / initial at the beginning of the 1^st semester, T2 / intermediate before the winter break, T3 / final at the end of the academic year. The battery of tests included 7 tests: One leg standing test with eyes closed (sec), Stork test (sec), Flamingo test (number of attempts), Bass test (points), Functional reach test (cm), Walk and turn field sobriety test (errors) and Fukuda test (degrees). The results of the Anova parametric test with repeated measurements revealed statistically significant values of F associated with significant thresholds (p <0.05), and the values of Partial eta squared (Ƞ²_p) indicate strong influences of the proposed program on test performance in most cases, both at the level of the whole group and also for each gender. It should be noted that the performance improvements are greater in the first part of the study (differences between initial and intermediate tests, with p <0.05), compared to those in semester 2 (differences between intermediate and final tests), which can be explained by the adaptation to the planned and applied stimuli, so modifying or changing their dosage is necessary in order to have a better chance of improving the results. Significant differences are confirmed for most tests of both genders (p <0.05), with exceptions being the Walk and turn field sobriety test for boys (at the level of the difference between intermediate and final testing) and the Fukuda test for both genders (for differences between initial and intermediate testing). However, the results should be viewed with caution, the low level of physical training and sedentary behavior of most students providing the premises for such progress, even with a single weekly physical activity.