Original researchCorrelation Between Upper Body Balance, Muscle Strength, and Power in Cricketers Belonging to Different Age Groups
Introduction
Cricketing activities involve various overhead throwing motions.1 Repetitive cricketing activities place substantial loads on the throwing arm, which can lead to upper body injuries.1, 2, 3 These injuries might affect performance in competitions and may lead to missed training sessions as well.4 Balance, strength, and power are extremely important parameters for performance enhancement and prevention of injuries in sports persons. Findings on correlations between parameters of balance, strength, and power have been of particular interest in sports because it may provide rationales for assessment of injury risk and also for developing programs for preventing and rehabilitating injuries.4
Association between these 3 performance parameters has been assessed previously in many research studies2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; however, these studies are predominantly lower-body specific. Only 1 study2 focusing on upper body performance could be found, in which correlations between isokinetic upper limb strength and upper extremity power were shown in a population of overhead athletes. Muehlbauer et al5 investigated the relationship between variables of static balance, dynamic balance, isometric strength, and power in healthy young adults and found a significant association between isometric strength of plantar flexors and power. Explosive force production (power), measured by the performances in maximal vertical squat jump and standing long jump, correlated well with the variables of balance test in middle age and elderly men in a study conducted by Izquierdo et al,9 who aimed to examine age-related changes in relationships between variables of balance and force production in men of different age groups. A significant positive correlation between isometric strength and muscle power of the lower extremities has also been reported in physically active older adults.8 There is paucity in the literature regarding whether any relationship exists between the neuromuscular capabilities of upper body balance, muscle strength, and power in cricketers.
Many morphologic and neurologic changes occur during the process of growth and maturation. The maturational process contributes to significant differences in the onset, magnitude, and rate of change of various biological components across athletes of different ages. Moreover, the maturity status also attributes to changes in physiology with age. Because adaptations are dependent on the maturity status, correlations between upper body balance, strength, and power should also be age specific so that individualized prevention and rehabilitation programs can be tailored based on age.6 A study6 examined the relationship of balance with maximal isometric back strength and lower extremity muscle power measures based on maturity status in soccer players aged 10 to 18 years. Results of this study clearly suggested significant positive correlations among balance and strength and power measures, which were increasing with maturity.
Adolescence is a phase of the maturation process marked by dynamic change in physiological capabilities, physical parameters, sexual characteristics, and social interaction.10 It is during adolescence that most of the talent identification takes place for early selection of talented individuals into the sports.10, 11 It is important to investigate if adolescents, who have not yet attained adulthood, demonstrate poor, similar, or better performance than their adult counterparts. The authors hypothesize that significant correlations between measures of upper body balance, muscle strength, and power exists in cricketers. Information regarding the relationship of these 3 performance variables may help understand the role of age in determining the efficacy of different training regimes, and also it can help in developing injury prevention and rehabilitation programs. The aim of this study is to determine the correlation between variables of upper body balance, muscle strength, and power in cricketers belonging to different age groups.
Section snippets
Design
A cross-sectional study design was chosen to investigate the associations between 3 variables: upper body balance, muscle strength, and power. Data collection per participant was conducted on a single occasion between the months of September 2016 and March 2017.
Participants
Cricket players were recruited from school teams and the university team of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. This study was approved by the Jamia Millia Islamia Ethical Committee. Players who reported any injury, fatigue, pain, or
Results
Significant differences between the groups were evident for age, height, and weight (Table 1) at P < .005. Between-group differences were also observed for parameters of power and balance (on the nondominant side only).
Discussion
This is the first study to investigate the correlation between upper body balance, muscle strength, and power in cricketers belonging to different age groups. Main findings of the study suggested that there is a significant correlation between muscle strength and power in both adolescent cricketers and adult cricketers. Upper body balance was not found to correlate with muscle strength or power in adolescent and adult cricketers.
Findings of the present study demonstrate that there is no
Conclusion
Significant correlations between muscle strength and power in adolescent and adult cricketers suggest that training-induced adaptations in muscle strength may have an impact on upper body power in cricketers. Nonsignificant correlations between upper body balance and muscle strength and upper body balance and power found in the present study imply that these are independent upper body biomotor abilities and should be trained separately.
Funding Sources and Conflicts of Interest
No funding sources or conflicts of interest were reported for this study.
Contributorship Information
Concept development (provided idea for the research): D.S., M.E.H., P.B.
Design (planned the methods to generate the results): D.S., M.E.H., P.B.
Supervision (provided oversight, responsible for organization and implementation, writing of the manuscript): D.S., M.E.H., P.B.
Data collection/processing (responsible for experiments, patient management, organization, or reporting data): D.S., M.E.H., P.B.
Analysis/interpretation (responsible for statistical analysis, evaluation, and presentation of the
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