The relationship of core endurance to dynamic balance and functional hop task performance under loaded and unloaded conditions.
Open Access
- Author:
- Lopez, Sarah M
- Area of Honors:
- Kinesiology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Sayers John Miller III, Thesis Supervisor
Jinger S. Gottschall, Thesis Honors Advisor
Giampietro Luciano Vairo, Faculty Reader
Stephen Jacob Piazza, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- core endurance
functional performance
load - Abstract:
- Objective: To describe core endurance profiles under unloaded and loaded conditions, and associations to functional performance in a physically active population. Design and Settings: This descriptive study was conducted in a controlled laboratory. The order of testing sessions and performance measures were randomized to prevent order effects. Subjects: Fifty (17 women, 33 men) young, healthy and physically active participants (20.8 ±1.5 years,175.6 ± 8.1 cm, 71.9 ± 10.6 kg) were enrolled. Measurements: Core endurance isometric tests, as described by McGill, (Biering‐Sorensen back extension, trunk flexion, right and [RLP] left lateral planks [LLP]) were assessed under unloaded and loaded conditions. The loaded condition involved the addition of an arbitrary external load equal to 10% of body mass. The amount of time (s) to fatigue for each test was measured. Crossover hop distance, normalized to leg length, was recorded as a measure of functional performance. Paired t‐tests analyzed differences between unloaded and loaded core endurance conditions. Pearson product moment correlation coefficients identified associations among core endurance and functional performance measures. P < 0.05 denoted statistical significance. Results: Statistically significant differences existed between all unloaded and loaded core endurance isometric tests (extension: unloaded = 127.2 ± 56.9 s, loaded = 78.9 ± 20.7 s, P = < 0.001; flexion: unloaded = 224.1 s ± 142.4 s, loaded = 194.3 ± 117.4 s, P = 0.048; right lateral plank: unloaded = 98.0 s ± 39.5 s, loaded = 73.5 ± 32.4 s, P = < 0.001; left lateral plank: unloaded = 104.2 ± 38.1 s, loaded = 73.3 ± 27.2 s, P = < 0.001). Statistically significant positive correlations existed between unloaded and loaded RLP and LLP to crossover hop distances for dominant and non-dominant legs (RLP-unloaded dominant: r = 0.584, P = < 0.001; LLP-unloaded dominant: r = 0.610, P = < 0.001; RLP-unloaded non-dominant: r = 0.612, P = < 0.001; LLP-unloaded non-dominant: r = 0.596, P = < 0.001; RLP-loaded dominant: r = 0.668, P = < 0.001; LLP-loaded dominant: r = 0.653, P = <0.001, RLP-loaded non-dominant: r = 0.735, P = < 0.001; LLP-loaded non-dominant: r = 0.664, P = < 0.001). All other analyses were statistically insignificant. Conclusions: Loaded core endurance tests appear to enhance associations to functional performance compared to unloaded, when using an absolute measure of time. Further investigation is required to identify the association of relative core endurance measures to functional performance. Word Count: 398