The Effect of Core Stability Training Program on Balance in Blind Female Athletes

Abstract: Background & Aims: Balance is one of the most essential elements of physical activities and an important factor in sport skills. Vision plays a paramount role in the processing and integrating other sensory inputs for controlling balance and selecting equilibrium strategy. The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of an eight-week core stability training program on balance in blind female athletes. Methods: In this semi-experimental study, 30 female blind athletes (age: 22.40 ± 5.35 years, weight: 52.17 ± 10.92 kg, height: 1.55 ± 0.06 m) as samples were selected and randomly were divided into experimental and control groups. The Y-Balance test and Flamingo test was used for evaluation of dynamic and static balance, respectively; and to assess the strength and stability of the central body area, the core stability tests were used. Independent-t test was used to analyze the data. Results: Before and after training, static and dynamic balance and also body stability were evaluated. There was significant increases in static and dynamic balance in anterior direction, internal posterior, external posterior and total balance in the experimental group compared with the control group (P < 0.05 for all). Conclusion: According to the central district of improving the strength and endurance of the body, the central body resistance training can improve static and dynamic balance in blind female athletes. Keywords: Core stabilization training, Balance, Y-balance test, Blind, Female, Athlete