Changes in the Indicators of Postural Stability of the Body of Athletes Specializing in Ballroom Dancing under the Influence of Training Loads and Competitive Activity
Authors:   Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University. 10, 68 Desantnykiv St., Mykolaiv 54000, Ukraine, Tarasova H. K. 
Published: September 2021

The purpose of the study is to establish changes in the indicators of postural stability of the body of ballroom dancers under the influence of training loads and competitive activity. Materials and methods. With the help of a force plate with biological feedback “Stabilan 01-2” the interaction of athletes with the support was registered, in particular the movement of the common center of pressure of the feet on the support. The standard (with open eyes) and complicated (with closed eyes) Romberg tests were used. The indicators were being recorded for 30 seconds at rest, as well as under the conditions of visual control before and after a typical training session, before and after competitions. The obtained data in two experimental situations were compared with initial data at rest. In total, 25 couples were studied. Couples aged 18-19 years old were studied in the amount of 15 couples, training at the stage of maximum realization of individual capabilities, and 10 couples at the age of 14-15 years old, training at the stage of specialized basic training. All the participants actively train and regularly participate in competitions. Results and discussion. Studies have shown that in the tests, which were carried out, there were obvious differences in posture stability associated with the influence of training and loads used in them. The analysis of the data proved that the test results indicate the regular differences in the indicators of posture stability in accordance with the sports experience of athletes after a training session in comparison with the initial ones (in the so-called state of rest). Athletes aged 18-19 years have a significantly higher quality indicator of balance function than people aged 14-15 years (p <0.01), which in our opinion is explained by dancing experience and adaptive changes that occur in the athlete’s body, because, according to researchers, the higher the specified indicator is, the correspondingly higher the human statokinetic stability is. A separate analysis of female and male representatives indicated less frontal scattering in male athletes aged 18-19 years old compared to girls of this age group (p <0.05). The area of the ellipse when conducting the test with closed eyes also significantly differed in boys from girls, regardless of dancing experience (p <0.05). Comparing the stability indicators of girls in dancing shoes and without them, we stated a regularity of a decrease in the quality of body balance from “more to less”: from maintaining a classical posture with open eyes to the same posture in dancing shoes in a test with closed eyes. The results of the correlation analysis between the indicators of static-dynamic body stability and the sports result of more experienced girl-partners allowed to establish the existence of a connection (r=0.61), which reflects the tendency according to which, with an increase in sports performance, the indicators of the oscillation amplitude of the center of body pressure on the support, its linear velocity of movement, the length of this trajectory both in the sagittal and in the frontal planes, the area of the ellipse decrease, which complements and confirms the data of other authors [6, 10]. Conclusion. Thus, according to the results of the study, it was found that the visual analyzer plays an important role in maintaining balance, which can be seen in the test results of both age groups. Moreover, the greater influence of visual control on the postural stability was stated in girl-partners than in boy-partners. It was also found that the quality of the balance function before and after competitions in older dancers did not change, while in less experienced dancers it decreased by almost 2%, and a comparison of the changes that occurred under the influence of training loads and competitive activity made it possible to establish the presence of adaptation to competitive loads, which manifested in a very significant improvement in the work of systems of vertical posture support in all age groups