# Body Balance Ability of Girls Practicing Cheerleading
## 3 Results  
During the analysis, differences in foot arch height were observed among the cheer-leading groups studied. The mean metatarsal surface pressure values in the group of girls aged 8-9 years indicated that indicated a significantly elevated arch. For the left foot (LF), the metatarsal surface pressure value was only 1.5% and for the right foot (RF), the value was in the range of average following and was 11%. According to the mean values for the group of girls aged 10-11 years, both feet showed significant hollowing, with the left foot showing 2.3% and the right foot only 0.6%. In the oldest group (12-14 years), significant foot pronation was observed in both feet, and the value was in the range of significant pronation for the LF 0.0%, while for the RF the value was 1.7%. The detailed results of the podiatric examination in the age groups studied are shown in Table 1.  
An analysis of the stabilographic results presented in Table 2, revealed differences in the magnitude of all parameters related to the displacement area of the center of pressure (COP) of the entire body, as well as of the left and right foot. In terms of the overall COP parameter, the youngest group of dancers (aged 8-9 years) demonstrated the lowest postural stability (227.2 mm\({}^{2}\)). An increase in postural stability was observed in the older groups of girls. In the group aged 10-11 years, the average center of pressure (C.O.P.) area for the whole body was 198.3 mm\({}^{2}\), while in the oldest group aged 12-14 years the average value was 137.8 mm\({}^{2}\). The obtained results were statistically analyzed. In the podiatric assessment, no statistically significant differences were detected between the groups for the majority of parameters characterizing plantar force distribution. This lack of significance was observed in the left foot across the forefoot, midfoot, and heel regions, as well as in the right foot within the midfoot and heel regions (Tables 3 and 4). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & **LF Forefoot** & **LF Midfoot** & **LF Heel** & **RF Forefoot** & **RF Midfoot** & **RF Heel** \\  & **Area [\%]** & **Area [\%]** & **Area [\%]** & **Area [\%]** & **Area [\%]** & **Area [\%]** \\ \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{6}{c}{Cheerleaders 8–9 years (\(n=15\))} \\ \hline Me & 35.5 & 1.5 & 54.6 & 40.7 & 11 & 47.3 \\ \hline Q\({}_{1}\) & 29.5 & 0 & 30.9 & 27.6 & 2.6 & 36.7 \\ \hline Q\({}_{3}\) & 43.9 & 33.6 & 64.9 & 50.0 & 13.2 & 60.3 \\ \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{6}{c}{Cheerleaders 10–11 years (\(n=11\))} \\ \hline Me & 27.5 & 2.3 & 57.6 & 51.2 & 0.6 & 39.0 \\ \hline Q\({}_{1}\) & 25.1 & 0.0 & 33.2 & 46.4 & 0.0 & 26.6 \\ \hline Q\({}_{3}\) & 42.3 & 39.4 & 66.8 & 57.0 & 14.6 & 53.4 \\ \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{6}{c}{Cheerleaders 12–14 years (\(n=9\))} \\ \hline Me & 36.4 & 0.0 & 63.6 & 52.1 & 1.7 & 41.3 \\ \hline Q\({}_{1}\) & 25.4 & 0.0 & 52.1 & 50.9 & 0.0 & 33.3 \\ \hline Q\({}_{3}\) & 47.9 & 0.0 & 74.4 & 63.5 & 2.0 & 47.9 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* Me—median, Q\({}_{1}\)—quartile 1, Q\({}_{2}\)—quartile 3, LF—left foot, RF—right foot.  
\end{table} 
Table 1: Characteristics of the distribution of foot pressure forces in the age groups of the studied girls. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Variable/Test** & **RF Forefoot** & **RF Midfoot** & **RF Heel Area [\%]** \\  & **Area [\%]** & **Area [\%]** & **RF Heel Area [\%]** \\ \hline Kruskal–Wallis Test (\(p\)) & 0.335 & 0.081 & 0.212 \\ \hline \multicolumn{4}{c}{Post hoc test with Bonferroni correction} \\ \hline Age group comparison & & & \\ \hline
8–9 vs. 10–11 & 0.418 & 1.000 & 1.000 \\ \hline
8–9 vs. 12–14 & 1.000 & 0.163 & 0.237 \\ \hline
10–11 vs. 12–14 & 1.000 & 0.182 & 0.775 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Statistical significance of differences in pressure distribution parameters in the right foot between the studied age groups.