Relationship between anthropometric characteristics, foot type, and dynamic balance in child martial artists

Abstract

An important area of research is establishing the influence of anthropometric and demographic indicators and information about flat feet in junior high school students engaged in hand-to-hand combat on their dynamic balance. Objective. The study of the dynamics of postural stability and the determination of age and sex differences in the relationships between physical development, foot arch, and balance in primary school-aged children engaged in wrestling. Methods. We used such research methods as: theoretical data analysis of scientific and methodological and special literature, anthropometric research methods, as well as statistical analysis. Results. It has been proven that there are age-sex characteristics of the development of dynamic balance in children engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Boys have better dynamic balance according to the FRT and LRT indicators, and girls - according to the Y-test. The studied indicators in boys and girls tend to increase with age. The exception was the FRT indicators for the left lower limb. In children at the age of 8, these indicators reached a peak, and then slightly decreased at the age of 9 and stabilized. Younger schoolchildren engaged in hand-to-hand combat are characterized by better balance indicators for the left lower limb compared to the right in all tests. We built GRM (General Regression Models) based on anthropometric characteristics, foot evaluation indices and demographic data. They make it possible to predict dynamic balance indicators of junior high school students engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The developed models are statistically significant (p<0.05) and explain from 35.3 to 56.2% of the total variance. The indicators of dynamic balance in boys are better than in girls. The absence of flat feet contributes to an increase in FRT in girls. In contrast to boys with normal feet, boys with flat feet show a better result of dynamic balance according to the Y-test. Girls with a normal foot show the best performance of the Y-test among all the examined children. Conclusions. The combination of such factors as the condition and structure of the foot with indicators of physical development affects the indicators of dynamic balance in younger schoolchildren engaged in hand-to-hand combat.