Nurtekin Erkmen

The effect of fatiguing exercise on balance performance as measured by the balance error scoring system

The aim of the study was to investigate whether a fatiguing exercise on treadmill affects balance performance in recreationally active men and women. Nineteen subjects, aged 18-26 years, were assessed before and after a fatiguing exercise, using the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS). Fatiguing exercise was performed on treadmill using the Bruce protocol. A significant effect of fatigue was present in men ( P 0.05). These findings suggest that a fatiguing exercise induced by means of treadmill increases postural sway in healthy subjects, and that this increase in postural sway is sex-independent.

Relationships between Balance and Functional Performance in Football Players

Relationships between Balance and Functional Performance in Football Players The aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between balance performance as measured by the Balance Error Scoring System and functional performance in football players. Twenty-two football players from University League Final Group in Turkey (age 23.05 ± 1.65 years, height 176.58 ± 6.99 cm, weight 68.80 ± 7.00 kg) volunteered to participate in the study. Postural performance was measured by the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS). For functional performance, standing broad jump, triple-hop, vertical jump, four-line sprint and three-corner run test were used. There was not a statistically significant relationship among the all BESS scores and triplehop in non-dominant leg, power, four-line sprint, and three-corner run performances (p<0.05). Triple-hop in dominant leg performance correlated with foam surface, tandem leg and total BESS score (r = 0.755, p < 0.01; r = 0.664, p < 0.05; r = 0.713, p< 0.01, respectively). Standing broad jump performance correlated with foam surface, tandem leg and total BESS score (r = 0.737, p < 0.01; r = 0.692, p < 0.05; r = 0.617, p< 0.05, respectively). There was a statistically significant relationship among the single leg BESS score and vertical jumping performance (r = -0.596, p<0.05). In conclusion, the activities requiring explosive power may reflect the ability of managing a balanced posture but the activities in which time period is longer may not.

Evaluating the Heading in Professional Soccer Players by Playing Positions

Erkmen, N. Evaluating the heading in professional soccer players by playing positions. J Strength Cond Res 23(6): 1723-1728, 2009-The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy and coordination of heading in professional soccer players of different positions. A total of 243 professional soccer players were examined for the study. The Federation Internationale de Football Association Medical Assessment and Research Center (F-MARC) test battery was used to evaluate heading in soccer players. In the heading of the ball thrown from middle of the goal, forwards were better than goalkeepers (p < 0.05). There was not a significant statistical difference between defenders, midfielders, and forwards. In the heading of the ball thrown from the right side of the goalpost, defenders were better than goalkeepers (p < 0.05) and forwards were better than goalkeepers, defenders, and midfielders (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the reason for the heading of goalkeepers being worse than the others; goalkeepers use their hands in both training and matches, whereas for forwards and defensive players being better than goalkeepers depends mainly on their positions in soccer. Trainers and coaches should give place specific training programs to improve heading ability in the training schedule of soccer players at a professional level.

The effect of ankle taping on isokinetic strength and vertical jumping performance in elite taekwondo athletes

The aim of the study is to examine the effect of ankle taping on ankle plantarflexion (PF) and dorsiflexion (DF) isokinetic strength and vertical jump height in elite taekwondo athletes. Seven women and 9 men taekwondo athletes forming the Turkish National Taekwondo Team participated in this study. A closed basket weave taping technique was applied to the dominant and non-dominant ankle. Tests were performed both in un-taped and taped conditions. Peak torques values at 60 and 180 ◦ /s were nonsignificantly lower in the taped condition ( p> 0.05). Ankle taping resulted also is a significant reduction in jump height ( p< 0.05). The findings of this study suggest that ankle taping affect detrimentally performance in this group of taekwondo athletes.

Balance Performance and Recovery After Exercise With Water Intake, Sport Drink Intake and No Fluid

The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of exercise with water intake, sport drink intake and no fluid on balance performance and recovery. Seventeen physically active men (age, 22.29 ± 1.61 years; height, 176.24 ± 5.18 cm; weight, 69.47 ± 9.20 kg) volunteered to take part in this study. The Biodex Balance System was used to evaluate balance performance and Overall Stability Index (OSI) scores were used to assess balance performance. The exercise protocol consisted of a 1-hour exercise session at 75% and 85% of maximal heart rate. The recovery period was 20 minutes of rest without fluid intake. In all experiment conditions, balance tests were applied three times as pretest, posttest and recovery. In each one of the three experimental conditions, balance tests were consecutively performed with eyes open and eyes closed. All the measurements and exercise protocols were performed in the morning (between 9 AM and 12 PM), in a specially designed and equipped room, with room temperature at 21–24°C. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to examine all the conditions. OSI post-exercise was significantly higher than pre-exercise ( p p

Effects of exercise continued until anaerobic threshold on balance performance in male basketball players.

Effects of Exercise Continued Until Anaerobic Threshold on Balance Performance in Male Basketball Players The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of exercise continued until the anaerobic threshold on balance performance in basketball players. Twelve male basketball players (age = 20.92 ± 2.81 years, body height = 192.72 ± 7.61 cm, body mass = 88.09 ± 8.41 kg, training experience = 7.17 ± 3.10 years) volunteered to participate in this study. A Kinesthetic Ability Trainer (KAT 2000 stabilometer) was used to measure the balance performance. Balance tests consisted of static tests on dominant, nondominant and double leg stance. The Bruce Protocol was performed by means of a treadmill. The exercise protocol was terminated when the subject passed the anaerobic threshold. After the exercise protocol, balance measurements were immediately repeated. Statistical differences between pre and post-exercise for dominant, nondominant and double leg stance were determined by the paired samples t-test according to the results of the test of normality. The post-exercise balance score on the dominant leg was significantly higher than pre-exercise (t = -2.758, p < 0.05). No differences existed between pre- and postexercise in the balance scores of the nondominant leg after the exercise protocol (t = 0.428, p > 0.05). A significant difference was found between pre and post-exercise balance scores in the double leg stance (t = -2.354, p < 0.05). The main finding of this study was that an incremental exercise continued until the anaerobic threshold decreased balance performance on the dominant leg in basketball players, but did not alter it in the nondominant leg.

Dynamic perception of dynamic affordances: walking on a ship at sea

Motion of the surface of the sea (waves, and swell) causes oscillatory motion of ships at sea. Generally, ships are longer than they are wide. One consequence of this structural difference is that oscillatory ship motion typically will be greater in roll (i.e., the ship rolling from side to side) than in pitch (i.e., the bow and stern rising and falling). For persons on ships at sea, affordances for walking on the open deck should be differentially influenced by ship motion in roll and pitch. Specifically, the minimum width of a walkable path should be greater when walking along the ship’s short, or athwart axis than when walking along its long, or fore-aft axis. On a ship at sea, we evaluated the effects of walking in different directions (fore-aft vs. athwart) on actual walking performance. We did this by laying out narrow paths on the deck and asking participants (experienced maritime crewmembers) to walk as far as they could while remaining within the lateral path boundaries. As predicted, participants walked farther along the athwart path than along the fore-aft path. Before actual walking, we evaluated participants’ judgments of their walking ability in the fore-aft and athwart directions. These judgments mirrored the observed differences in walking performance, and the accuracy of judgments did not differ between the two directions. We conclude that experienced maritime crewmembers were sensitive to affordances for walking in which the relevant properties of the environment were exclusively dynamic.