Core Stability Training and Jump Performance in Young Basketball Players

Abstract

The strength core is an important prerequisite to perform sport skills and to perform some everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs, postural control. The literature, so far, it is mainly dedicated to the description of the effectiveness of core stability exercises in athletes or insedentary adults, with lumbar pain. The study describes the effects of an integrative training of core stabilityon jump performance in young basketball players. In total 44 young basketball players (19 female gender, 25 male gender, age7.07 ± 0.3yrs, height 114, 4 ± 4.3 cm weight 26.8 ± 2.7 kg) participated and were assigned to either an intervention(EG) or a control group
(CG). The training program has had a duration of 4 weeks (8 sessions twice a week, for one hour); EG, besides the sports-specific exercises and introduced in the warm up 4 core exercises stability. The strength was evaluated through monopodalic and vertical jump.
The results revealed that the 4-week core stability training program improved the left(p<0.05) and right (p<0.001), hop test, the 6m timed hop left and right test (p <0.0005).The CG has obtained statistically significant benefits only in the bipodalic vertical jump (p<0.01). The study confirms the need to introduce integrative core stability exercise, as well as the literature suggests. The study highlighted the functional relationships between core stability and jump performance in prepubertal basketball players.

Full text

International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2015): 78.96 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391
Volume 6 Issue 5, May 2017
www.ijsr.net
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
Core Stability Training and Jump Performance in
Young Basketball Players
Italo Sannicandro1,2,3, Giacomo Cofano2,3
1Clinical and Experimental Medicine Department, University of Foggia, Italy
2Master’s Degree of Preventive and Adapted Physical Activity, University of Foggia, Italy
3Professional Soccer Fitness Coach
Abstract: The strength core is an important prerequisite to perform sport skills and to perform some everyday activities such as walking,
climbing stairs, postural control. The literature, so far, it is mainly dedicated to the description of the effectiveness of core stability
exercises in athletes or insedentary adults, with lumbar pain. The study describes the effects of an integrative training of core stabilityon
jump performance in young basketball players. In total 44 young basketball players (19 female gender, 25 male gender, age7.07 ±
0.3yrs, height 114, 4 ± 4.3 cm weight 26.8 ± 2.7 kg) participated and were assigned to either an intervention(EG) or a control group
(CG). The training program has had a duration of 4 weeks (8 sessions twice a week, for one hour); EG, besides the sports-specific
exercises and introduced in the warm up 4 core exercises stability. The strength was evaluated through monopodalic and vertical jump.
The results revealed that the 4-week core stability training program improved the left(p<0.05) and right (p<0.001), hop test, the 6m
timed hop left and right test (p <0.0005).The CG has obtained statistically significant benefits only in the bipodalic vertical jump
(p<0.01). The study confirms the need to introduce integrative core stability exercise, as well as the literature suggests. The study
highlighted the functional relationships between core stability and jump performance in prepubertal basketball players.
Keywords: core stability – injury prevention – jump
1. Introduction
The Core strength is an important precondition for many
sports, such as football, basketball, jumping in track and
field, to provides a correct posture and to carry out some
daily activities such as walking, climbing stairs, downing a
step (Granacher et al., 2014; McCurdy et al., 2014; Prieske
et al., 2015).
The district of the Core, has the role of controlling and
stabilizing the lumbosacral region, and allows as a
connection between the upper and lower part of the body
(Akuthota et al., 2008; Andorlini, 2013a); this functional
unit is able to distribute the forces which are generated by
the lower or upper limbs (Andorlini, 2013a,b), as well as
demonstrated in soccer training (Shinkle et al., 2012; Afyon,
2014; McCurdy et al., 2014).
To satisfy these two functional requirements, as part of the
training methodology, it can identify two different types of
training: the core stability tasks have the purpose of control
and stability lumbar spine increase; the core strength tasks
are intended to allow the transfer of high levels of strength
and muscle power, activating local stabilizers and global
mobilizers muscles (Faries& Greenwood, 2007;
Saeterbakken et al., 2011; Sharrock et al., 2011;
Sannicandro, 2014).
So far, the literature has mainly addressed the effectiveness
of core stability exercises in athletes or in physically active
adults, with special reference to low back pain (Abenhaim et
al., 2000; McGill, 2010; Liebenson, 2011) and performance,
or to the core training programs effects (Prieske et al., 2016).
To date, in fact, only a study conducted as part of the school
physical education classes in prepubertal subjects and aimed
to reducing chronic low back pain has described
performance increases in trunk muscle strength, after six
weeks core training (Allen et al., 2014).
In sports there are very few studies that have described the
preventive role of core stability in young (Durall et al., 2009;
Hoshikawa et al., 2013; Prieske et al., 2016; Sogut, 2016).
The relationship between the Core stability and sports
performance, however, is less clear, and studies are less
numerous: it is understood as exercises of Core Stability
reduce back pain in sport (Durall et al., 2009; Allen et al.,
2014), it may increase balance performance in cross-country
skiers (Sato &Mokha, 2009),and performance in the
jumping, throwing and sprint (Shinkle et al., 2012).
In the literature there are no studies that have only monitored
the core stability training effects;infacttheCore stability
exercises have always been associated and integrated with
strength lower limb exercises (Reed et al., 2012).
Therefore, an open question remains about what the
understanding of the effects on motor performance due only
to core stability exercises.
Particularly, mainly because of sedentary childhood
lifestyle, it must understand if such types of exercises, that
specifically call for a very sensitive target district during this
period (Allen et al., 2014), can be advantageous for those
prepubescent practicing sport .
The age and motivation to the prepubertal sports should
carefully consider the duration of the programs aimed to
Core training: they must occupy a limited part of the session,
perhaps especially in the initial warm-up, as long suggested
in the literature (Faigenbaum et al., 2005).
Paper ID: ART20173282
DOI: 10.21275/ART20173282
479

International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2015): 78.96 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391
Volume 6 Issue 5, May 2017
www.ijsr.net
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
2. Methodology
This study aimed to describe the effects of an integrative
core stability training on jump performance in young
basketball players.
The study included 44 young basket players (n=19 female,
n=25 male, mean age 7,07±0,3yrs, height 114,4±4,7 cm,
weight 26,8±2,7 kg ); the sample was divided in
Experimental Group (EG, n=21, 11 female, 10 male) and
Control Group (CG, n=23, 11female, 12 male ).Written
informed consent was obtained from all subject.
To assess the lower limbs strength have been used
monopodalic jumps:, side hop test, triple hop test and 6
meters timed hop test. The side hop and triple hop provide
the jump distance; the 6 meters timed hop test provides
evaluates the time spent to reach a distance of 6 meters
through fastmonopodalicbounds.To assess the explosive
strength was used a Seargent vertical jump.
Descriptive statistics (M ± SD) were calculated for all
assessed variables; Student's paired t-test was used to verify
the existence of statistically significant differences between
the average values obtained. The significance was set at p
<0.05.The Effect Size was calculated using Cohen's d
(Cohen, 1992).
3. Training Procedures
The training program was monitored for 4 weeks, with a
total of 8 sessions (biweekly, 1 hour each); EG followed the
drills basketball and techniques introduced in the initial
warm up 4 core stability exercises (Table 1).
Table 1: Experimental and Control Group training sessions
Group Session 1 Session 2-5 Session 6-9 Session 10
EG Evaluation Core stability
(stability
condition)
Core stability
(instability
condition)
Evaluation
CG Evaluation Basketball
drills Basketball
drills Evaluation
Four sessions are provided exercises on the ground (stability
condition) and four session are provided on unstable
surfaces (instability condition); the exercises are described
in Table 2.
Table 2: Core stabilty program
Core stability
Training Design Assessment
T0 4 session
(stabilitycondition) 4 session
(instabilitycondition) Assessment
T1
Plank on the ground 2x10 rip x 3
sec isometric contraction
Side plank on the ground
2x8 rip x side x 3sec isometric
contraction
Side plank (dynamic execution)
2x8 rip x side
Mountain climb 3x6 rip x limb
Plank with hands on unstable tools 2x10 rip x 3
sec isometric contraction
Side plank static
2x8 rip x 3sec x side with lower limbs on
unstable surface
Side plank dynamic execution) 2x8 rip x side,
with lower limbs on unstable surface
Mountain climb
3x6 rip x limb, with lower limbs on unstable
surface
The initial and final assessment were conducted in the two
lessons that preceded and followed the 8 training sessions
planned. The CG has followed the simple basketball drills
and specific sport exercises.
4. Results
The EG obtained significant differences in the pre-post
comparison in the side hop left limb (0.05) and right limb
(0.001), in left and right 6m timed hop test (p <0.0005). The
results of the T-test for independent data show intergroup
differences in the post-test (GS vs GC) statistically
significant in 6 meters hop (p <0.001, ES: 0:56).
The GC showed significant improvements only in vertical
jump (p <0.01).
Table 3: Results
GS GC
T0
M±SD T1
M±SD P Value
T0
M±SD T1
M±SD P Value
Side Hopleft 36.55±6.327 38.98±5.710 0.046* 38.60±4.940 39.13±5.325 0.207
Side Hopright 37.21±6.512 39.27±5.738 0.001** 39.11±4.881 39.90±4.873 0.068
6M T. H.left 5.822±0.871 4.44±0.936 0.000*** 5.134±0.3367 5.187±0.315 0.126
6M T. H. right 5.778±0.766 4.42±0.877 0.000*** 5.455±0.633 5.122±0.684 0.919
Triple Hopleft 122.43±7.610 123.79±7.820 0.313 121.77±10.397 122.60±9.629 0.452
Triple Hopright 122.93±10.436 122.67±8.469 0.360 120.83±9.774 120.99±8.949 0.373
Searg 13.77±2.520 14.87±2.642 0.094 13.10±2.513 14.73±2.576 0.006**
Legend: 6M.T.H= &metres Timed-Hop Test; Searg= Seargent Test
Paper ID: ART20173282
DOI: 10.21275/ART20173282
480

International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2015): 78.96 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391
Volume 6 Issue 5, May 2017
www.ijsr.net
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
5. Discussion
The hypothesis of the study was to evaluate the effects of
core stability training on the jump performances in young
basketball players.
This is the first study to describe the effects of core stability
training on jumping performance in basketball kids. The
integrated core stability program was introduced in the
warm-up period of each lesson and has provided a difficulty
and an intensity increase, from tasks perfomed on the ground
and tasks on unstable surfaces. All tasks requiring the trunk
control both with the body resting on the ground, with either
a tools which gave instability, as indicated in the literature
(Faigenbaum et al., 1999; Behm& Anderson, 2006; Hibbs et
al., 2008; Granacher et al., 2014; Prieske et al., 2016).
The significant differences obtained in the pre-post
comparison test in GS have characterized the monopodalic
jump tests, the 6m-timed hop test. The jump performance,
with particular reference to those performed in monopodalic,
affected by the control of the trunk and pelvis: these districts
that confer stability to the extensor musculature of the lower
limb and hip, deputed to jump (Hoshikawa et al., 2013).
The results of t-test between the two groups in the post test
return in tests of 6m-timed hop test an effect size 0.56,
confirming the effectiveness of core stability exercises on
jumping tests.
The results of this study are consistent and in line with
similar studies that have described the effects of the core
trainingon vertical jump performance in young players
(Liebenson, 2011; Hoshikawa et al., 2013; Afyon, 2014).
The results obtained in this study, however, disagree with
the results of another study that did not identify a significant
correlation between core stability performance and sport-
specific performance for tennis (Sogut, 2016); the study on
young tennis players, however, has only investigated the
correlation but not the effects of core stability training.
The values identified in this study, lead to hypothesize that
the supplementary program of core stability, however,
requires the introduction of additional tasks in the warm up,
if you want to get the higher effect size values or significant
values in all assessment tests.
The study ultimately confirms the need to assume additional
sessions in youth sports destined to strength, as well as the
literature suggests already for several years (Faigenbaum et
al., 1999, 2005; Kibler et al., 2006).
6. Conclusions
The study highlights the core stability program effectiveness
on jump ability in prepubertal basketball players. Today, in
prepubertal age, boys and girls more early choose their
sport: therefore, sports practice should aim to protect the
young practitioners health and to reduce the overloading
training risk (Brenner, 2016; Jayanthi&Dugas, 2017). The
assessment of these prerequisites in the children must lead
the technical and medical staff to consider the advisability of
integrative session and exercises in the process of
introduction to the sport aimed at reducing the injury risk.
7. Future Scope
Future studies may investigate whether core stability
programs can increase speed and endurance performances in
prepubertal basketball players.
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Index Copernicus Value (2015): 78.96 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391
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Author Profile
Sannicandro Italo is researcher and aggregate
professor at the University of Foggia, professional
strength and conditioning soccer coach; has performed
studies on the injuries prevention and soccer players
motor skills assessment.
Cofano Giacomo is Professional strength and
conditioning soccer coach; has performed studies on
the injuries prevention and soccer players motor skills
assessment.
Paper ID: ART20173282
DOI: 10.21275/ART20173282
482