Correlation between joint hypermobility and balance in Indian elite gymnasts

Background and Aim: As gymnast required good flexibility, therefore they are trained accordingly by overstretching and creating overstressed on joints, muscles and tendons which eventually end up in loss of control on joint motion and lead to excessive range of motion. The purpose of this study is to find out the correlation between flexibility of the muscles and balance in young gymnast. Materials and Methods: Total 123 elite gymnast, age group (10-18) years, females and males. Selected using convenient sampling method. Permission was taken from institutional ethical committee for the cross-sectional study design. Demographic data was collected followed by assessment. Stork balance test it is used for static balance and Lower quarter “Y” balance test used for dynamic balance. As well Joint hypermobility was assessed using Beighton 9-point scoring system. Data was processed using the excel (version 16) basic parameters were calculated: arithmetic mean and statistical analysis (Pearson correlation) was used to correlate. Results: 74 gymnasts were selected according to inclusive criteria out of which 75% female (n = 56) and 24% male (n = 18). The data was divided according to gender, and type of sports. Result derived that correlation coefficient between Beighton and stork test and between Beighton and Y balance in females playing rhythmic gymnastics is (r = 0.1) and (r = 0.05), and for males playing artistic gymnastics is (r = -0.23) for both tests. Conclusion: In present study, positive correlation coefficient was found in females playing rhythmic gymnast while negative correlation was found in male playing artistic gymnasts related to hypermobility and balance.