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EDITORIAL article

Front. Physiol., 23 May 2024
Sec. Exercise Physiology
This article is part of the Research Topic Postural Control, Exercise Physiology and the Balance Training - Type of Exercises, Mechanisms and Insights, Volume II View all 7 articles

Editorial: Postural control, exercise physiology and the balance training—type of exercises, mechanisms and insights, volume II

  • 1Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
  • 2Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Study of Bari, Bari, Italy
  • 3Department of Coaching Education, Faculty of Sport Science, Ankara University, Ankara, Türkiye

Balance is a fundamental motor skill critical for human life. It is crucial for maintaining proper posture, overall well-being, and performing complex movements, especially in sports (Jaworski et al., 2023; Patti et al., 2023). Assessing the motor abilities of children is crucial for determining their developmental advancement in relation to their age. Early identification of any motor deficits facilitates timely intervention with customised programs, ensuring children acquire vital motor skills for future growth (Gallahue and Ozmun, 1998). However, it is important to acknowledge that performance, especially in children, can be influenced not only by physical and developmental factors but also by environmental variables such as stress or anxiety (Bonavolontà et al., 2021). Karadeniz et al. conducted a study including 842 primary school students, and presented their findings in this context. The present study aimed to examine the fundamental motor abilities of boys and girls aged 5–14 (Karadeniz et al., 2023). The authors noted a significant correlation between age and balancing ability, as evidenced by the increase in total KTK scores with age. The study results indicated that girls scored higher than boys. Furthermore, analyses of BMI data revealed lower balance performance among obese children, emphasising the importance of balance assessment in obese children (Karadeniz et al., 2023). The specific sports performed may affect the postural system and the development of the individual (Amato et al., 2023). Pekel et al. and Arslen et al. have reported interesting results (Pekel et al., 2023; Arslan et al.). Pekel et al. investigated the effects of a 6-week karate and basic movement training program on the balance children with congenital vision impairment, aged 10–14. Pekel et al. investigated the effects of a 6-week karate and basic movement training program on the balance of children with congenital vision impairment, aged 10–14. Their findings demonstrated significant improvements in balance among participants in the training compared to those who did not engage in any exercise. Significant differences were observed between pre- and post-test values in groups undergoing karate and basic movement training, whereas no progress was evident in the control group. These results are consistent with the study by Arslan et al., who reported the positive effects of a 10-week karate training program on the motor development of young participants (Arslan et al.). Rizzato et al. examined the crucial role of muscular strength and balance control in rugby players, specifically examining whether clenching one’s jaw with mouthguards may enhance dynamic balance and quadriceps isometric strength (Rizzato et al., 2023). Although their study suggested that clenching the jaw with a mouthguard may increase maximum strength and the rate of force development generated in the lower limbs, it did not demonstrate any improvement in the ability to maintain balance (Rizzato et al., 2023). Notably, the study by Wang and Dong Delong challenged the general view of the standing long jump as solely a measure of human muscular power, correlating with the number of fast-twitch muscle fibres and the size of the muscle’s cross-sectional area (Patti et al., 2022a; Patti et al., 2022b). Their study aims to provide a more accurate evaluation of the muscles that are more crucial from a quantitative standpoint and to better differentiate normative motions across stages (Wang and Dong). The researchers demonstrated a significant correlation between the deltoid muscle’s strength and jump performance. This highlights the need to have strong deltoid muscles in the upper limbs to improve the standing long jump distance. Furthermore, the time-series analysis revealed dynamic fluctuations in distinct muscle groups across different phases of the leap (Wang and Dong). Guo et al. explored the potential of plantar pressure analysis for assessing balance function in healthy young men. They demonstrated that visual cues, variation in step height, and foot dominance influence static imbalance during both bipedal and unipedal stances (Guo et al.). In conclusion, this second edition of our Research Topic has presented a multidisciplinary evaluation of the postural system, focusing on the impact of sports participation at both amateur and competitive levels on posture. The findings emphasise the necessity for further research in this domain, particularly regarding the development of advanced technologies and tailored assessment protocols specifically tailored to sports contexts.

Author contributions

AP: Writing–original draft. FF: Writing–review and editing. FS: Writing–review and editing. AB: Writing–review and editing.

Funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

References

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Keywords: motor skills, evaluating balance, performance, posture, dynamic balance

Citation: Patti A, Fischetti F, Sahin FN and Bianco A (2024) Editorial: Postural control, exercise physiology and the balance training—type of exercises, mechanisms and insights, volume II. Front. Physiol. 15:1428692. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1428692

Received: 06 May 2024; Accepted: 13 May 2024;
Published: 23 May 2024.

Edited and reviewed by:

Giuseppe D’Antona, University of Pavia, Italy

Copyright © 2024 Patti, Fischetti, Sahin and Bianco. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Antonino Patti, antonino.patti01@unipa.it

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.