•  
  •  
 

EFFECTS OF BADMINTON ON UNILATERAL STATIC BALANCE FOR YOUNG ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an inclusive badminton intervention on static, unilateral balance in young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and typical developing (TD) young adults. METHODS: 8 participants (4 IDD-BADM and 4 TD-BADM) participated in a 12-week inclusive badminton intervention, with the other 8 participants as matched controls (4 IDD-CONTR and 4 TD-CONTR) (74.19kg ± 9.8kg, 171.96cm ± 5.4cm; 21.7 ± 1.8 years of age). The study followed a repeated measures design (pre, mid, post) before the intervention, at 6 weeks, and after 12 weeks. Static balance conditions included eyes open unilateral, dominant leg (1LEO) (10s) on a force plate. Center of pressure (COP) sway variables included: average anterior/posterior (A/P) displacement (in), average medial/lateral (M/L) displacement (in), average 95% ellipsoid area (EA) (in2), and average velocity (AV) (ft/s), average length (in). Post-hoc comparisons were performed using a Greenhouse-Geisser correction with p < 0.05. The badminton group followed the Special Olympics Badminton Skills protocol and was designed as a bi-weekly 50-minute, inclusive adapted badminton class, including 24 sessions. RESULTS: A significant group x time interaction was reported for IDD-BADM for average COP displacement in the A/P direction during 1LEO. Post-hoc comparisons revealed greater decreases in COP displacement, or improvements in balance performance, from pre-test to post-test for the badminton intervention group (p = 0.036) while IDD-CONTR increased COP displacement, or had decreases in balance performance, from pre-test to post-test. Badminton players constantly shift their center of gravity (COG) outside and within their base of support while performing quick, unilateral upper limb movements. This shift of the COG with asymmetrical upper body movements challenges and trains the postural control system by integrating and organizing differing sensory information while utilizing a feedforward process for quick response times. No significant main effects for time, group, nor significant group x time interactions were found for average displacement in the M/L direction, 95% ellipsoid area, average velocity, or average length for the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: An inclusive, adapted badminton program could be an alternative balance training program for individuals with IDD.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS