Better Static And Dynamic Balance Abilities Among Experienced Salsa Dancer Compared To Novice Dancer

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study examined whether spinning practices in salsa dance would have an effect on static and dynamic balance abilities after a spinning stimulus. METHODS: Twenty young experienced salsa dancers (ED; 10 men, 29.6±3.8 yrs, 177.7±5.2 cm, 68.4±4.6 kg; 10 women, 27.9±4.7 yrs, 164.2±5.1 cm, 49.4±3.9 kg; 12-24 month experience), and 20 beginners (ND; 10 men, 28.2±3.3 yrs, 176.9±5.1 cm, 69.0±5.4 kg; 10 women, 26.6±2.3 yrs, 162.2±5.0 cm, 50.4±5.4 kg; <1 month experience) participated in two experimental sessions; static balance test (SBT) and dynamic balance test (DBT). During SBT, subjects were asked to rotate as fast as they could for 10 times followed by performing a single leg balance standing with eyes open. Two trials for clockwise and counter-clockwise spinning were performed and the time of spinning as well as standing were recorded. During DBT, subjects sat on a chair and were spined clockwise 10 rotations per 20 sec. followed by walking to a 10-min distance target. The time between standing up and touching target was recorded and the stride frequency was counted. RESUTLS: During SBT, the average spinning time of two trials for ED and ND was 7.6±1.2 and 16.5±4.9 sec, respectively (p<0.05) while the average standing time was 23.7±7.6 and 6.0±5.2 sec, respectively (p<0.05). During DBT, the time of reaching for ED and ND was 6.1±2.4 and 11.3±2.8 sec, respectively (p<0.05), and step frequency was 12.9±3.0 and 20.8±4.9 steps, respectively (p<0.05). The Pearson correlation between the average standing time of two trials in SBT and the time of reaching in DBT was -0.416 (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The experienced salsa dancer had a better static and dynamic balance abilities compared to the non-experienced dancers, and the two balance abilities were highly correlated. (This research was supported by the Ubiquitous Computing and Network (UCN) Project, Knowledge and Economy Frontier R&D Program of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) in Korea and a result of subproject UCN 09C1-J3-11T.)