Effects of Pilates core stability exercises on the balance abilities of archers.

Abstract

This study aimed to provide fundamental data contributing to archery performance improvement and stabilization of shooting posture in archers by examining the influence of Pilates core stability (PCS) exercises on dynamic and static balance. The study was conducted from December 2015 to March 2016 on high school archers who were registered as archers in the Korea Archery Association with 5 or more years of archery experience. Twenty voluntary subjects (exercise group n=10; control group n=10) with an understanding toward the aims of this study were selected and their body composition, static and dynamic balance abilities, before and after the PCS program, were measured. As for the static balance ability, there were no significant differences between pre- and postvalues in the exercise group after completing the PCS program. Similarly, these results were also represented in the control group. In the aspect of comparisons between postvalues in both groups, there were significant improvements in only the exercise group. As for the dynamic balance ability, there were significant differences between pre- and postvalues in the exercise group, except for up-right and left postures, whereas, there were no changes or decreases between pre- and postvalues in the control group after completing the PCS program. Meanwhile, in the aspect of comparisons between postvalues in both groups, there were significant improvements in up, and up right, and down right part and overall dynamic scores of the exercise groups.