Year: 2012
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Gymnastics is a basic sport, which was developed under a philosophic idea "Mens sana in corpore sano".Such an idea supposes harmonized body and soul.We can also understand under such a terminus the symmetricity of the athletic body.Aim of our investigation was to determine whether gymnast's body is symmetric.On the sample of 40 top level gymnasts (average age of 23 years) who were attending World Cup Competition in Ljubljana in the year 2000 we measured 13 anthropometric characteristics -joint diameters, circumferences and skinfold thicknesses on the left and right side.While there were no differences between the left and right leg parameters, there were some significant differences between the left and right arm measures.We found significant differences in elbow diameter, circumference of forearm, and skin fold thicknesses of triceps and biceps brachii.It is beneficial for coaches to control the symmetry of their athletes as the differences may be a sign of single-sided arm overload and predict acute or chronic injuries.
Institutions: University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana University Medical Centre
Language: English
Topic: Sports Science and Education
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2047722147