PREDISPOSING FACTORS AND PREVENTION FOR OVERUSE INJURIES IN ANKLE AND FOOT COMPLEX IN RHYTHMIC GYMNASTS

ABSTRACT The ankle and foot complex is a body segment that undergoes a high load in rhythmic gymnasts. Constant standing on toes and repetitive movements like relevé, pirouettes, and jumps, apply acute stress on soft tissues in the area. Due to poor proprioception, incorrect performance techniques of these rigorous activities repeated many times daily by a gymnast can lead to overuse injuries. Additional factors related to these conditions are weak Posterior Tibial muscle; tight Achilles tendon or short Triceps Surae; inadequate or forced turnout, provoking increased pronation of the foot; a muscle imbalance between invertors and evertors muscles. These contributing factors could be corrected by changes in technique or the way of training. The purpose of the present report is to follow the effect of proprioceptive training on postural balance and limb functioning in elite gymnasts. Methodology. Eighteen elite gymnasts from RG club “NUANCE NSA” have been investigated. The rhythmic gymnast aged between 10-17 (mean 13.3 years) underwent two (2) months of proprioceptive program, which included specific preventive and balance exercises performed before each practice. Star Excursion Balance Test and One Leg Hop for a time were used to measure the dynamic postural balance before starting the exercise program and two (2) months after. Results. Star Excursion Balance Test showed the shortest tap distance in the anterolateral direction for both dominant and non-dominant legs. The anterior and lateral direction were as follow. The performance improved after the two (2) months of proprioceptive program, but these directions still show the shortest tap distance. One Leg Hop test did not show any significant improvement in the performance. Conclusion: The 8-week proprioceptive training positively affects postural balance in elite rhythmic gymnasts. However, the tested period is short to make deep conclusions. A further prolonged investigation is needed to summarize the preventive effect of proprioceptive training.