مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - ANALYSIS OF POSTURAL STRUCTURE OF HANDBALL PLAYERS WITH COMPUTER BASED SYMMETRY GRAPH METHOD

Abstract :

The purpose of this study is to analyze postural structures of handballers by using computer software. The study group consisted of athletes (n=35) playing in men’s handball teams of Ondokuz Mayıs University, Middle East Technical University (METU) and Police Academy. The athletes were compared with standard posture structure accepted as “good posture” defined by the software. 2 photos of athletes taken from anterior and lateral perspectives on a plain level platform with a “1280 X 960” pixel resolution were transferred to posture analysis software. The photos taken were digitized and analyzed by using “Posture Analysis v.20” computer software. The data which were normally distributed were analyzed with independent samples t test and the values at p 0.05 level were considered as statistically significant. According to the results of the study, statistically significant difference was found in parameters of Body Mass Index (BMI), the head’s deviation to right at anterior position, rightward angle between acromion processes at anterior position, leftward angle between claviculas at anterior position, rightward angle between claviculas at anterior position, posterior pelvic tilt at sagittal position (p 0.05). No significant difference was found in parameters of forward angle of head posture at sagittal position, leftward angle between acromion processes at anterior position, leftward angle between left and right anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS), rightward angle between left and right ASIS and the hyperextension angle of the knee at sagittal position. Handball trainings which are intense in terms of submaximal loading were found to affect posture structure especially at upper limbs. In addition, it was found that training in a specific branch in a long period of time was found to affect dynamic and static posture development significantly.