INTRODUCTION: According To A Study by Harmer (2008), Injury Positions of 78,223 Fencers

P03-9 ID175
EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC MUSCLE IMBALANCE IMPROVEMENT TRAINING ON

THE BALANCE ABILITY IN ELITE FENCERS
Tae-Whan Kim
1
, Se-Kee Kil
1
, Jin-Wook Chung
1
, Jong-Chul Park
1
, Eun-Young
Oh
2
, Se-Jin Kong
3
and Je-Heon Moon
4

1
Korea Institutes of Sport Science, Seoul, Korea
2
Sung Kyun Kwan University, Suwon, Korea
3
Kook Min University, Seoul, Korea
4
Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of specific muscle imbalance
improvement training (SMIIT) on the balance ability. Subjects were 9 male national team
fencers with 28.22.2 yrs, 182.34.0 cm, and 76.58.2 kg. The SMIIT included flexibility
training, Pilates, muscle balance training and was conducted for 12 weeks with 4 times per
week. As a result, there was no significant difference in COM dispersion among static
balance maintaining abilities, but reduction in the COP dispersion was shown. In conclusion,
SMIIT seemed to affect in improving dynamic balance maintaining abilities especially in
non-dominant leg.

KEY WORDS: fencing, muscle imbalance, training, dispersion.

INTRODUCTION: According to a study by Harmer (2008), injury positions of 78,223 fencers
from 2001 to 2006 were mostly on the knees and ankles, and over 73% reported that their
injuries on the knees were related to quadriceps. Murgu & Buschbacher (2006) also reported
that fencers often complained of anterior knee pains and suggested good knee alignment and
strong muscles would be helpful for the stability of the knees to prevent from re-occurring
injuries. The types of injuries differ somewhat depending on event, but occur in various ways
such as on the head, upper or lower limbs. Jacobsson et al. (2012) and Junge et al. (2009)
investigated that the cause of either temporary or multiple injury frequency was rather the
decline of physical efficiency during activities than excessive uses of the body. Yang (2008)
also reported that the body parts with the frequent occurrences of injuries due to the decline of
physical efficiency are concentrated on the lower limbs, and the main risk includes muscle
imbalance. It seems that fencers muscle imbalance should be resolved. Therefore, the
purpose of this study was to develop the Specific Muscle Imbalance Improvement Training
(SMIIT) and investigates the effects of SMIIT on the balance ability of national team fencers.

METHODS
Subjects
Nine right-handed male Korean national team fencers in (epee: 4, sabre: 5) participated in the
study (28.22.2 yrs in age, 182.34.0 cm in height, 76.58.2 kg in weight, 12.43.0 yrs in
career).
Experimental Devices
Both kinetic and kinematic movement of the fencers were recorded by a motion analysis
system (Eagle) and force platforms (Kistler9287BA). For motion analysis, Helen hayes marker
set was used. Balance testing was performed on a Biodex Balance System (Biodex SD). And
post processing was performed by Cortex 3.0, Matlab (2009b), Visual3D (Standard v.4.91.0).
Procedures
Pre-measurement was carried out at the Korea Institutes of Sports Science in Seoul in April
2012, and all the subjects warmed up and stretched for about 30 minutes to prevent injuries
during the experiment. After reflective markers were attached, the subjects were required to
stand on the force platform as still as possible while the measurement was taken. Balancing
was measured after carrying out deep squat motions, and all the motions were carried out
three times. Then static, dynamic and passive stretching, pilates exercise, SMIIT, additional

core and lower limbs strengthening training program were conducted for 12 weeks (Table 2).
Post-measurement was carried out at the same place in August after participating in the 2012
London Olympics.

Data analysis
Dispersion X, Y and Z of COM refer to sway in medio-lateral, antero-posterior and
superior-inferior directions, respectively during a fixed posture. And they can be divided into
the mean medio-lateral distance of movement (A
x
) of COM, the mean antero-posterior
distance of movement (A
y
) of COM, and the mean superior-inferior distance of movement (A
z
)
of COM. In addition, the mean distances of movement and changes of location coordinate of
COM were calculated in the absolute value during the time required for each trial in which
measurements were carried out as follows:

Where Dispersion X, Y and Z refer to the distances of the medio-lateral, antero-posterior and
superior-inferior movements (cm) of COM, respectively and (A
x
), (A
y
) and (A
z
) refer to the medio-lateral,
antero-posterior and superior-inferior samples of COM (i=1through n), respectively. The COP X, Y is
the same as the above formula was calculated.

Table 2. Training Program

Training details Intensity& frequency
Flexibility
training
-To increase joint range of motion through muscular
isolation training
-Rotate the joint or move rhythmically
-Extra training for the fingers, wrists, knees, and
ankles and toes
- 30~40 min, 3 sets, 4
times/ 12 weeks,
10~20 min.
Stretching before
and after exercise
- At the Olympic
Training Center:
Using BOSU &
Medicine Ball with
60~75% of 1 RM
- During Games:
Using tubing and
foam pad.
Pilates training
Stage 1: Consists of basic motions focused on core
strengthening and correcting left-right imbalance.
Stage 2: Adds more complicated movements to
focus on enhancing coordination or rhythmic
movements.
Stage 3: Increases the core muscular strength and
adds endurance exercises to focus on enhancing
stamina.
Muscle balance
training
-5 exercises for upper limbs, 4 for core and 4 for
lower limbs
Upper limbs: biceps curl, arm pushing, dumbbell
raises, dumbbell pronation, back extension
Core: side band, side sit-up, side lunge, leg raise
Lower limbs: single leg-extension, single leg curl,
single leg press, single calf raise

The balance measurement was carried out by using Biodex Balance System SD (BBS; USA),
to measure the ability of maintaining dynamic balance. The participant was required to stand
still standing on both feet on a dynamic measuring instrument spreading with both arms
spread out for 1 minute. The device inclines in various directions and imbalances are scored
by the amount of inclination they can perform without movement. It has a 6-point scale, in
which the lower the score is, the better the balance gets. It presents results classified into
medio-lateral and antero-posterior directions

RESULTS: The results are shown in the Table 3.

Table3. Result of balance test
note: One leg stand and Deep squat mean result of motion analysis system, Balance scale
means result of Biodex Balance System.

DISCUSSION: The COM dispersion was normalized and presented according to the
individual fencers heights, and in all medio-lateral, antero-posterior and superior-inferior
directions, there was no significant difference between pre-measurements and
post-measurements in left feet standing and right feet standing motions. In the COP
dispersions, there was no significance difference in the antero-posterior direction of the left
feet standing, but in medio-lateral direction, it decreased from 8.55 cm/foot length to 7.95
cm/foot length after. A study by Cheng et al. (2001) reported that weight distribution training
that provided visual feedback of the COP enhanced balance maintaining ability. Similar with
this study, the COP dispersion after the SMIIT also decreased. This result implies that the
fencers balance maintaining ability improved. For the trajectory of the COP during deep
squat, the vectors of the COP on the left foot and the right foot were analyzed and converted
to one vector (Zatsiorsky, 2002), and it was normalized and presented normalized according

Pre (n=9) Post (n=8)
t p
MeanSD MeanSD
One leg
stand
Dispersion
of COM
(cm/ht)
R
AP 7.346.99 5.643.17 0.909 .197
ML 4.521.17 4.331.55 0.589 .287
SI 3.521.72 4.302.64 0.184 .430
L
AP 7.279.48 4.242.71 0.817 .221
ML 5.323.54 4.591.25 0.381 .358
SI 2.281.48 2.171.26 -0.810 .223
Dispersion
of COP
(cm/fl)
R
AP 11.848.64 6.851.30 0.514 .312
ML 8.462.78 6.641.96 0.446 .335
L
AP 8.186.13 7.161.52 1.839 .054
ML 8.554.46 7.951.52 2.469 .022*
Deep
squat
Dispersion
of COP
(cm/fl)
P1
AP 5.663.23 5.510.97 0.118 .455
ML 14.767.18 9.952.54 1.953 .046*
P2
AP 8.397.25 5.091.36 1.401 .102
ML 7.733.57 8.624.64 -0.372 .361
Balance scale
R
AP 2.711.60 1.901.11 1.394 .103
ML 1.960.92 1.550.85 0.991 .197
L
AP 3.141.72 1.810.92 2.512 .020*
ML 2.551.23 1.750.93 1.591 .078

to the foot length and performance time of individual subjects. Phase 1 means the sitting
phase while phase 2 means standing. There was a significant difference in the medio-lateral
direction in P1 between the times of measurement (p<0.05). For balance scale, there was no
significant difference between the times of measurement in medio-lateral direction and
antero-posterior direction on the right foot standing. On left foot standing, there was a
significant difference between before(3.14) and after(1.81) the SMIIT(p<0.05).

CONCLUSION: 1) In one leg stand motion, COM dispersion factor did not change after
SMIIT; 2) Since COP dispersion in medio-lateral direction of the left foot standing motion and
the deep squat motion decreased after the application of the SMIIT, it can be stated that the
balance maintaining ability was enhanced; 3) Since antero-posterior scale of the left foot
standing motion decreased after the application of SMIIT, the dynamic balance maintaining
ability was enhanced. Therefore, the muscle imbalance was improved after the application of
SMIIT especially in the non-dominant leg.

REFERENCES:
Murgu, A. I. & Buschbacher, R. (2006). Fencing. Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Clinics of North
America, 17(3), 725-736.
Cheng, P. T., Wu, S. H., Liaw, M. Y., Wong, A. M., & Tang, F. T. (2001). Symmetrical Body-Weight
Distribution Training in Stroke Patients and Its Effect on Fall Prevention. Archives of Physical Medicine
and Rehabilitation, 82, 1650-1654.
Harmer, P. A. (2008). Incidence and Characteristics of Time-Loss Injuries in Competitive Fencing: A
Prospective, 5-Year Study of National Competitions. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 18, 137-142.
Jacobsson, J., Timpka, T., Kowalski, J., Nilsson, S., Ekberg, J., & Renstrom, P. (2012). Prevalence of
musculoskeletal injuries in Swedish elite track and field athletes. The American Journal of Sports
Medicine, 40(1), 163-169.
Junge, A., Engebretsen, L., Mountjoy, M. L., Alonso, J. M., Renstrom, P. A., Aubry, M. J., & Dvorak, J.
(2009). Sports injuries during the Summer Olympic Games 2008. The American Journal of Sports
Medicine, 37(11), 2165-2172.
Yang, J. Y. (2011). A Study on Core Program Performance and Lumbar Part Functional Improvement
of Fencing Competitors. Unpublished masters thesis, Korea National Sport University, Seoul.
Zatsiorsky, V. M.(2002). Kinetics of human motion. Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.

Acknowledgement
This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research
Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
(2012-0001645).

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P03-9 ID175

EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC MUSCLE IMBALANCE IMPROVEMENT TRAINING ON

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