The Effect of a Six-Week Core Stability Exercises on Balance, Strength, and Endurance in Female Students With Trunk Defects

Background: Core stability is the ability of the lumbopelvic-hip complex to prevent spinal instability and return to equilibrium after a perturbation. The special physical condition in students and especially the female ones- makes them prone to Trunk Defects (TDs); thus, it makes them prone to numerous injuries, like problems in balance. The present study aimed to examine the effect of Core Stability Exercises (CSEs) on static and dynamic balance, strength, and endurance among female students with TDs. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design. The study samples were 30 female high-school students with TDs (mean±SD age: 15.63±0.49 y, height: 1.60±0.04 m, & weight: 55.96±6.08 kg). All the subjects were placed in the same group. The Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) was used to evaluate the dynamic balance; One-Legged Stance Test (OLST) was employed to evaluate the static balance; the McGill test was applied to evaluate trunk endurance; a dynamometer was used to assess the trunk muscle strength, and tuck-jump screening test was implemented to determine students with TDs. These tests were employed at pretest and posttest phases. The research subjects followed CSEs for 6 weeks, 3 sessions per week, and approximately 45 minutes per session, supervised by the researcher. The Dependent Samples t-test at the significance level of P=0.05 was used for data analysis. Results: The present study results indicated a significant difference in strength, muscular endurance, as well as static and dynamic balance in the study subjects after the exercise program (P=0.001). Conclusion: According to the obtained data, 6 weeks of CSEs could provide a solid foundation for the transfer of forces between the limbs. This is achieved by enhancing the strength and endurance of the core muscles of the body; accordingly, it leads to improved static and dynamic balance in female students with trunk control defect by reducing postural fluctuations. However, further extensive studies with larger sample sizes are required for providing more accurate conclusions.