Postural balance control ability of visually impaired and unimpaired judoists

Background and Study Aim: This research proposal aims to evaluate the postural balance control ability of visually impaired and unimpaired judoists among different sensory conditions (eyes open or closed) using a simple field test. Material/Methods: A total of 38 volunteers men aged 28.7±6.8 years assigned into three groups, 10 visually impaired judoists of world-level, 14 visually unimpaired judoists of national level and 14 non-athletes without health disorder were chosen as the control group. They performed in randomized trials the Unipedal Stance Test three times successively in both sensory conditions, eyes open or closed. The mean and the best Unipedal Stance Test score of the 3 trails were recorded for each patient. Results: The Unipedal Stance Test results obtained with eyes open were better than those for eyes closed as expected. The best values for eyes open and closed were: 45 vs. 30.5 sec, 45 vs. 26.5 sec and 45 vs. 11.3 sec for visually unimpaired judoist, visually unimpaired judoists and non-athletes, respectively Better Unipedal Stance Test score with closed eyes was recorded for both judoists groups compared to non-athletes. Conclusions: Our finding could suggest that the regular practice of specific judo training improve significantly the proprioceptive system of visually impaired persons. © ARCHIVES OF BUDO, SCIENCE OF MARTIAL ARTS.