Investigation of the effects of the training program for the teaching of core stabilization exercises in adolescent male basketball players

This study was conducted to find teaching efficient contraction of TrA via six sessions and one session abdominal drawing-in Maneuver (ADIM) exercise in adolescent basketball players, whether effect on shoulder girdle strength, shoulder proprioception, medicine ball throw performance, grip strength, and scapular muscle endurance. 28 adolescent male basketball players with the age range of 13-18, were included in the study. The subjects were divided into 2 groups with the method of the simple randomized sample as the control group (n=14) and the intervention group (n=14). Before the initial training session, TrA muscle stability, shoulder girdle muscle strength, explosive strength of shoulder muscles, grip strength, and shoulder proprioception were evaluated. ADIM was taught in both groups, one session for the control group and 6 sessions for the intervention group respectively. Evaluation protocols were repeated at the end of the 1st and 6th week. Groups were homogenous as in means of evaluated parameters except for height and demographics (p>0.05). In the intervention group, there were improvements (p<0.05) in both the 2nd and 3rd measurement sessions of the TrA muscle stability test compared to the initial evaluation session, whereas in the control group there was no significant difference between 3 evaluation sessions (p>0.05). In means of grip strength and shoulder proprioception sense, there were improvements at the 2nd and 3rd evaluation sessions compared to the initial evaluation session in both groups, additionally, there was a significant improvement in scapular endurance in the intervention group (p<0.05). When comparing the groups to each other, the intervention group had better results in grip strength (R), medicine ball throw test, scapular endurance test, and shoulder proprioception test (p<0.05). Results of our study have indicated that a single session of ADIM training is not sufficient whereas 6 sessions of ADIM training may be adequate for obtaining efficient contraction TrA muscle. Additionally, the results also showed that the efficient contraction of TrA may improve scapular endurance, grip strength and shoulder proprioception.