The comparison of effects of balance and posture exercises between sedentary and physically active women

The aim of this study is to compare the effects of balance and posture exercises on functional level between sedentary and physically active women. Thirteen active women (37.07 ± 9.79 years) who participated in DansAlaturka Sports Club between April 2019 and June 2019 and 13 sedentary women (38.00 ± 7.83 years) who did not do any exercise except daily activities. was included. Before starting the study, sociodemographic information form was filled by the patients. The study group was evaluated for balance, flexibility, muscular endurance, functional mobility, muscle strength and coordination. The flamingo test was used for balance, sit-and-lie test for flexibility, sit-ups test for muscular endurance, 50-step walk test for functional mobility, and chair-lift test for muscle strength and coordination. The individuals were divided into two groups as active (Group 1) (n = 13) and sedentary (Group 2) (n = 13). All individuals were included in the exercise training program and all the exercises were taught to both groups provided that they were performed 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Active group exercises were performed by physiotherapist 3 days a week for 6 weeks. In the first session, the sedentary group showed the exercises by the physiotherapist and continued with video monitoring in the following sessions. At the end of 6 weeks, pre-study evaluations were repeated and analyzed statistically. When the groups were compared, there was a decrease in the number of correction attempts in flamingo balance scores, in which the number of balance attempts was measured in both groups. Although this decrease was valid for both groups, it was statistically significant for the sedentary group (p=0.001). There was no significant difference between the groups in the flamingo test evaluation. In both groups, the sit-and-lie test scores increased significantly after exercise training (p=0.008, p=0.014 for Group 1 and Group 2, respectively). The difference between the groups that was maintained at baseline was also maintained after exercise training and a significant difference was found between the groups (p<0.05). After exercise training, sit-ups test results showed statistically significant increase in both groups (p=0.003, p=0.026 for Group 1 and Group 2, respectively). No significant difference was found between the groups in sit-ups test evaluation (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the 50-step walking and chair-lift test evaluations (p>0.05). As in several hypotheses in our study, balance and posture exercises contributed to the functional levels of individuals in some evaluation parameters. For this reason, it is thought that regular exercise in sedentary women, even in the home environment, may contribute to the functional levels of individuals. Keywords: Physical activity, sedentary life, physical fitness, balance, posture.