The Effects of Thoracic Mobilization and Diaphragmatic Breathing on Postural Sway in Archers

Plain-language summary

Shooting in archery requires tremendous postural stability to minimize oscillations when the upper body area is under high muscle tension. Postural oscillations depend especially on the alignment of the target and the arrow and the center of gravity being within the base of support. In addition, it has been reported that heart rate changes and breathing patterns affect postural control and therefore performance. Increasing pulse values during shooting negatively affect shooting performance by causing increased postural oscillations and body shaking. The breathing pattern directly affects postural oscillations by affecting the heart rate.It has been reported that the diaphragm has important effects on breathing and trunk control due to its anatomical connections and that the diaphragm movement during breathing is synchronized with the stabilization function. During breathing, the diaphragm descends into the abdominal cavity, causing a positive pressure increase in the intra-abdominal region. Due to this increasing pressure, it expands the abdominal area to the limit allowed by the abdominal muscles and the abdominal wall. Then, with the eccentric contraction of the abdominal muscles, the descent of the diaphragm is blocked at a certain point and the abdominal muscles resist the movement of the diaphragm. In response to this counter-reaction, the diaphragm realizes inspiration by providing a 3-dimensional expansion by opening the lower ribs to the posterolateral. It has been reported that the stabilization effect of the diaphragm is the result of its contraction especially towards these sides, therefore a good level of thoracic mobilization will increase the lateral contraction capacity of the diaphragm. This is ultimately associated with a stronger stabilization effect. On the other hand, impairment of synchronization may result in spinal segments being under excessive stress and reducing stability. Studies in patients and healthy individuals have shown that diaphragmatic breathing contributes to balance by increasing the strength of the diaphragm and deep core muscles. Shooting performance in archery is closely related to the correct breathing pattern and diaphragmatic movement, as it is affected by trunk mobility and postural stability. On the other hand, when we look at the contents of archery training, there are general condition-increasing exercises, special muscle strengthening exercises, methods for developing mental skills and techniques, and methods such as diving and bungee jumping as new training methods. It was observed that exercises were not included in the training programs. The aim of this study is to investigate the scope of postural stability and target stability of thoracic mobilization techniques and diaphragmatic breathing training in order to reveal the stabilization level of the diaphragm at the optimum level in archers.

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