Introdução: Tem se afirmado que não há a possibilidade de haver melhora da estabilidade dinâmica postural utilizando exercícios na água, isto é, onde a gravidade apresenta-se diminuída. Neste estudo randomizado e controlado avaliamos e comparamos a estabilidade dinâmica postural em indivíduos saudáveis que realizaram exercícios sensório-motor no solo ou na água. Métodos: Através do Biodex Balance System®, foram avaliados os limites de estabilidade postural, antes e após um programa de exercícios, de 60 indivíduos saudáveis do sexo masculino divididos em 3 grupos (solo, piscina e controle). Os indivíduos dos grupos solo e piscina realizaram um treinamento sensório-motor por 2 meses no solo e na água respectivamente; o grupo controle não realizou nenhum tipo de exercício. Resultados: 1) Foram encontradas diferenças significativas na estabilidade dinâmica entre o grupo solo e controle; 2) Foram encontradas diferenças significativas na estabilidade dinâmica entreo grupo piscina e controle; 3) Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre o grupo solo e piscina. Conclusões: realizar exercícios sensório-motor melhora a estabilidade postural em indivíduos saudáveis do sexo masculino, sem diferenças significativas entre os ambientes de treino (solo e água) comparados / Introduction: It has been stated that there is no way to improve dynamic postural stability using exercises in water, i.e. where there is reduced gravity. In this controlled, randomized study, we evaluate and compare postural dynamic stability in healthy individuals who performed sensory-motor exercises on the ground or in water. Methods: Through the Biodex Balance System®, the limits of postural stability were evaluated before and after a program of exercises, in 60 healthy males, divided into three groups (ground, swimming pool and control). The individuals in the ground and swimming pool groups carried out sensorial-motor training for two months, on the ground and in the water, respectively; the control group did not perform any kind of exercises. Results: 1) Significant differences were found in dynamic stability between the ground and control groups; 2) Significant differences were found in dynamic stability between the swimming pool and control groups; 3) No significant differences were found between the ground and swimming pool groups. Conclusions: performing sensory-motor exercises improves postural stability in healthy males, without significant differences between the training environments (ground and water) compared in this study

Esta dissertação parte da premissa de que o desalinhamento dos arcos plantares estão associados ao mal funcionamento do pé e a subseqüentes desequilíbrios mecânicos gerados por compensações na cadeia cinética e articulações adjacentes. A bandagem plantar é uma das técnicas comumente utilizadas no tratamento e prevenção de lesões decorrentes destes desalinhamentos; no entanto, sua eficácia no controle postural ainda é incerta. Nossas hipóteses são: (i) que sujeitos com arco rebaixado apresentariam déficits do controle postural que se acentuariam em condições de perturbação sensorial, e (ii) que a bandagem aplicada no médio-­pé para melhorar a acuidade sensorial traria benefícios para o controle postural destes sujeitos, principalmente nas condições de perturbação. Assim, apresentaremos nesta dissertação dois estudos, um para investigar as alterações no controle postural de indivíduos com rebaixamento do arco plantar (estudo 1), e outro para investigar as consequências da utilização bandagem plantar nestes indivíduos (estudo 2). Para ambos os estudos, avaliamos a velocidade média e o root mean square da trajetória do centro de pressão durante a manutenção da postura quasi-­-estática em quatro condições de perturbação sensorial: (1) plataforma fixa, olhos abertos; (2) plataforma fixa, olhos fechados; (3) plataforma móvel, olhos abertos; e (4) plataforma móvel, olhos fechados. No estudo 1, 24 mulheres com arcos normais foram comparadas a 13 mulheres com arco rebaixado. No estudo 2, a comparação foi feita entre as condições sem e com a bandagem plantar para as 13 mulheres com arco rebaixado. Os resultados indicam que mulheres com rebaixamento do arco oscilam menos e mais lentamente que mulheres com arco normal, em particular na condição de maior perturbação sensorial, o que pode representar uma resposta pior, ou mais lenta de um sistema com desequilíbrios mecânicos decorrentes de um pé pouco funcional. Já a utilização da bandagem plantar resultou em aumento da oscilação do centro de pressão para a maioria das condições de perturbação sensorial, principalmente na direção médio-­-lateral, o que pode ser explicado por uma dificuldade dos sujeitos em se ajustar a uma nova postura, ou indicar um ganho de confiança e um melhor funcionamento do pé, traduzido pelo aumento da utilização dos ajustes posturais. / This dissertation is based on the premise that misalignment of plantar arches are associated to poor foot function and to subsequent mechanical compensations in the kinetic chain and adjacent joints. Foot taping is a commonly used technique in the treatment and prevention of injuries caused by these misalignments; however, its efficacy on postural control is still uncertain. Our hypotheses are: (i) subjects with low plantar arch would present postural control deficits, detectable by center of pressure sway measurement, that would be worsened in conditions of sensory perturbation, and (ii) foot taping, applied on midfoot with the intention to improve the cutaneous sensorial acuity, would bring benefits to the postural control of these subjects, especially under conditions of sensory perturbation. Thus, two studies will be presented: the first meant to investigate postural control alterations in individuals with low plantar arch (study 1), and the second, to investigate the effects of foot taping use in these subjects (study 2). For both studies, the mean velocity and root mean square of center of pressure trajectory were assessed during the maintenance of quasi-static stance in four conditions of sensory perturbations: (1) fixed support, eyes opened; (2) fixed support, eyes closed; (3) moving support, eyes opened, and (4) moving support, eyes closed. In study 1, 24 women with normal plantar arch were compared to 13 with low plantar arch. For study 2, the same 13 low arched subjects were assessed with and without foot taping. Results indicate that women with low plantar arch have less and slower center of pressure sway, particularly in the condition of highest sensory perturbation level, which may indicate a worsened, or slower, response of a mechanically altered system. When foot taping was applied to the low arched individuals, a higher and faster center of pressure sway was observed in most of the sensory perturbation conditions, especially in the medio-lateral direction. This could be explained either by a difficulty for the subjects to adapt to a new imposed postural condition, or by a gain in confidence while using the taping, reflected by the increase in postural adjustments.

O entorse de tornozelo está entre as lesões mais comuns durante as atividades esportivas. Apesar de extensas pesquisas clínicas e experimentais, a recorrência da lesão permanece alta. A prevenção do entorse de tornozelo só é possível uma vez que os fatores de risco forem identificados. Alterações no posicionamento do pé, déficits proprioceptivos, frouxidão mecânica lateral do tornozelo e déficits de força muscular são os possíveis fatores de risco para o entorse de tornozelo, mas os seus verdadeiros mecanismos ainda não estão esclarecidos. O entendimento desses mecanismos pode auxiliar os profissionais de saúde, principalmente os fisioterapeutas, a elaborar um programa de tratamento mais direcionado, levando a uma reabilitação mais eficaz. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os fatores mecânicos e eletromiográficos associados ao entorse de tornozelo. Trinta e duas atletas de basquetebol e voleibol do gênero feminino (16.06±0.8 anos; 67.63±8.17 kg; 177.8±6.47 cm) participaram do estudo. As atletas foram separadas em dois grupos: um grupo controle, sem sintomas (29 tornozelos), e atletas que tinham sofrido entorse de tornozelo (29 tornozelos). A avaliação do alinhamento do retropé foi realizada por meio de fotogrametria, pelo programa SAPO® v.0.63, com as atletas em pé. A propriocepção, o torque passivo gerado pela resistência do movimento do tornozelo e a força muscular foram avaliados no dinamômetro isocinético Biodex®, e a atividade eletromiográfica de superfície pelo sistema Noraxon®. O senso de posição articular (15° inversão, 0°, 15° eversão), a cinestesia (2°/s, 4°/s, 10º/s) e o torque passivo (5°/s, 10º/s, 20°/s) foram avaliados durante os movimentos passivos de eversão e inversão. O torque eversor e inversor foi testado isometricamente (15° inversão, 0°, 15° eversão), concentricamente e excentricamente (60°/s, 180°/s, 300°/s), simultaneamente à medida do sinal eletromiográfico dos músculos fibular longo e tibial anterior. Os dados foram analisados pela ANOVA de dois e três fatores e teste post hoc Tukey. Os resultados mostraram que o alinhamento do retropé e o senso de posição não estão associados ao entorse de tornozelo em atletas do gênero feminino. Os resultados do grupo com entorse do tornozelo que indicaram diferenças significativas em relação ao grupo controle foram: atraso no tempo de percepção do movimento, menor torque passivo e menor torque isométrico e isocinético concêntrico. Além disso, a atividade eletromiográfica do músculo fibular longo e tibial anterior, durante o teste isocinético concêntrico, foi menor no grupo com entorse do tornozelo. Baseado nesses resultados, as atletas que tiveram entorse de tornozelo apresentaram déficits proprioceptivos, frouxidão mecânica e fraqueza muscular. / Ankle sprain are among the most common injuries during athletic activities. Despite extensive clinical and basic science research, the recurrence rate remains high. Prevention of ankle sprain is only possible once risk factors had been identified. Changes in foot positioning, impaired proprioception, mechanical lateral ankle laxity and muscle strength deficits are possible ankle sprain risk factors, but its real mechanisms remain unclear. Understanding such mechanisms will help health professionals, mainly physiotherapists, identify where to focus treatment efforts, leading to more effective rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to evaluate mechanical and electromyographic factors associated with ankle sprain. Thirty-two basketball and volleyball female athletes (16.06±0.8 years; 67.63±8.17 kg; 177.8±6.47 cm) participated in this study. Their ankles were divided into two groups: a symptom-free control group (29) and athletes who had suffered ankle sprain (29). Assessment of hindfoot alignment was performed by means of photogrammetry SAPO® v.0.63 software, with the athletes standing up. The proprioception, resistive torque at maximum passive ankle movement and muscle strength were assessed on the Biodex® isokinetic dynamometer and the surface electromyographic activity through the Noraxon® system. The joint position sense (15° inversion, 0°, 15° eversion), kinesthesia (2°/s, 4°/s, 10°/s) and resistive torque (5°/s, 10°/s, 20°/s), were evaluated during passive ankle inversion and eversion movements. Evertor and invertor torques were assessed isometrically (15° inversion, 0°, 15° eversion), concentrically and eccentrically (60°/s, 180°/s, 300°/s) measured simultaneously with electromyographic signal of peroneus longus and tibialis anterior muscles. The data were analyzed using 2 and 3-way ANOVA with Tukeys test for post hoc analysis. The results showed that the hindfoot alignment and the joint position sense were not associated with the ankle sprain in female athletes. The results of the ankle sprain group showed significant differences from the control group: delay in the time to detection passive motion, lower resistive torque and lower isometric and concentric torque. In addition, the electromyographic activity of peroneus longus and tibialis anterior muscles during isokinetic concentric test was lower in the ankle sprain group. Based on these results, the athletes who had ankle sprain have proprioceptives deficits, mechanical laxity and muscle weakness.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:30:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-08-06Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:19:36Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 zago_pfp_dr_rcla.pdf: 1617834 bytes, checksum: 193398c19868a245f447705bc0bf0861 (MD5) / Três experimentos foram propostos para investigar os ajustes dinâmicos nos pesos de múltiplas fontes de informação sensorial. O primeiro experimento investigou as respostas posturais de 18 bebês frente às mudanças abruptas na amplitude do estímulo visual. Eles permaneceram sentados dentro de uma sala móvel por 8 tentativas de 60 segundos cada. A sala ficou estacionária na primeira tentativa. Nas sete tentativas seguintes, a sala foi oscilada em 0,2 Hz com amplitude de 1,1 cm, com exceção da quinta tentativa, na qual a sala foi movimentada em amplitude mais alta (3,2 cm). Os resultados mostraram fraco acoplamento entre informação visual e oscilação corporal. Contudo, a variabilidade de oscilação foi maior em bebês experientes no sentar independente. Nós concluímos que bebês não foram capazes de se adaptar às pequenas alterações na amplitude do estímulo visual. O segundo experimento investigou como o controle postural de crianças se adapta às abruptas mudanças no ambiente visual. Trinta crianças de 4, 8 e 12 anos de idade e dez adultos, permaneceram em pé dentro de uma sala móvel. A situação experimental foi similar a do primeiro experimento exceto que a amplitude baixa da sala foi de 0,5 cm e a amplitude alta foi de 3,2 cm. As respostas posturais de crianças mais velhas e adultas diminuíram mais para o estímulo visual do que aquelas de crianças mais novas quando a amplitude da sala foi aumentada. A variabilidade de oscilação diminuiu com a idade e foi maior durante a tentativa de alta amplitude. Crianças tão novas quanto 4 anos de idade já têm desenvolvida a capacidade de rapidamente diminuir a influência do estimulo visual. Contudo, os mais altos valores de ganho e variabilidade residual para crianças de 4 e 8 anos de idade sugerem que elas não apresentam respostas totalmente calibradas ao nível adulto... / Three experiments were designed to investigate the dynamic adjustments in the weights of multiple sensory modalities. The first experiment investigated the postural responses of 18 infants to abrupt changes in the amplitude of visual stimulus. They seated inside of a moving room for eight trials of 60 sec apiece. The room was stationary in the first trial. In the following seven trials, the room oscillated at 0.2 Hz with amplitude of 1.1 cm, with the exception of the fifth trial, in which the room moved at higher amplitude (3.2 cm). The results showed weak coupling between visual stimulus and body sway. However, sway variability of experienced sitters was higher in the high-amplitude trial. We concluded that infants were not able to adapt to low range of visual stimulus amplitude. The second experiment investigated how children s postural control adapt to abrupt changes in the surrounding visual environment. Thirty children from 4-, 8- and 12-year olds and ten adults stood upright inside of a moving room. The experimental set-up was similar to the first experiment except that low-amplitude was 0.5 cm and high-amplitude was 3.2 cm. Body sway responses of old children and adults downweight more to the visual stimulus than young children when the amplitude of the room increased. Sway variability decreased with age and was largest during the high-amplitude trial. Children as young as four years of age have already developed the adaptive capability to quickly downweight visual information. However, the higher gain values and residual variability observed for the 4 and 8 year-old children suggest that they have not fully calibrated their response to the adult level. The third experiment investigated the postural responses of two sensory modalities measured simultaneously... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Compliant mechanisms offer several design advantages which may be exploited in prosthetic joint research and development: they are light-weight, have low cost, are easy to manufacture, have high-reliability, and have the ability to be designed for displacement loads. Designing a mechanism to perform optimally under displacement rather than force loading allows underlying characteristics of the swing phase of gait, such as the maximum heel rise and terminal swing to be developed into a prosthetic knee joint. The objective of this thesis was to develop a mechanical add-on compliant link to an existing prosthetic knee which would perform to optimal standards of prosthetic gait, specifically during the swing phase, and to introduce a feasible method for increasing proprioceptive feedback to the amputee via transferred moments and varying surface tractions on the inner part of a prosthetic socket. A finite elements model was created with ANSYS to design the prosthetic knee compliant add-on and used to select the geometry to meet prosthetic-swing criteria. Data collected from the knee FEA model was used to apply correct loading at the knee in a SolidWorks model of an above-knee prosthesis and residual limb. Another finite element model was creating using COSMOSWorks to determine the induced stresses within a prosthetic socket brought on by the compliant link, and then used to determine stress patterns over 60 degrees of knee flexion (standard swing). The compliant knee add-on performed to the optimal resistance during swing allowing for a moment maxima of 20.2 Newton-meters (N-m) at a knee flexion of 62 degrees. The moments applied to the prosthetic socket via the compliant link during knee flexion and extension ranged from 5.2 N-m (0 degrees) in flexion, to 20.2 N-m (62 degrees) in extension and induced a varying surface tractions on the inner surface of the socket over the duration, thus posing a possible method of providing proprioceptive feedback via surface tractions. Developing a method for determining the level of proprioceptive feedback would allow for less expensive and more efficient methods of bringing greater control of a prosthesis to its user.

Chronic muscle pain is a significant medical and social problem and better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms involved is an important requirement for further development of diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation methods. Experimental imaging studies have investigated functional neuroanatomy of different pain components. However, several aspects of brain mechanisms underlying brain processing of muscle pain remain unclear. The general goal of the present thesis was to study functional brain anatomy of systems underlying perception of muscle pain, processing of proprioceptive information and maintenance of fatiguing muscle contractions with an emphasize on their possible interrelations. Four series of experiment were carried out. Using an injection of hypertonic saline (HS) into the m. triceps to induce pain comparable with clinical muscle pain a significant activation of insula and putamen as well as decrease of activity in the temporal and occipital cortex in comparison with control stimulation were revealed. An advanced model of prolonged muscle pain were provided by the infusion of the HS during 20 minutes into m. erector spinae A complex dynamics of brain activity during the habituation to nociceptive stimulation was shown: initial activation of insula changed to decrease of activity in this and several other cortical areas. A conjunction analysis identified activations jointly significant in both experiments (despite localization of HS nociceptive stimulation) in the right insula, occipital and left parietal cortical areas. The study of brain activity in response to different modalities of prorioceptive inputs – passive movements, kinesthetic illusions and muscle vibration showed corresponding different patterns of activation in motor and somatosenory areas and temporal areas. Finally, the study of sustained isometric muscle contractions of various force levels and durations revealed that muscle fatigue is associated with contralateral activation of the motor and somatosensory areas and temporal areas and bilateral activation in the supplementary motor areas and cingular cortex, indicating that increased efforts needed to maintain required force and its eventual breakdown with fatigue might induce activation of additional cortical areas. Analysis of data obtained in all experimental series revealed that insula, secondary somatosensory and auditory areas are activated during both perception of muscle pain and processing of somatosensory afferentation. In conclusion, this thesis has elucidated brain processing of muscle pain showing distributed, bilateral patterns comprised of activated structures predominantly attributed to the medial pain system and deactivated structures. Furthermore, initial and late phases of tonic muscle pain are associated with different brain reactions, namely initial activation of the insula followed by a significant bilateral decrease of activity at the late stage. Area of brain cortex located near lateral sulcus and comprised of secondary somatosensory cortex, posterior part of the insula and adjacent auditory cortex is engaged in the perception of muscle pain and processing of somatosensory afferentation as well as maintenance of fatiguing muscle contractions.

Neck-shoulder pain is common in the general population and causes individual suffering as well as large costs for the society. Despite substantial efforts, there is still a shortage of methods for objective diagnosis and effective rehabilitation of such disorders. Thus, there is a great need to develop and evaluate new methods for these purposes. From clinical observations and recent research it has become evident that sensorimotor control can be impaired in people with neck-shoulder pain and may play a role in the pathogenesis of these disorders. In this thesis, precision of goal-directed arm movements, a previously unstudied class of movements in neck-shoulder pain, was studied. The main aim of the thesis was to investigate if people with chronic neck-shoulder pain have a reduced acuity of goal-directed movements of the upper extremity. A second aim was to study associations between reduced movement acuity and symptoms and self-rated characteristics. Upper limb repositioning acuity was assessed in blindfolded subjects performing tests of active, ipsilateral position-matching of two target positions (long and short) in movements constrained to horizontal-adduction of the shoulder. Reduced repositioning acuity, suggesting impaired shoulder proprioception, was found for both subjects with whiplash associated disorders (WAD) and non-specific neck-shoulder pain (NS). The degree of reduced acuity was shown to correlate with self-ratings of various health concepts, functioning and pain. A conspicuous finding was that there was lack of correlation between short and long target errors, along with the fact that associations between repositioning acuity and symptoms and self-rated characteristics was primarily found for the short target position. To further investigate the possible mechanisms underlying the disassociation between long and short target movement control, the association pattern between the outcome of several variants of ipsilateral position matching and velocity-discrimination tests, were studied. It was found that the perception of limb position in position-matching of short target locations appears to be predominantly based on movement velocity, whereas perception of limb position in movements to longer target locations may rely on a location-based perception mechanism. To extend the research on reduced upper extremity proprioception in neck-shoulder pain to a more natural movement situation, acuity of goal-directed pointing including full vision and 3D multi-joint movements was investigated in WAD, NS and healthy controls subjects. The results revealed a reduced acuity for both neck-pain groups. Moreover, distinct associations between end-point acuity and neck movement problems, limitations of some physical functions and, in WAD; some aspects of pain, were revealed. The findings demonstrate that the precision of upper limb movements can be reduced in chronic neck-shoulder pain. Substantial associations with symptoms and self-rated functioning suggest a clinical relevance of acuity measures of goal-directed arm movements. The findings indicate that tests of sensorimotor control can provide objective measures that may be useful in biopsychosocial profiling and characterization of subgroups of patients with chronic neck-shoulder pain, and that training target control of goal-directed movements should be considered in rehabilitation programs of people with these disorders.

Muscle spindles are complex sensory organs that have been strongly implicated in the control and perception of movements. Human muscle spindles in relaxed muscles behave as stretch receptors, responding to the length and velocity of their parent muscles. However, it has been unclear how they discharge during active movements since their discharges are also affected by fusimotor activity and extrafusal contractions. The vast majority of neurophysiological recordings of muscle afferents have been obtained under passive conditions, or active but behaviourally restricted conditions. These restrictions prevent predictions of human muscle afferent activity during purposeful multi-joint movements, naturally occurring during tasks such as hand shaping, grasping or key-pressing. An experimental protocol was therefore developed which allowed recordings of muscle receptor afferent activity using microneurography during unrestrained wrist and digit movements. Along with single afferent discharges, recordings were obtained of electromyographic activity of major forearm muscles and the kinematics of the wrist and digits. This approach allowed investigations of the factors shaping afferent discharge during everyday manual tasks, i.e., block-grasping and pressing sequences of keys, and during active sinusoidal joint movements. The afferents’ ability to encode information concerning the state of the muscle and joint kinematics during these tasks was also assessed. The responses of spindle afferents from load-bearing muscles were approximatelly 90 degrees more phase-advanced than expected on the length of their parent muscles. That is, the discharges of primary muscle spindle afferents were significantly affected by both velocity and acceleration, the discharges of secondary afferents by velocity, and neither afferent type was particularly affected by static muscle length. Accordingly, these afferents failed to encode length, encoded velocity well and acceleration poorly. The representation of muscle length and velocity was, however, significantly improved when the discharge activity of Golgi tendon afferents was taken into consideration along with muscle spindle activity. The discharge of primary afferents during both key-pressing and block-grasping was best correlated to the muscle velocities observed ~100-160 ms in the future. This predictive ability went beyond what could be expected from the spindles’ simultaneous sensitivity to velocity and acceleration, and could thus only be explained by implicating the fusimotor drive. In addition, evidence is presented that the fusimotor control of spindles was contingent on entire movement sequences during the key-pressing task. It is proposed that the phase relationship between the discharge rate of spindle afferents and the length of their parent muscles is load dependent. Moreover, muscle spindles seem to act as forward sensory models of their parent muscle, which makes sensorial feedback control possible despite neural delays.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Nordic hamstring strength training (NHST) program on (1) leg power, (2) vertical jump, (3) and knee proprioception measurements of 10-12 years old male basketball players. Nordic Hamstring Strength Training (NHST) group (N=16), participated in basketball training plus in Nordic hamstring strength training, while the control group (N=11) participated in basketball training only. Subjects were tested before and after 5-week training program for, vertical jump, isokinetic leg strength and knee proprioception. Each subject who agreed to participate in this investigation signed a consent form along their parent. Pre and post test differences between experimental and control group was investigated by MANOVA and paired sample t-test was used to evaluate the differences between pre and post tests of both groups. There was no significant difference in pre and post test results of NHST and control group. There were statistically significant increase in concentric quadriceps and hamstring strength, eccentric quadriceps strength, conventional H:Q strength ratio, and vertical jumping measurements in experimental group between the pre and post tests. It can be concluded that NHST program combine with basketball training has beneficial effects on the leg strength and H:Q strength ratio. These findings also suggest that hamstring exercise may be beneficial or helpful for preventing the hamstring injury occurrence and improving the physical performances such as jumping ability.

SUMMARY SUBJECT MATTER OF THE THESIS: Physical exercise influence on voluntary movement control. AIM OF THE THESIS: Assessment of various motivation physical exercise on voluntary movements control in women. The investigated individuals were divided into two groups: group of aerobics and group of local exercises. The Group or aerobics was composed of 51 women with 2 or 3 weekly classes of aerobics (average age 21,6 ±0,4 years, body weight index 20,7 ±0,3 kg/m²).). The group of local exercises consisted of 18 women with 2-3 Pilates health improvement classes (average age 20,9 +/-0,3, body weight index 21,5 ±0,5 kg/m²). METHODS: The computer aided platform “LIBRA” was employed for the investigation in order to determine proprioception. Both the groups were examined twice: before and after physical exercises. The examination was carried out in three positions: by standing on frontal plane, sitting on frontal plane and sitting on saggital plane. For movement control evaluation the following measurements were taken: extension area, extension time, recovery time, which were measured in standard units as well as global instability assessment in scores (0-10). RESULTS: The group of aerobics showed significant changes in most of the parameters under test within the second testing (after physical exercises). While in making assessments for the effect of local exercises on movement control, a significant reduction of extension time and global instability assessment in sitting... [to full text]