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Neuromuscular function and balance of prepubertal and pubertal blind and sighted boys
Arja Häkkinen1, Elina Holopainen, Hannu Kautiainen
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Jyväskylä Central Hospital, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Insights
Blind boys show comparable static strength to sighted peers, but impaired balance and dynamic performance. Maturation alone does not overcome vision loss for these complex motor skills.
Area of Science:
- Neuromuscular function
- Human kinetics
- Developmental psychology
Background:
- Vision plays a crucial role in motor development and learning.
- Understanding how sensory deprivation affects physical development is important for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare neuromuscular function and balance in blind versus sighted prepubertal and pubertal boys.
- To investigate the impact of vision loss on physical fitness development across different age groups.
Main Methods:
- Tested 33 prepubertal and pubertal blind and sighted boys.
- Assessed muscle mass, strength (electromyography, isometric), dynamic actions (jumps, throws), and balance (one-leg stance).
- Temporarily blocked vision in sighted boys to isolate the effect of sight.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in muscle mass, maximal strength, or vertical jump height between blind and sighted boys.
- Blind boys demonstrated significantly shorter fitness-ball throwing distances and five-jump distances.
- Balance, measured by one-leg stance duration, was markedly poorer in blind boys compared to sighted boys.
- Blocking vision in sighted boys replicated the performance deficits observed in blind boys.
Conclusions:
- Static physical fitness is comparable between blind and sighted boys during maturation.
- Balance and dynamic multi-joint performance are significantly impaired in blind boys.
- Maturation, learning, and experience alone cannot fully compensate for the absence of sight in developing complex motor skills.
Aim:
To compare the neuromuscular function and balance of blind prepuberty- and puberty-aged boys to those with normal sight.
Methods:
Thirty-three prepubertal (aged 9-13 y) and pubertal (aged 15-18 y) blind and sighted boys were tested for muscle mass thickness, electromyography and maximal isometric strength, dynamic explosive actions, and balance.
Results:
There was no difference in the muscle mass thickness, maximal strength or vertical jump between the blind and sighted boys. However, fitness-ball throwing and five-jump distances were significantly shorter in both blind groups compared to the sighted groups. One-leg stance of the prepuberty-aged sighted boys was 109 (67) s and in blind boys 32 (12) s, and in the puberty-aged boys 120 (57) s and 31 (8) s, respectively. When vision was blocked in the sighted boys, differences between the blind and sighted boys disappeared.
Conclusion:
The results showed comparable performance between prepubertal and pubertal blind and sighted boys in the static physical fitness tests. However, balance and performance in dynamic multi-joint tests did not improve similarly in the blind groups compared to sighted groups, indicating that maturation, learning and experience by themselves cannot compensate for the loss of sight.
