The Effects of Integrated Core Strengthening Exercises on Lower Extremity

Proprioception in Healthy Subjects

Chang M, Herzog VW, Miller Z: Weber State University, Ogden, UT

Context: While there appears to be widespread acceptance of core stability exercises,

there is limited research on the efficacy of specific core stability training, and the
relationship between core stabilization and lower extremity proprioception has not been
investigated in a quantitative fashion. Objective: To determine if four integrated
corestrengthening exercises affectlower extremity proprioception by measuring single
leg standing balance in healthy subjects. Design: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Setting: Research Laboratory. Participants: Twenty healthy, physically active
individuals from midsized western US university (10M, 10F, 21.83.5 yrs, 17410.2 cm,
72.912.1 kg). Participants were excluded if they were currently or previously a
collegiate athlete, had history of chronic low back pain or a history of lower extremity
injuries within past 6 months. Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned to
atraining or control group with both genders equally distributed between groups. The
training group participated in a 3-week core exercise program 5 times a week at home
after an initial supervised exercise session. The control group did not participate in the
core exercise protocol. Main Outcome Measures: All subjects were pretested and
posttested for single leg balance of both limbs on an AMTI AccuSway Force Platformto
measure Area95 (center of pressure area, cm2) and V avg (reaction velocity, cm/s).
Each participant underwent 2 trials for each limb. Results: There was a significant main
effect for gender on V avg (F(1,36)= 9.965, p= .003). Simple main effects testing revealed
improvements for V avg in female subjects at posttesting (mean difference = 0.190.27
cm/s), whereas there was a slight increase in male subjectsfor V avg from at pretesting
to posttesting (mean difference = 0.010.09 cm/s). There was no significantgroup
main effect on Vavg (F(1,36)= .048, p= .827), but we found a significant main effect for
group on Area 95 (F(1,36) = 5.162, p= .029). There was also a significant interaction
effect for gender and group on Area 95 (F(1,36)=12.976, p=.001). Female subects in
training group showed improvement in Area 95 at posttesing(mean difference =
0.441.67 cm2), while those in control group revealed a slight increase (mean
difference = 0.530.47 cm2). Conclusions: There were statistically significant
changes on lower extremity proprioception in healthy participants after 3 weeks of
integrated core strengthening exercises performed at home. Future research should
examine the efficacy of the integrated core exercises, conducting supervised exercise
session with longer period of intervention.