Postural balance and body composition in hockey players aged 12-13 years

Aim. The paper aims to identify and describe the correlation between bioimpedance and postural balance measurements in young hockey players. Materials and methods. Thirty (30) hockey players (goalies, forwards, defensemen) aged 12-13 years with the athletic experience of about 9 years were involved in the study. The study was conducted in November 2020. All procedures were performed in the morning after overnight fasting. The following equipment was used for the purpose of the study: an electronic system for body length detection, Tanita BC-418 MA segmental body composition analyzer, MBN force platform. Results. General body composition measurements were within reference values. Segmental analysis of lower extremities demonstrated muscular asymmetry (3.74%) and uneven fat distribution between the trunk and extremities. The resulting standard deviation values for the Center of Pressure (CoP) in the frontal and sagittal planes were within reference range. CoP velocity was increased. The ellipse area was 1027.51% higher than the upper limits of reference values. Hockey players were characterized by right-sided asymmetry with a backward shift. The muscle mass of the upper and lower extremities correlated with the mean CoP location in the frontal plane. Anthropometric measurements, BMI data, fat mass and water content correlated with the mean CoP location in the frontal plane, while general fat mass and trunk fat mass data correlated with the mean CoP location in the sagittal plane. Conclusion. The paper describes bioimpedance and postural balance measurements and their correlation in young hockey players.