Effects on muscle strength, maximal jump height, flexibility and postural sway after soccer and Zumba exercise among female hospital employees: a 9-month randomised controlled trial

Abstract

This 9-month randomised controlled workplace physical activity trial investigated the effects of soccer and Zumba exercise, respectively, on muscle strength, maximal jump height, sit-and-reach flexibility and postural sway among female workers. A total of 107 female hospital employees aged 25-63 were cluster-randomised to a soccer group, a Zumba group or a control group. Training was conducted outside working hours as two to three 1-h weekly sessions the first 3 months and once a week the last 6 months. Tests were conducted at baseline, after 3 and 9 months. The soccer group improved maximal neck extension strength both after 3 (1.2 kg; P < 0.05) and 9 months (1.7 kg; P < 0.01) compared to the control group. The Zumba group improved maximal trunk extension strength (3.1 kg; P = 0.04) after 3 months, with improvements in postural sway velocity moment (-9.2 mm(2)/s; P < 0.05) and lower limb lean mass (0.4 kg; P < 0.05) after 9 months. No significant intervention effects were revealed in vertical jump height or sit-and-reach flexibility. The present study indicates that workplace-initiated soccer and Zumba exercise may be beneficial for improvement of the neck and trunk strength, which may have preventive effects with regard to future perceived muscle pain in the respective body regions. Furthermore, the Zumba group revealed positive effects on lower limb lean mass and postural sway compared to the control group.

Effects of a 6-Week Faroese Chain Dance Programme on Postural Balance, Physical Function, and Health Profile in Elderly Subjects: A Pilot Study

“…Body fat content was reduced in IG only, in line with several other studies using dance as an exercise training intervention [37, 41, 44], but in disagreement with others [45, 47]. In contrast, lean body mass was elevated after intervention in both IG (0.7 kg) and CG (0.4 kg).…”

“…Thus, the unorthodox locomotion pattern may be beneficial in terms of improving postural balance. In comparison, several studies on elderly participants using recreational football training and walking football, which also has an unorthodox locomotion pattern, as intervention method, have demonstrated that components of postural balance are markedly improved after periods lasting 12-16 weeks [37, 38]…”

“…For example, dancing with an aerobic component was shown in a RCT to cause positive adaptations in women older than 65 years with arterial hypertension [44]. In addition, Zumba dancing for hospital employees has been demonstrated to decrease the degree of arterial hypertension markedly [37]. However, the literature is not consistent.…”

Broad-spectrum physical fitness benefits of recreational football: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…All eligible studies were controlled trials, published in English from the beginning of 2009 until February 2017. In order to perform meta-analysis from 31 papers that met the inclusion criteria, 17 studies5 8 9 23–36 featured data changes in blood pressure, 15 covered RHR,5 8 9 23–25 29–35 37 19 papers2 5 9–11 24–32 34–39 related to body composition, while 10 studies2 11 12 24 38–43 provided sufficient data for muscular fitness. Metabolic responses data extraction featured 10 studies for plasma LDL and HDL,5 9 10 24–26 30 31 35 45 8 studies for plasma triglycerides,9 10 24–26 30 35 45 9 for total cholesterol5 9 10 24–26 30 35 45 and fasting blood glucose,10 24–26 30 31 35 37 45 and 5 for glucose tolerance10 12 24 30 31 35 (figure 1).…”

Feasibility of a dance and exercise with music programme on adults with intellectual disability

“…This is especially so considering that Zumba has not been effective in improving lower body muscular strength in healthy populations (Barene et al . ). During the investigation, it was observed that the activities organised by the day‐care centre, which were included in the daily routine of the people with ID, were mainly sedentary.…”