Study on the Influence of Proprioceptive Control versus Visual Control on Reaction Speed, Hand Coordination, and Lower Limb Balance in Young Students 14–15 Years Old

Abstract

Currently, sports activities require a high reaction speed, coordination, and balance, highlighting the relationship between proprioceptive control, visual control, and hand–eye coordination in youth. The present research assessed the proprioceptive control, reaction speed, and lower limb balance of youth from five different schools to identify the level of physical preparation of children in this direction. This prospective study was conducted between 1 January, 2020, and 29 February, 2020. A total of 107 healthy children (33 females and 74 males) with appropriate medical conditions, aged between 14 and 15 years, from five Romanian schools were included in the experiment. All children were assessed for visual control and reaction speed with the ruler drop test, and for lower limb balance, the standing stork test was used. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, data series distribution, and comparison of means and medians using specific statistical programs. Comparison of medians highlighted significant statistical differences in the standing stork test with eyes closed and the dominant leg compared with the nondominant leg (p = 0.0057). Males were compared to females at the nondominant leg (p = 0.0179); closed eyes were compared with opened eyes for the nondominant leg (p = 0.0175 and 0.0006) for the ruler drop test comparing the dominant hand with the nondominant hand (p = 0.0212). Children who engage in sports activities better integrated sensory information in motor action execution based on reaction speed and coordination with the nondominant hand.

Relationship between Attention Capacity and Hand–Eye Reaction Time in Adolescents between 15 and 18 Years of Age

“…In this regard, Neto et al [ 31 ] reported significant differences in RT values between males and females (males: 243 ± 67 ms, females: 342 ± 50 ms, p = 0.011), whereas, after a hand–eye RT test, Reigal et al [ 14 ] reported an average difference of 46.9 ms between males and females. Furthermore, Szabo et al [ 32 ] reported significant differences after applying the Ruler Drop Test, which assesses hand–eye reaction speed when comparing males and females in the dominant hand ( p = 0.095). In this study, which evaluated males and females aged 14–15 years, no significant differences were found between genders when comparing reaction speed in the non-dominant hand ( p = 0.095).…”

“…In this study, which evaluated males and females aged 14–15 years, no significant differences were found between genders when comparing reaction speed in the non-dominant hand ( p = 0.095). [ 32 ]. Contrary to this evidence, Vences de Brito et al [ 17 ] found evidence that female Shotokan karateka had better RT than males practicing the same sport (male: 292 ± 30 ms, female: 288 ± 20 ms, p = 0.05).…”

“…The differences in hand–eye RT likely observed in the different studies may be conditioned to different modulations in neural activity in the visual and motor regions of the cerebral cortex [ 19 ]. Likewise, it has been observed that men and women who practice sports integrate sensory information better in executing motor actions based on reaction speed and coordination [ 32 ]. In this sense, Akarsu et al [ 33 ] compared sport-related visual abilities such as the hand–eye reaction time of athletes with non-athletes.…”

“…They, therefore, need further exploration [ 39 ]. Therefore, taking into account that physically active people with better physical fitness show better hand–eye RT in both males and females [ 14 , 32 , 33 ], and that coordination exercises influence the activation of parts of the brain (a situation that could trigger better cognitive performance) [ 37 ], it is advisable to include more sports activities in all phases of child and adolescent development, especially in educational centers.…”

Testing the visual-motor coordination and reaction speed in children aged between 10–14 years old

“…Proprioceptive control has long been essential for improving sports performance, medical disorders, everyday life activities, or further sports performance. Some specialists associated the proprioceptive control with somatosensory or proprioceptive deficiencies with effects on movement regulation that can develop from early ages (Coleman et al, 2001;Goble et al, 2009;Zwicker et al, 2013;Li et al, 2015), is linked with a low level of movement and sports practice (Szabo et al, 2021). These capacities were associated with the sense of relative location and movement of the limbs and body (Konczak, 2009) and needed in any human activity.…”