Association between core strength and dynamic balance of throwing hand in professional healthy cricket fast bowlers: A cross sectional study.

Background: The core musculature gets activated by feed forward fashion during the movement of upper extremity, as in kinetic chain of throwing, shoulder muscle contributes larger dynamic balance and also in reversed manner. Aim of the current study was to associate the strength of core and the dynamic balance of throwing hand in cricket fast bowlers.

Methods: 72 subjects were initially screened for eligibility, and ultimately, 55 male participants from various cricket coaching academies, aged 19.1 ± 2.6 on average, were included. The mean BMI of the participants was 20.9. The assessments included the Modified Upper Quarter Y Balance Test (mUQYBT)- Medial (M), Supero-Lateral reach (SL), Infero-Lateral reach(IL) along with Core measures- 60 Abdominal flexion test (60 AFT), right side plank test (RSP), Left side plank test (LSP), Beiring Sorenson test (BST), all of which were successfully completed.

Results: Based on our findings, we observed a mild positive correlation between the values of mUQYBT and core measures. We employed Pearson's coefficient to evaluate the association, and the R values were utilized to quantify the amount of variability. The resulting scores were RSP to SL (r = 0.38, R = 0.14), LSP to SL (r = 0.43, R = 0.19), LSP to RSP (r = 0.790, R = 0.62), BSP to Composite score (r = 0.29, R = 0.08), SL to 60 AFT* (r = 0.231, R = 0.05) and BMI to IL* (r = -0.107, R = 0.01).

Conclusion: In conclusion, a positive correlation was exhibited between dynamic balance and core strength in healthy cricket fast bowlers. Educating bowlers on proper movement techniques and prescribing targeted exercises can enhance dynamic balance, reducing the risk of injuries.