ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2022
Five weeks of Yuishinkai karate training improves balance and neuromuscular function in older adults: a preliminary study.
Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Taekwondo intervention on balance ability: A meta-analysis and systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Comparison of balance, proprioception, and fear of falling in older adults with and without a compensatory dynamic knee valgus.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Postural control in top-level Para Karate athletes with visual and intellectual impairment: an observational study.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Postural control and neuromuscular activation during balance in elite Chinese martial artists and sprinters.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Investigating the value of balance and proprioception scores to predict lower limb injuries in professional judokas.Scientific reports · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMartial arts training has shown positive impacts on balance and physiological measurements. Further investigation of the contents and feasibility of an effective therapeutic assessment of martial arts is needed in older adults, mainly for future applications and real-world implementation.
methodsSixteen older adults (8 male, 8 female, age 59-90 years), with or without chronic conditions, participated in a preliminary study using 5-weeks of karate training and a triple baseline control procedure. Group and single subject data analyses were conducted for dynamic balance, Timed Up and Go (TUG), hand grip, ankle plantarflexion force, and spinal cord excitability (via the soleus H-reflex) pre- and post-training.
resultsOn average, participants completed a total of 2437 steps, 1762 turns, 3585 stance changes, 2047 punches, 2757 blocks, and 1253 strikes. Karate training improved dynamic balance performance such that the group average time was reduced (time to target (-13.6%, p = 0.020) and time to center (-8.3%, p = 0.010)). TUG was unchanged when considering the entire group (p = 0.779), but six participants displayed significant changes. Left handgrip (7.9%, p = 0.037), and plantarflexion force in the right (28.8%, p = 0.045) and left leg (13.3%, p = 0.024) increased for the group. Spinal cord excitability remained unchanged in group data analysis but 5 individuals had modulated H
conclusion5-weeks of karate training delivered in a fashion to mimic generally accessible community-level programs improved balance and strength in older adults. Whole-body movement embodied in karate training enhanced neuromuscular function and postural control. We met the overriding goal of this preliminary study to emphasize and assess feasibility and safety for the generalizability of martial arts interventions to real-world communities to impact health outcomes. Further quantitative work should explore threshold dose and development of martial arts training interventions as potential "exercise is medicine" functional fitness for older adults.
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