The Effect of Oculomotor Exercises With Gaze Stabilization on Hand-Eye Coordination and Reaction Time in Table Tennis Athletes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a 6 week oculomotor exercise program on hand-eye coordination, reaction time, visual perception and dynamic visual acuity with table tennis athletes. 50 table tennis players included in the study were randomly divided in to oculomotor exercise (OMEG, n=25) and control (CG, n=25) groups. While the two groups continued their routine tennis training programs, oculomotor exercises with gaze stabilization were applied to OMEG twice a day for 6 weeks via the WhatsApp application. Plate tapping test was used to evaluate the eye-hand coordination of the participants, reaction time test (number of hits and average reaction time) using the Blazepod device was used to evaluate reaction times, and forms A and B of the Trail Making Test (TMT-A ve TMT-B) were used to evaluate visual perception. Dynamic visual acuity test with powerpoint was used to evaluate the dynamic visual acuity of the participants. The paired t-test and two-sample t-test was executed to examine within and between the groups. The OMEG had significant improvements in hand-eye coordination, visual perception, reaction time and dynamic visual acuity (p<0.05). Significant differences between both groups were observed in the plate tapping test (t=-3.560, p=0.01) and TMT-A (t=-2.276, p=0.027). The 6 week oculomotor exercise program is able to improve hand-eye coordination and visual perception for table tennis athletes.

Keywords

• Eye hand coordination
• Oculomotor exercise
• Reaction time
• Table tennis
• Visual perception

Masa Tenisi Sporcularında Bakış Stabilizasyonlu Okülomotor Egzersizlerin El-Göz Koordinasyonu ve Reaksiyon Zamanına Etkisi

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı masa tenisi sporcularında 6 haftalık okülomotor egzersiz programının el-göz koordinasyonu, reaksiyon zamanı, görsel algı ve dinamik görme keskinliği üzerine etkisini belirlemektir. Araştırmaya dahil edilen 50 masa tenisi oyuncusu rastgele okülo-motor egzersiz (OMEG, n=25) ve kontrol (CG, n=25) gruplarına ayrıldı. İki grup rutin tenis antrenman programlarına devam ederken, okülo-motor egzersiz grubuna WhatsApp uygulaması üzerinden 6 hafta boyunca günde iki kez bakış stabilizasyonlu okülomotor egzersizler uygulandı. Katılımcıların el-göz koordinasyonunu değerlendirmek için disklere vurma testi, reaksiyon zamanını (vuruş sayısı ve ortalama reaksiyon zamanı) değerlendirmek için Blazepod cihazı ve görsel algıyı değerlendirmek için İz Sürme Testinin A ve B formları kullanıldı. Katılımcıların dinamik görme keskinliğini değerlendirmek için powerpoint ile dinamik görme keskinliği testi kullanıldı. Grup içi ve gruplararası analizlerde eşleştirilmiş t testi ve iki örnekli t testi uygulandı. OMEG'de el-göz koordinasyonu, görsel algı, reaksiyon zamanı ve dinamik görme keskinliğinde anlamlı iyileşmeler elde edildi (p<0.05). Disklere dokunma testi (t=-3,560, p=0,01) ve IST-A'da (t=-2,276, p=0,027) her iki grup arasında anlamlı fark gözlendi. Masa tenisi sporcularında 6 haftalık okülomotor egzersiz programı, el-göz koordinasyonu ve görsel algıyı geliştirebilir.

Keywords

• El göz koordinasyonu
• Okülomotor egzersiz
• Reaksiyon süresi
• Masa tenisi
• Görsel algı

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