Abstract
This study aimed to elucidate the impact of intensive and incremental repetitive practice focusing on scapular manipulation on learners' inverted posture and subjective sensations during handstand.
Among 49 university students targeted in this study, 36 were assigned to the experimental group while 13 were assigned to the control group. Both groups underwent 8 days of practice sessions; the experimental group engaged in handstand practice involving scapular manipulation, whereas the control group performed handstand practice without any scapular manipulation. To assess the effectiveness of scapular manipulation practice, “wall handstand” was conducted before and after the 8th practice session, and posture changes and sensory alterations during movement were examined in each group.
As a result, neither group exhibited significant changes in shoulder or pelvic angles during wall inversion before and after the practice sessions. However, concerning pelvic angle, both groups initially demonstrated a posture where the angle exceeded 180 degrees, but the experimental group showed a slight decrease in pelvic angle after practice, moving closer to a straight inverted posture. On the other hand, regarding subjective sensations, while no significant changes were observed in the control group, all aspects of “fear,” “sense of physical burden,” and “sense of stability support” significantly improved in the experimental group. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis revealed that the greater the improvement in “ sense of stability support,” the significantly greater the decrease in “fear” as well.
To alleviate “fear” during “handstand”, it is necessary to learn proper techniques for manipulating the scapulae and to develop the ability to support one's body stably.
