title: Swiss Ball Versus Mat Exercises For Core Activation of Transverse Abdominis in Recreational Athletes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Core stability is an essential component for improving athletic performance and injury prevention. Exercises on a Swiss ball and on the mat are two different ways of improving core stability. Comparison of these methods can help physiotherapists incorporate the better method for athletic training and rehabilitation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare swiss ball and mat exercises for core stability of transverse abdominis in recreational athletes.
  
  
  METHODS
  This pilot randomized control trial was performed on a total of 25 recreational athletes. Subjects were alternatively allocated into three different groups: group A performed swiss ball exercises; group B performed mat exercises; and group C was the control group.
  
  
  METHODS
  Paired t-test for pre and post values within the group and one-way ANOVA for between the groups comparison was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was significant improvement in the core stability in Group A (Pre values: 3.6±2.06; Post values: 8.3±3.02; p-value: <0.05) and Group B (Pre values: 2.1±2.4; Post values: 4.3±2.5; p-value<0.05), however, improvement was more in group A compared to group B.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was significant improvement seen in the recreational athletes performing exercises on Swiss ball as compared to athletes performing exercises on mat. Therefore, Swiss ball exercises can be included in the prehabilitation and rehabilitation stages of athletic training to prevent injury and enhanced recovery post injury, thereby, improving performance of the athletes.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal University , Karnataka, India .
authors.forename: Prateek
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Srivastav
authors.affiliation: Assistant Lecturer, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences , Manipal University, Karnataka, India .
authors.forename: Nirmala
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nayak
authors.affiliation: Intern, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal University , Karnataka, India .
authors.forename: Sudeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Intern, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal University , Karnataka, India .
authors.forename: Lobsang Bhuti
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Sherpa
authors.affiliation: Intern, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal University , Karnataka, India .
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dsouza
keywords: Athletic performance; Muscle strength; Physical endurance; Physical fitness