Influence of physical effort on habitual body postures of sportsmen and sportwomen doing competitive sports

Introduction. Influence of physical training on an individual development is a function of its intensity and consistency. The aim of this research was to present influence of sports training, peculiar to a given sports discipline, on competitors’ habitual posture. Material and method. Measurement of 35 spatial features of habitual body posture,  with a use of the photogrammetric method, carried out among 151 competitors representing a variety of sports disciplines: judo, wrestling, volleyball, football, and fencing. Results. A habitual posture peculiar to each sports discipline was described and importance of differences between features of habitual posture of people not doing qualified sports was established. Conclusions. (1) Condition of people who do qualified sports may depend on knowledge, skills and responsiveness of a trainer. Diagnostics of body posture may be a crucial criterion in evaluating load applied in asymmetric sports. It enables correction of training methods. It is advisable to provide competitors with versatile training and improve balance between specific groups of muscles, especially in asymmetric disciplines; (2) regular medical examination should become the basis in selecting new entrants in sports clubs; (3) body posture disorders of adult competitors may result from absence of holistic training and inaccuracy in the initial stage of training, incorrect warm-up, and lack of exercises shaping the habit of correct body posture.