Fencing Training Effect on Musculoskeletal Fitness in Children Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Background: Musculoskeletal fitness (Mf) is a multidimensional design comprising the integrated function of muscle strength, muscle endurance, and flexibility constructed to enable the performance of work against one`s own body weight or external resistance. The Mf variable was investigated as a part of wider research relating the fencing training effect on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms of children according to DSM V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 2013).

Aims: The present research intends to examine the effect of a fencing training program on Mf of youth population diagnosed with ADHD.

Method: One of the suggested tests for Mf evaluation is the Eurofit Test Battery that was applied for the research. The study population, (N=40) children, mean age of 10 at the beginning of the study and diagnosed with ADHD, was divided into two groups: one is the experimental fencing training group (N=20, 10 boys and 10 girls) applying a fencing training program combined with a general physical activity (PA) program; the second group, the PA control group (N=20, 10 boys and 10 girls) about the same age and characteristics undergoing only a Physical Education (PE) training program. The duration of the research was nine months, twice a week, 90 minutes each session.

Results: As a standard procedure, the Eurofit Test Battery includes also anthropometric measurements of height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI) and % body fat from skinfold thickness that were found to be homogenous for both groups. The results of the ten different tests of the Eurofit Test Battery were monitored at the beginning of the experiment and once again after carrying out the intervention programs, indicating distinctive superiority of the fencing program over the PA program.

Discussion and Conclusions: The results support the presumption that fencing is a better stimulant for improving Mf of ADHD diagnosed children over plain PA program. The control group undergoing PA program achieved definitive higher results only for non-essential attributes to fencing like the Flamingo Balance test and for the muscular upper body development as reflected by the Arm Bent.

Further research for evaluating the extended benefits of a fencing training program is recommended by similar research with the same population for a shorter period of time and increasing the number of training lessons per week and the number of samples. Other alternatives could be similar research with different types of populations, for instance normative children or other behavioral disorders like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD).