The influence of gymnastics in motor coordination and reaction time in urban public bus drivers

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of labour gymnastics (LG) on bus drivers' basic skills such as reaction time and gross motor coordination. Sixty male bus drivers (37.06 ± 7.66 years old) from two bus lines in the city of Santa Maria (RS) took part of this study. The participants were split into two groups, experimental group (EG) and control group (CG). Subjects that were part of the EG took part in a LG intervention program, 2-3 times a week, over a year. Gross motor coordination was assessed by BURPEE Protocol (Johnson & Nelson, 1979), whereas reaction time by software providing a visual stimulus. Data normality was checked through Shapiro-Wilk test, which pointed to normal distribution only for the variables simple reaction time (SRT) and choice reaction time (CRT) in the EG. Therefore the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was selected to compare differences between groups. A statistically significant difference for gross motor coordination was found (z= −2.525, p= 0.012), suggesting the effectiveness of LG to improve motor skills. As regards SRT and CRT, no significant difference was found, in spite of better outcomes having been recorded after the LG program.