O efeito da ginástica laboral na coordenação motora ampla e no tempo de reação de motoristas de ônibus coletivo urbano

Abstract

This study checked the effect of labour gymnastics (GL) on bus drivers’s basic abilities such as reaction time and gross motor coordination. Sixty male bus drivers, averaging out 37.06 ± 7.66 years old, from two bus lines of the city of Santa Maria (RS) took part in the study. The participants were split into two groups, namely, the experimental one (GE) and the control one (GC). The former’s subjects were submitted to GL sessions, twice to three times a week, over a year’s time at shortest. Gross motor coordination was assessed by BURPEE Protoco (Johnson & Nelson, 1979 apud Marins & Giannichi, 2003)l, whereas reaction time by a software providing a visual stimulus. Data normality was checked through Shapiro-Wilk test, which pointed to normal distribution only for the variables TRS and TRE in the GE. Therefore the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was applied to comparisons as between groups. As an outcome of the tests application, a statistically significant difference for gross motor coordination was found (p = 0.012), thereby pointing out to the effectiveness of labour gymnastics towards the improvement of motor elements. As regards simple and choice reaction times, no statistically significant difference was found, in spite of better outcomes having been recorded after the GL programme.