نوع مقاله : مطالعه پژوهشی اصیل
نویسندگان
1 کارشناسی ارشد یادگیری و کنترل حرکتی دانشگاه ارومیه، ارومیه، ایران
2 گروه یادگیری و کنترل حرکتی دانشکده علوم ورزشی دانشگاه ارومیه، ارومیه، ایران
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Background and Purpose
Motor imagery (MI) is the mental representation of an action without physically performing the corresponding movement. Experimental data have shown that motor imagery helps improve motor performance in both sports motor skills and daily life motor skills (Schuster, 2011; O'Shea and Moran, 2017). MI and physical exercise use a similar neural substrate, although the respective neural networks do not completely overlap, thus supporting the principle of functional balance (Lutze and Halsband, 2006; Guillot, 2008). This study aimed to determine whether dynamic motor imagery (dMI) affects movement learning and performance to a greater extent than static motor imagery (sMI), and to achieve a temporal fit between MI and practice, emphasizing physicality, learning, and movement performance.
Materials and Methods
A sample of male amateur football player students was selected for the experiment. Forty-five healthy right-footed amateur athletes aged 18 to 20 years (mean age: 19 ± 0.7 years) participated in this research, approved by the research ethics committee of the faculty. All athletes had been playing soccer as amateurs for 6 to 8 years. They had no injuries and were examined by the Pathology and Corrective Movement Association of the faculty for any skeletal abnormalities, especially in the legs, and were found to be normal. They were then divided into three groups: physical training (PP), sMI, and dMI using the MIQ-R questionnaire. Weight, age, and motor imaging strength were homogeneous and normal. The football shooting training protocol used was the Moore-Christian test.
Figure 1: Moore-Christian soccer shot test
All subjects participated in a 3-week training period with 4 sessions per week. All groups underwent a pre-test, and their scores were recorded. During the training period, the PP group practiced the training protocol only. The sMI group, after training and relaxation, stood behind the starting line and started imaging. The dMI group, after training and relaxation, jumped up and ran towards the hitting line, standing as if they were shooting, and then started to visualize. After completing the training period, subjects participated in a post-test and a retention test after 24 hours, with scores recorded. Performance during these tests was evaluated by two judges using video recordings, who were blinded to the training conditions and study purpose.
Results
Results showed that the quality of shots and overall timing of MI aligns proportionally with physical exercise, with a significant increase in performance and learning reported for dMI compared to sMI at a meaningful level, and a positive correlation was found.
Conclusion
The results of this study support the benefits of using dMI compared to sMI, showing an increased impact on performance and learning at a significant level with a positive correlation. The findings provide evidence that associating MI with actual movements, as in dMI, results in a better temporal fit between MI and physical action than imagery without movement, indicating greater temporal accuracy. Fusco et al. (2021) investigated the effects of dMI in athletes with vision differences and confirmed the superiority of dMI over sMI in terms of temporal characteristics. dMI provides time cues that likely enhance the preparation phase before execution. This temporal precision results from mentally reproducing movement subsequences associated with temporal cues, providing athletes with a temporal fit essential for performance. The study also showed that pairing MI with real motion leads to a higher rate of successful shots compared to MI without motion. Expert ratings on shot quality support the benefits of the dMI condition, confirming that MI is useful for skills requiring simple movements like shooting. The findings also suggest that MI can enhance internalization and adjustment of approach, critical for performance. The judges' reports indicated that shot quality and timing with MI were proportional to physical training.
Funding
This study has not received any financial support from funding organizations in the public, commercial, or non-profit sectors.
Authors' contributions
The authors have equally contributed to all the study sections.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
کلیدواژهها [English]
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2011.02068.x
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0031-9384(99)00026-8