The impact of pole acrobatics training on structural and functional changes in the muscles of female athletes

Pole acrobatics is a physically demanding sport requiring a high level of coordination, reaction speed, and muscular endurance. In addition to influencing the functional state of the ner­vous system, intense training induces structural changes in muscle and adipose tissue. In this study, we used ElectroNeuroMyoGraphy (ENMG) to assess sensorimotor responses and body composition analysis using the Tanita analyzer (Tanita Europe GmbH, Japan) to identify changes in muscle mass, fat content, and electrical resistance. The study involved 20 women aged 23 to 40 who had been regularly practicing pole acrobatics for over 18 months. The participants were divided into age groups, but no statistically significant differences were found by age, allowing the entire cohort to be analyzed as a single group. ENMG was conducted to evaluate the muscle response of the arms to stimulation of the wrist and elbow, and to detect asymmetry between the right and left sides of the body. Body composition analysis included measurements of fat content, Fat-Free Mass (FFM), and electrical resistance for the arms, legs, and torso. The results showed the presence of asymmetry in the functional activity of the arm muscles, particularly in terms of nerve signal amplitude and reaction latency. It was found that the reaction latency of the right arm differed significantly from that of the left (p<0.05). Body composition analysis also revealed differences in resistance and fat content between the right and left limbs, indicating uneven distribution of physical load. Correlation analysis demonstrated an inverse relationship between fat tissue levels and functional muscle activity, sugges­ting that body composition affects the efficiency of the neuromuscular system. This study demonstrates that regular pole acrobatics training can induce adaptive changes in both the ner­vous and muscular systems. Keywords: neural asymmetry, electroneuromyography, body composition.