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21st September 2015
01:54pm BST
The participants were both male and female athletes, who played across a number of sports including hockey, wrestling, volleyball, football and gymnastics.
Amongst the tests were colour tests – measuring the reaction times and processing speeds by telling athletes to click in a box when they saw the word ‘red’ displayed in a red colour, but not if it appeared in blue, green, yellow, etc.
The team then compared 80 of the students with injuries with 80 non-injured athletes.
The findings were clear: athletes who suffered from the injury had significantly slower reaction times and processing speeds, as well as lower visual and verbal memory scores than those who were injury-free.
The study also found this was something people were born with, but could train themselves to be less of a klutz.
Speaking about the results, lead author of the study Charles ‘Buzz’ Swanik, from the University of Delaware said:
“These results suggest that slower processing speed and reaction time, as well as lower visual and verbal memory performance may predispose certain individuals to errors in coordination during physical activity that can lead to injury.”
So how can you curb your clumsiness?
Swanik points at the moment of your awkwardness as nothing more than momentary distractions.
As well as having your eyes checked for visual awareness, Swanik suggests a regular exercise regimen can help improve stability and balance.
Problem sorted.
H/T Elite DailyExplore more on these topics:
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