Study on Impact of Throwball for Health, Body fat, Muscle Bulk and Mental Health Improvement with Alcoholic and Drug Abuse Youth

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Throwball is a non-contact ball sport played across a net between two teams of 7 + 5 players on a rectangular court. Playing the game entails movement as well as hand, eye, body co-ordination which can help as rehabilitation exercise for patients. The Throwball has grip around it and due to this grip, every time someone holds the ball, it gives acupressure to the palm. Our palm has acupressure points connected to each organ in the body. Therefore, playing throwball activates the entire nervous system and strengthens both internal and external organs. Objectives of this study is to understand the impact of throwball in improving the health, body fat and muscle bulk on people with Alcohol & drug addiction through statistical methods. Methods: A Pilot study was conducted with 56 inmates from Sri Sai Foundation, Alcohol, Drug Abuse Treatment, Counselling & Rehabilitation Center, Bengaluru. All subjects were male, with an average age of 39± 13 years. 13 throwball sessions were conducted in the span of 29 days. The daily routines of the participants were kept intact except for replacing 1 hour schedule with Throwball. Actofit Smart Scale was used for measuring the body composition. Microsoft Excel and PowerBI were used for data collection and statistical analysis. Results: The study showed significant improvement in body fat and muscle bulk of the participants. It reflected higher control over nervous system. Participants could balance and catch & throw the ball to target position, a reflection of improved eye-hand-brain co-ordination and nervous system improvement. The study also revealed improved appetite, mental happiness, going back to childhood and stamina.