The effect of contact sport expertise on postural control

PLoS One. 2019 Feb 14;14(2):e0212334. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212334. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that expertise in sport influences standing balance ability. However, little is known concerning how physical contact in sport affects balance ability. The aim of this study was to examine whether differences between contact and limited-contact sport experiences results in differences in postural control. Twenty male collegiate athletes (10 soccer/contact, 10 baseball/limited contact) and ten male untrained students stood quietly on a force plate under various bipedal and unipedal conditions, with and without vision. Significant differences for sway area and COP speed were found between the soccer players and the other two groups for unipedal stances without vision. Soccer players were found to have superior postural control compared with participants involved in limited contact sport or no sport at all. Contact sports may lead to increased postural control through enhanced use of proprioceptive and vestibular information.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Athletes
  • Baseball
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Postural Balance / physiology*
  • Proprioception
  • Soccer
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, under Grant-in-Aid from the Global COE ‘Sport Sciences for the Promotion of Active Life’, Waseda University; and Anhui Provincial Natural Science under Grant [number 1608085QH175]. No: The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.