Acute effects of a single unilateral balance training session on ipsi- and contralateral balance performance in healthy young adults

Thomas Muehlbauer,Stefan Panzer,Leander Abel,Simon Schedler

doi:10.1186/s13104-021-05774-7

Thomas Muehlbauer, Stefan Panzer + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-021-05774-7

Copy DOI

Abstract

ObjectiveWhile there is evidence on the short-term effects of unilateral balance training (BT) on bipedal balance performance, less is known on the acute effects of unilateral BT on unilateral (i.e., ipsi- and contralateral) balance performance. Thus, the present study examined the acute effects of a single unilateral BT session conducted with the non-dominant, left leg or the dominant, right leg on ipsilateral (i.e. retention) and contralateral (i.e., inter-limb transfer) balance performance in healthy young adults (N = 28).ResultsIrrespective of practice condition, significant improvements (p < 0.001, d = 1.27) in balance performance following a single session of unilateral BT were observed for both legs. Further, significant performance differences at the pretest (p = 0.002, d = 0.44) to the detriment of the non-dominant, left leg diminished immediately and 30 min after the single unilateral BT session but occurred again 24 h following training (p = 0.030, d = 0.36). These findings indicate that a single session of unilateral BT is effective to reduced side-to-side differences in balance performance, but this impact is only temporary.

Highlights

Previous studies [1, 2] have shown that unilateral balance training (BT) is effective to induce balance enhancements in the trained as well as the untrained limb
Based on the concept of hemispheric lateralization stating asymmetric transfer across limbs [6] and with reference to the relevant literature showing that right hemisphere is responsible for quiet and perturbed postural control [7], we expected that both exercise conditions will result in enhanced balance performance but the inter-limb transfer of the training effects will be larger for the dominant, right leg BT group compared to the non-dominant, left leg BT group
Compared with previous acute BT studies, similar enhancements

Summary

Introduction

Previous studies [1, 2] have shown that unilateral balance training (BT) is effective to induce balance enhancements in the trained as well as the untrained limb. There are comparatively few studies [3, 4] that examined the short-term application (i.e., single session) of unilateral BT (i.e., acute effects). In these studies during the pre- and posttest bipedal but not unipedal balance performance was assessed and varying findings were reported. After BT, both groups achieved similar balance improvements with the trained leg and equivalent performance inter-limb transfer to the untrained leg. In the 24 h delayed posttest the group that trained with the dominant, right leg showed superior inter-limb transfer to the untrained leg than vice versa

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion