Abstract
The current literature shows no consensus regarding the difference between the dominant leg (D-Leg) and the non-dominant leg (ND-Leg) in terms of postural control. This lack of consensus could stem from motor experience (i.e., symmetric or asymmetric motricity) and/or the physiological state induced by physical exercise. This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of fatiguing exercise on postural control when standing on the D-Leg and the ND-Leg, in athletes practicing symmetric (SYM) and asymmetric (ASYM) sports. Thirty healthy male participants were recruited and divided into two groups, (SYM n = 15) and (ASYM n = 15, on the basis of the motricity induced by the sport they practice. Monopedal postural control was assessed for the D-Leg and the ND-Leg before and after the fatigue period (which consisted of repeating squats until exhaustion). A force platform was used to calculate the spatio-temporal characteristics of the displacements of the center of foot pressure (COP). A significant fatigue effect was observed in both groups on the D-Leg and the ND-Leg for all the COP parameters. There was a tendency (p = 0.06) between the ASYM and SYM groups on the D-Leg, concerning the relative increase in the COP velocity in the frontal plane after the fatigue period. The fatigue condition disturbed postural control in both the SYM and ASYM groups on the D-Leg and ND-Leg. This disturbing effect related to fatigue tends to be more marked in athletes practicing asymmetric sports than in athletes practicing symmetric sports on the D-Leg.
Highlights
Leg dominance can be determined through the use of functional tests, such as ball kick, hop, or step up [1,2,3]
The present pilot study was the first study to focus on differences in postural control between the dominant leg (D-Leg) and the non-dominant leg (ND-Leg), following physiological states induced by fatiguing exercise, among ASYM and SYM athletes
This disturbing effect related to fatigue tended to be more marked on the D-Leg in athletes practicing asymmetric sports than in athletes practicing symmetric sports
Summary
Leg dominance can be determined through the use of functional tests, such as ball kick, hop, or step up [1,2,3]. With asymmetric activities that require frequent phases of monopedal posture on the ND-Leg to perform technical movements with the D-Leg (e.g., passing and kicking in soccer), the ND-Leg can display better postural control than the D-Leg [8,14,15]. Symmetric activities that use the two limbs do not produce such an asymmetry of postural control [14]. Such a hypothesis still needs to be confirmed, since, to our knowledge, only two studies have been conducted to compare monopedal postural control in the D-Leg and the ND-Leg of expert athletes involved in asymmetric (ASYM) and symmetric (SYM) sports [6,15]. Even though muscle fatigue negatively affects the perception of sensory information and control of the motor command of the postural system of both the D-Leg and ND-Leg [16,17], some studies performed with athletes showed that postural control was less affected by muscle fatigue on the ND-Leg than on the D-Leg [5,18], illustrating that the differences in postural control between the D-Leg and the ND-Leg could only be observed after the performance of a fatiguing exercise
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