Postural control modifications induced by synchronized ice skating

Abstract

Some papers investigated the effects of specialized trainings on postural control adaptation. Particularly, several studies have been performed in ballet dancers. To our knowledge postural control in ice skaters, in general, has not yet been studied. Synchronized skating is an internationally recognized form of figure skating in which a team of 16 athletes, usually female, skate together. Similarities exist between the training regimens of synchronized skaters and ballet dancers with the major difference being that the skaters must maintain postural control during high velocity movement across the ice, that can be viewed as a destabilizing surface. In the present paper we compare static postural control in Synchronized skaters and a control group of physically fit individuals who had not received any on ice training or specialized balance training in order to investigate if the specialized type of activity that synchronized skaters regularly participate on ice may modify postural control. Posturography (Tetrax by Sunlight, Israel) was recorded from 18 female synchronized skaters (mean 21.5 years of age), members of the Italian National Synchronized Skating Team. The control group consisted of 15 females (mean age 22.5 years). The parameters considered in this study were dimensionless values. They were: stability indicator (ST) which represents the status of the general postural stability: stability was lower in skaters than in controls in all conditions even not significant (p=0.10); weight distribution, expressed as an index named “Weight Distribution Index” (WDI). Synchronized skaters unexpectedly showed higher WDI values (less balance) than the Controls under the less challenging rigid pressure plate conditions. Yet, when place on the more challenging 10 cm foam padded pressure plate, the Skaters had lower WDI values than the Controls (better balance).