Effects of systematic gymnastic training on postural control in young and adult men

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of gymnastics expertise of children and adolescents and young adults on the postural control with and without the use of visual information and during dynamic postural task. The study comprised a total of 105 males, including 48 athletes practicing gymnastics and 57 non-gymnasts. Both groups were divided into three age categories: 8-10, 12-14 and 18-24 years old. Participants’ postural control was measured on force platform in bipedal static (eyes open/close) and dynamic with visual feedback condition. ANOVA test (group vs age) with repeated measurements (visual control) was used to distinguish effect of gymnastic training in three age groups. Results show that in analysis of the center of pressure surface area, all gymnast had significantly better (p=0.013) static postural control in regardless visual control (group effect), although, there were no differences in each individual age groups (group vs age; p=0.556). Furthermore, the youngest groups had significantly higher values than two other groups, indicating worse performance. Dynamic task with visual feedback showed that the youngest non-gymnasts needed much more time to complete the task in compare to all other groups of gymnasts or non-gymnasts. The results showed that gymnastic training has influence in postural control of young and adults, but unspecific static and visual feedback condition does not fully reflect adult gymnast’s capabilities. However, systematic participation in gymnastics training during the early-school period could increase the ability to coordinate and regulate body posture.