Comparison of static and dynamic balance in female collegiate soccer, basketball, and gymnastics athletes.
BACKGROUND
How athletes from different sports perform on balance tests is not well understood. When prescribing balance exercises to athletes in different sports, it may be important to recognize performance variations.


OBJECTIVE
To compare static and dynamic balance among collegiate athletes competing or training in soccer, basketball, and gymnastics.


METHODS
A quasi-experimental, between-groups design. Independent variables included limb (dominant and nondominant) and sport played.


METHODS
A university athletic training facility.


METHODS
Thirty-four female volunteers who competed in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I soccer (n = 11), basketball (n = 11), or gymnastics (n = 12).


METHODS
To assess static balance, participants performed 3 stance variations (double leg, single leg, and tandem leg) on 2 surfaces (stiff and compliant). For assessment of dynamic balance, participants performed multidirectional maximal single-leg reaches from a unilateral base of support.


METHODS
Errors from the Balance Error Scoring System and normalized leg reach distances from the Star Excursion Balance Test were used to assess static and dynamic balance, respectively.


RESULTS
Balance Error Scoring System error scores for the gymnastics group were 55% lower than for the basketball group (P = .01), and Star Excursion Balance Test scores were 7% higher in the soccer group than the basketball group (P = .04).


CONCLUSIONS
Gymnasts and soccer players did not differ in terms of static and dynamic balance. In contrast, basketball players displayed inferior static balance compared with gymnasts and inferior dynamic balance compared with soccer players.
Bressel
Eadric
E
Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA. ebressel@cc.usu.edu
Yonker
Joshua C
JC
Kras
John
J
Heath
Edward M
EM
D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001490:Basketball / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006173:Gymnastics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012916:Soccer / Q000502:physiology*