title: Bioceramic fabrics improve quiet standing posture and handstand stability in expert gymnasts.
abstract: Bioceramic fabrics have been claimed to improve blood circulation, thermoregulation and muscle relaxation, thereby also improving muscular activity. Here we tested whether bioceramic fabrics have an effect on postural control and contribute to improve postural stability. In Experiment 1, we tested whether bioceramic fabrics contribute to reduce body-sway when maintaining standard standing posture. In Experiment 2, we measured the effect of bioceramic fabrics on body-sway when maintaining a more instable posture, namely a handstand hold. For both experiments, postural oscillations were measured using a force platform with four strain gauges that recorded the displacements of the center of pressure (CoP) in the horizontal plane. In half of the trials, the participants wore a full-body second skin suit containing a bioceramic layer. In the other half of the trials, they wore a 'placebo' second skin suit that had the same cut, appearance and elasticity as the bioceramic suit but did not contain the bioceramic layer. In both experiments, the surface of displacement of the CoP was significantly smaller when participants were wearing the bioceramic suit than when they were wearing the placebo suit. The results suggest that bioceramic fabrics do have an effect on postural control and improve postural stability.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, 91223 Brétigny sur Orge, France; Univ Grenoble Alpes, LPNC, F-38000 Grenoble, France; CNRS, LPNC, F-38000 Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cian
authors.affiliation: University of Fribourg, Department of Medicine, Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gianocca
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, 91223 Brétigny sur Orge, France; CNRS, TIMC-IMAG, F-38000 Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Barraud
authors.affiliation: CNRS, LPNC, F-38000 Grenoble, France; Univ Savoie Mont Blanc, LPNC, F-73000 Chambéry, France. Electronic address: Michel.guerraz@univ-savoie.fr.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guerraz
authors.affiliation: CNRS, LPNC, F-38000 Grenoble, France; University of Fribourg, Department of Medicine, Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Bresciani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002516:Ceramics; D003020:Clothing; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006173:Gymnastics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Balance; Bioceramic; Motor control; Posture