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TRAINING DYNAMIC BALANCE GET THE BALANCE RIGHT
THE STAR EXCURSION BALANCE TEST (SEBT) AND SINGLE- LEG DYNAMIC BALANCE TRAINING
This study aimed to determine the effect of progressive one-leg dynamic balance training programme on dynamic stability in healthy male athletes. It used a mixed design, with repeated measures taken at baseline and after 2 weeks and 4 weeks of progressive single-leg balance training. Thirty healthy male athletes volunteered to participate in the study and were randomly assigned to a training or control group. Dynamic stability was assessed using the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) in the trained and untrained legs in the training group and in one leg of the control group. SEBT scores did not change in the control leg but increased significantly at 2 weeks and 4 weeks in the trained leg. A progressive single-leg dynamic balance exercise programme can improve dynamic stability very rapidly. This has practical implications for sporting scenarios such as preseason training.
BY JAFFAR RASOOL AND KEITH GEORGE
Inversion injuries of the lateral ligaments of the ankle joint complex are among the most frequent injuries within sport and exercise and are believed to result from, and/or lead to, diminished stability or balance ability (1,2). Balance training may be valuable in the prevention of, or rehabilitation from, ligamentous injuries in the ankle joint (3). The exact mechanism(s) through which balance training could exert such positive effects is not clearly understood but may include central and peripheral neural adaptations and increased strength and flexibility. Empirical evidence of the positive impact of balance training has been reported in both injured (4) and non- injured subjects (5), such as young healthy subjects who trained for 10 weeks and whose balance ability was assessed statically on a force plate (6). Rozzi and colleagues showed that 4 weeks of static and dynamic balance training significantly improved static balance performance in subjects with functionally unstable ankles (4). The ideal intervention for athletes
may be something of short duration and thus applicable to specific short training cycles such as preseason
preparation, as well as containing predominantly dynamic balance exercises to better simulate the challenges faced during participation. We designed a short-term training
intervention of progressive, dynamic single-leg balance training and applied it to young, non-injured sportspeople. This has direct application to a number of sporting and clinical scenarios when working with athletes – for example, in preseason training, which may be only 2–4 weeks in duration. We used the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) (7) as a validated measure of dynamic balance ability, which, unlike force plates or electronically controlled balance platforms, is a simple and highly portable test that can be employed in a range of clinical environments. We defined dynamic balance as training or testing manoeuvres that required dynamic limb segment or whole-body movements while maintaining balance on a single foot. The subjects were 30 young healthy male athletes presently training with their respective sports clubs in the Qatif and Dammam area of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Subjects were excluded from the study if they presented with a current or recent history of soft tissue or orthopaedic injury in the ankle, knee or hip joint;
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