Jaffar Rasool and Keith George
The aim of the study was to determine the effect of progressive one-leg dynamic balance training programme on dynamic stability in healthy male athletes. Thirty healthy male athletes volunteered to participate in this study and were randomly assigned to a training or control (CON) group. Dynamic stability was assessed using the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) in the trained (TRD) and untrained (UTD) legs in the training group as well as in one leg of the CON group. SEBT scores did not change in the CON leg but significantly increased at 2 and 4 weeks in the TRD leg for total combined score and in all individual directions. Performance in the UTD leg increased significantly in 4 out of 8 reach directions to a smaller extent than the TRD leg. The authors conclude that a progressive single-leg dynamic balance exercise programme can improve dynamic stability very rapidly. This has practical implications for sporting scenarios such as pre-season training.
Physical Therapy in Sport, Sept 2007, online article ahead of press