Inverted Balance Relates To Vestibular Mediated Balance Control In A Sport Specific Manner

Balance is the ability to maintain an upright stance despite the presence of small kinematic disturbances. Athletes of many sports eg. cheerleading and gymnastics, often find themselves in very challenging balance conditions. Inverted stance, i.e. handstand, is one common position that athletes can train to help improve body position awareness and control. Both upright and inverted balance rely on various sensory inputs such as vision, proprioception, and the vestibular system. The vestibular system detects changes in head position and motion, provides a sense of orientation and plays a vital role in gaze stabilization, postural control, and overall equilibrium. Vestibular contribution to balance during inverted stance can be measured with force plate balance testing. PURPOSE: Evaluate the relationship of handstand performance and vestibular mediated upright balance. METHODS: 16 young, healthy athletes (6 female cheerleaders, 16.7 ± 0.94 years:10 male wrestlers 15.5 ± 1.5 years) consented to participate. 13 completed all the testing. Four trials of upright stance on a force plate, each lasting 20 seconds, included progressively challenging conditions: trial 1- eyes open with firm surface, trial 2 - eyes closed with firm surface, trial 3 - eyes open with foam surface, trial 4 - eyes closed with foam surface. Pathlength of sway (vPL, cm) measured their performance with smaller values indicating better performance. Following, they completed up to five attempts of handstand, which was timed using a stopwatch. Pearson correlation was used to consider the relationship between trial 4 and handstand time (HS). RESULTS: Across all participants, Pearson revealed a very weak relationship (r = 0.066). Though, when considered separately the cheerleader group showed a moderate positive relationship (vPL = 62.3 ± 22.3, HS = 6.85 ± 4.9, r = 0.618) and the wrestler group showed a near moderate negative relationship (vPL = 62.1 ± 23.7, HS = 4.83 ± 3.3, r = -0.315). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the balance requirements between the two sports seem to evolve a different use of vestibular information in balance control.