Proprioceptive training in women’s artistic gymnastics

Women’s artistic gymnastics is a sports discipline that places special emphasis on precision, strength and flexibility. One of the essential skills developed in this branch is balance, which is influenced by inputs from visual, vestibular and proprioceptive systems. Proprioception is the ability to perceive and control one’s own body position in space, independently of sight. This sense is crucial in artistic gymnastics, as female athletes perform complex movements such as jumps, pirouettes and acrobatics, where coordination and body awareness are indispensable to maintain correct posture and prevent injury. Proprioceptive training helps develop joint and muscle sensitivity, allowing athletes to quickly adjust their movements and remain stable during the exercise. Balance is another vital component in women’s artistic gymnastics. It involves the ability to maintain a stable and controlled position in various postures, for example, on the beam or during jumps. Balance development is important to meet the technical requirements of competitions because a small loss of stability can lead to significant penalties. The present study was conducted with a group of senior female gymnasts, and its purpose was to show that proprioceptive training on unstable surfaces could improve the dynamic balance of athletes. To demonstrate this, we used data collected by means of force plates that recorded the displacements of the center of pressure (COP) when the tested athletes performed different movements.