Effects Of Age, Sex, And Condition On Balance In Masters Olympic Weightlifters

Balance proficiency (BP) during quiet stance has been shown to be a useful task to assess age-related changes. Results of sex comparisons in balance performance across the lifespan have not been consistent. While masters Olympic weightlifters (MOW) were shown to have greater BP compared to age matched runners under more challenging task conditions, the effects of age and sex were not fully examined. PURPOSE: To compare BP between male and female MOW across ages under varying task conditions. METHODS: Female (n = 67, 39-70 yrs) and male (n = 37, 35-75 yrs) qualifiers for the 2022 World Master Weightlifting Championships (Orlando, FL) volunteered to undergo balance testing (2 30s trials per condition) on firm (FI) and foam (FO) surfaces with eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) while center of pressure (CP) was recorded (100 Hz). A sway velocity index (SVI) was computed as the natural logarithm transformed of the average medial-lateral CP velocity for each trial divided by body height. For each surface, separate linear mixed effects models were constructed to examine the effects of vision, age, sex and age by sex on SVI. RESULTS: For the FI surface, the BP was significantly worse with EC (β = 0.05, 95% CI: [0.04, 0.07], P < 0.001). There were no significant sex (β = -0.02, 95% CI: [-0.41, 0.38], P = 0.937), age (β = 0.02, 95% CI: [0.00, 0.05], P = 0.051), or sex-related age differences (β = 0.004, 95% CI: [-0.04, 0.03], P = 0.841). For the FO surface, BP was significantly worse with EC (β = 0.28, 95% CI: [0.00, 0.05], P = 0.051) and older age (β = 0.04, 95% CI: [0.02, 0.06], P < 0.001). There were no significant sex (β = 0.13, 95% CI: [-0.21, 0.47], P = 0.452) nor sex-related age (β = -0.01, 95% CI: [-0.04, 0.02], P = 0.349) differences. CONCLUSIONS: Male and female MOW demonstrated similar BP, as well as comparable age-related changes in BP on both support surfaces. The lack of sex differences and magnitude of the FI age effect contrast previous reports of BP in community normative populations. While the additional challenge of the FO surface elicited an age-related BP decline, the decline was less than a previous report using SVI with FI surface EO/EC assessment in independently living older adults. Whether these results are explained by a MOW participant selection bias or beneficial adaptation to Olympic weightlifting requires prospective investigation.