Individual Baseline Balance Assessments in a Large Sample of Incoming NCAA Division I Athletes Using a Force Plate System.
Scott A Weismiller, Robert Monaco, Jason Womack and 7 others
PMID 33604142WHAT IT FOUND
Baseline balance varies widely among healthy athletes.
Female athletes and those in low-contact sports showed less sway than males and high-contact athletes. Using a single average for everyone risks missing real problems in athletes who normally have very steady balance.
Key findings
01Female athletes showed significantly less sway than male athletes in the open-eyes/soft-surface stance, but not in other stances.
02Athletes in high-contact sports showed significantly more sway than those in low-contact sports across three of four stances, a difference driven entirely by male athletes.
03There was no significant difference in baseline sway between athletes with and without a self-reported history of concussion.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample was limited to NCAA Division I athletes at a single university, which may not generalize to other populations. Most participants were incoming first-year students tested in the summer, so results may not reflect balance in experienced athletes or during the competitive season. Concussion history was self-reported without details on the number or recency of injuries.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that athletes with a history of concussion have worse baseline balance than those without. This study found no significant difference in sway between the two groups before injury occurred.