COMPARISON OF STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SPORT COMPETITION IN PROFESSIONAL AND JUNIOR ELITE SOCCER PLAYERS

The purpose of this study was to compare body balance control and balance recovery strategies of professional football players, representing various sports levels in static (eyes open, eyes closed) and dynamic conditions, both on the dominant and nondominant leg. Three groups of professional and junior elite soccer players were investigated: a PRO group (n = 52), a U-21 group (n = 55), and a U-19 group (n = 47). The study of body balance control was performed using a Delos Postural Proprioceptive System measurement tool. The analysis of the results showed an effect of group (p < 0.01) and leg significance (p < 0.95) in the dynamic test. Three-way analysis of variance (3 [group] x 2 [leg] x 2 [eyes]) of static test data showed that the main effect of eyes (p < 0.0001), group (p < 0.0001), and leg (p = 0.0092) and the 2-way interaction of eyes x group (p = 0.0003) were significant. To represent statistical significance, the cutoff value was set to be p <= 0.005 for all measures. Our results indicate the importance of evaluation and monitoring of dynamic and static balance on both legs, which allows for a comprehensive comparison of body balance control and the balance recovery strategy depending on the represented sport level. Our study indicates that the higher the sport level of football players (the PRO group), the better their balance, which may indirectly contribute to the prevention of injuries and more effective performance of any actions directly related to the game.