Postural control in top-level female volleyball players

Background The aim of this study was to compare the postural control of the Poland national women's volleyball team players with a control group of non-training young women. It was hypothesized that volleyball players use a specific balance control strategy due to the high motor requirements of their team sport. Methods Static postural sway variables were measured in 31 athletes and 31 non-training women. Participants were standing on a force plate with eyes open, and their center of pressure signals were recorded for the 20s with the sampling rate of 20 Hz in the medial-lateral (ML) and anterior-posterior (AP) planes. Results In both AP and ML planes, athletes had lower range and higher fractal dimension of the COP. They had also higher peak frequency than control group in the ML plane only. The remaining COP indices including variability, mean velocity and mean frequency did not display any intergroup differences. Conclusion It can be assumed that due to the high motor requirements of their sport discipline Polish female volleyball players have developed a unique posture control. On the court they have to distribute their sensory resources optimally between balance control and actions resulting from the specifics of the volleyball game. There are no clearly defined criteria for optimal postural strategies for elite athletes, but they rather vary depending on a given sport. The results of our research confirm this claim.