Sport-Specific Habitual Adaptations in Neck Kinesthetic Functions Are Related to Balance Controlling Mechanisms

Whilst the importance of trunk, lower and upper extremities for the efficiency of maintaining body sway is well documented, the effects of cervical spine function have been seldom investigated. Afferent information from high density proprioceptors located in the cervical spine can alter postural balance, however the effects of sport's specific habitual adaptation on balance performance have not yet been investigated. Twenty-seven taekwondo fighters and thirty controls performed unilateral balance tasks while facing forward and during neck torsion balance test while standing on the force plate. Neck kinesthesia was measured with the Head-to-Neutral Relocation test and the Butterfly test with motion-inertial unit. Differences between balance tasks were analyzed using two-way ANOVA. Additionally, correlations between body sway parameters and neck kinesthesia were studied using Pearson correlation coefficient. No differences were found between forward facing and neck torsion balance tasks in taekwondo fighters. However, correlations were found between balance on the non-preferred leg and neck kinesthesia. On the contrary, healthy individuals presented with statistically significant differences between both balance tasks and correlations between balance and neck kinesthesia. Taekwondo fighters seem to present with habitual adaptations in balance control, that differ from non-trained individuals.