Impact of a six weeks training program on postural stability in adolescents

Introduction: The objectives of this study was to evaluate the effect of a six weeks balance training program on postural regulation in healthy adolescents aged 13-16 years. Methods: 30 pupils from Skade Skole participated in this study. Subjects were tested for 32 seconds in eight trials (eyes open/eyes closed, on stable ground/foam pads, head neutral/head turned) by using a Tetrax platform before and after completing a six week balance training program. Results: The test subjects had statistically significantly lower sway scores in position PC. The same trend was seen for position NC, PO and HR, however, this was not statistically significant. For position NO, HL, HB and HF a non-significant increase in sway value was observed. Conclusion: Our results suggest that balance training improves vestibular function since position PC only tests the function of this system.A similar improvement was seen in the subgroup with motion sickness, however, this improvement was not statistically significant.