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Sports Medicine
Published in: Sports Medicine 11/2013

01-11-2013 | Systematic Review

A Systematic Review of the Relationship between Physical Activities in Sports or Daily Life and Postural Sway in Upright Stance

Authors: Henri Kiers, Jaap van Dieën, Henk Dekkers, Harriët Wittink, Luc Vanhees

Published in: Sports Medicine | Issue 11/2013

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Abstract

Background

In many sports, maintaining balance is necessary to compete at a high level. Also, in many health problems, balance is impaired. Postural sway (PS) is often used as an indicator of upright balance control, and physical activity (PA) might enhance balance control. However, the relationship between PS and PA has never been systematically reviewed.

Objective

Our objective was to summarize the evidence regarding the relationship between PS in upright bipedal and unipedal standing and PA.

Methods

We conducted a literature search in MEDLINE, EmBase, CINAHL, the Cochrane Database, and PEDro, up to March 2012, with no limit on the starting date. Characteristics and methodological aspects of each article were extracted by two reviewers. We used centre of pressure (CoP) velocity, and variables related to the CoP area, to compare studies.

Results

A total of 39 articles were reviewed from an initial yield of 2,058. Of these 39 studies, 37 used a comparative design, one was a cohort study, and one was a randomized controlled trial.

Conclusion

The main conclusion was that in general, sport practitioners sway less than controls, and high-level athletes sway less than low-level athletes. Additionally, we identified specific effects dependent on the use of vision, sport-specific postures, and frequency and duration of the (sports) activity. PS in unperturbed bipedal stance appears to have limited sensitivity to detect subtle differences between groups of healthy people.
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Metadata
Title
A Systematic Review of the Relationship between Physical Activities in Sports or Daily Life and Postural Sway in Upright Stance
Authors
Henri Kiers
Jaap van Dieën
Henk Dekkers
Harriët Wittink
Luc Vanhees
Publication date
01-11-2013
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Sports Medicine / Issue 11/2013
Print ISSN: 0112-1642
Electronic ISSN: 1179-2035
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-013-0082-5

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