The Effect of a Four-Week HUMAC Balance Training Program on Unilateral Static Balance Among Recreationally Active College Students

Exergaming balance boards may have potential for improving balance in orthopedic and neurological patients. Examples are the Nintendo Wii Balance Board and Wii Fit software, which include balance training opportunities for the consumer. This study was designed to determine the effect of a four-week HUMAC Balance Board training program, three times per week, for 30 minutes per session on static balance in recreational college students (experimental, n=9). It was hypothesized that training with the HUMAC Balance System would significantly improve unilateral static balance compared to a control group (n=8). Following training, no significant differences were seen between groups in stability scores obtained during 30 seconds of quiet unilateral standing with eyes open (experimental, pre: 91.7 ± 2.7%, post: 91.2 ± 3.2%; control, pre: 91.0 ± 2.6%, post: 91.7 ± 2.5%; p = .614) or eyes closed (experimental, pre: 80.1 ± 5.5%, post: 77.4 ± 6.7%; control, pre: 79.8 ± 3.7%, post: 83.5 ± 3.0%; p = .058). Center of pressure path lengths during quiet standing were also not different between groups following training with eyes open (experimental, pre: 36.4 ± 4.9, post: 36.9 ± 4.4; control, pre: 36.5 ± 9.3, post: 36.0 ± 7.7; p = .631) or eyes closed (experimental, pre: 87.8 ± 25.5, post: 93.3 ± 37.4; control, pre: 83.6 ±21.3, post: 75.1 ±13.8, p = .193). Conducting unilateral pre- and post-testing balance assessment with a bilateral training program was considered a major limitation in our results and should be taken into account for future studies