Comparison of Dynamic Stability between Gymnast and Soccer Players Following a Countermovement Jump on Land and in Water

Gymnasts and Soccer players are faces with increasingly high injury rates and demanding impact landing forces during participation. The use of a water environment may provide some benefit by the reduced peak forces and lower impulses compared to land. The sport of gymnastics may provide specific training that promotes rapid postural stabilization upon landing a variety of jumps. The measure of Time to Stabilization (TTS) is a measure of dynamic stability and may be a method to differentiate between athletes in different sports. Purpose: This study was created to evaluate dynamic stability between soccer and gymnastics in two environments (land vs water) with varying external loads through the use of TTS. Each participant performed a series of countermovement jumps on land and in water submerged to xyphiod process. In each environment participants performed jumps with varying external loads (body weight (BW), and additional loads equal to 10%, 20%, and 30% BW). Vertical ground reaction forces from which TTS was determined were assessed using a waterproof force plate. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine if any significant main effects or interactions were present. Result: A significant main effect between land and water environments (p=.006) was observed, where TTS in water was shorter than on land. There were no effect due to sport, load or any interaction among sport, load and environment. These results suggest a water environment may facilitate an index of postural stability when landing from a CMJ. The observation of no difference between gymnasts and soccer athletes may reflect a true similarity in landing technique or a measure that is not sensitive in differentiating subtle differences between well-trained female athletes