Single Leg Stance on a Foam Surface with Eyes Open can Differentiate Balance Performance in Adolescents

Abstract

Level of physical activity is one of the factors affecting postural stability among adolescents. Using social media and high competitive education lead to prolonged sitting and adolescents tend to have increasing sedentary behavior. However, evidence reporting postural stability in asymptomatic adolescents who are not involved in sports training is still limited. The purpose of this observational study was to compare postural control during one-leg standing between adolescents who were physically active and sedentary. Ninety school-aged adolescents with a mean age ± SD of 14.4 ± 1.4 years in physically active group and 14.7 ± 1.5 years in sedentary group were recruited. All participants were asked about their demographic data and physical activity behavior during the past 7 days. The participants who had metabolic equivalent scores less than 600 minutes per week were classified as a sedentary group. One-leg standing on the dominant side with eyes open and eyes closed on a firm surface and a balance pad were performed in all participants. The results showed that the participants in the physically active group had a significantly longer time of one-leg stance than the sedentary group in 3 conditions: eyes-closed on firm surface, eyes-open and eye-closed on the balance pad (p < 0.05). In conclusion, participants who are physically active perform significantly better at postural stability measured by a single-leg stance than those in the sedentary group. One-leg stance with eye open on the balance pad can differentiate the postural stability in adolescents.