Background: The literature data suggest that balance control is genetically determined, however the data are inconsistent with respect to correlations in balance parameters among adult relatives.Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify correlations between fathers and their adult sons in chosen balance parameters. Moreover, we tested how the relationships in balance between fathers and their adult sons change following fatigue.Methods: The balance parameters were measured twice: before and immediately after the fatigue procedure (treadmill running to exhaustion) with the pedographic platform in two groups of relatives and correlated for 30 pairs father-adult son.Results: The positive significant correlations were found for parameters describing deflection in the sagittal plane: the average deflection of center of pressure progression (COPP) and average value of COPP velocity in sagittal plane as well as the average value of velocity of COPP, the length of COPP trajectory and the surface area of the trajectory covered by COPP, both before and after the fatigue procedure. There were no significant correlations between lifestyle of participants and balance parameters.Conclusions: In summary, our study found numerous correlations in balance parameters related to deflection in the sagittal plane between fathers and their adult sons. These correlations were not abolished by fatigue. Our results suggest that the ability to maintain balance is influenced by genetics. This conclusion can be useful in many sports in which the ability to maintain balance influence on sports score.
BackgroundBalance and human body orientation are dependent on multiple sources of afferent and efferent information about ongoing and intended patterns of movement and posture. Exposure to unusual forces and patterns of sensory feedback alters the normal relationship between patterns of alpha and gamma activation of antigravity muscles, muscle spindle activity, and movements of the body, which may evoke illusory feelings of motion and balance disorders (Lackner and Graybiel, 1984; Young, 2003). Maintaining balance is a process that involves multiple receptors; namely, the vestibular