Laterality of Static and Dynamic Balance Abilities during One-leg Standing

Abstract

Lower human limbs may not show laterality, differing from preferential use of upper limbs, because both legs are generally used at the same time. This study examined laterality of static and dynamic balance abilities during one-leg standing. The subjects were 100 healthy male university students (age 19.6 ± 2.4 years，height 172.3 ± 6.2 cm，weight 64.8 ± 8.5 kg). All subjects were judged right-leg dominant based on a previous survey. They underwent static and dynamic balance tests with each lower limb. A total path length during one-leg standing on a fixed stabilometer for the static balance test and an omnidirectional stability index during one-leg standing on an unstable platform (DYJOC Board) for the dynamic balance test was each used as an evaluation parameter. The mean of two trials was used as a representative value in each test. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) in both balance tests were very high (ICC = 0.75-0.91). A non-significant difference between means of dominant and non-dominant legs was found in both tests; their correlations were significant and high (0.93 and 0.75). In addition, a correlation between dynamic and static balance tests in both legs was found be significant but low (0.21-0.25). In conclusion, the laterality is not found in the static and dynamic balance abilities during one-leg standing evaluated by the tests selected in this study, and the relation between both abilities is negligible size.