Reactive Response of Older Tennis Practitioners and Healthy Young People in Relation to Balance Perturbations

Abstract

Background Improving balance control in older adults is one of the main objectives of fall prevention programs, and tennis could represent a promising way to train balance control. Objective To verify whether older tennis players have similar reactive response characteristics to balance perturbations to those of healthy young people. Methods Fifteen young people (23.00 ± 1.96 years) and twelve older people (69.08 ± 3.82 years), remained in an orthostatic position, with their arms at their sides, on a force platform during ten mediolateral perturbations. The surface electromyography signal of the gluteus maximus, tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius lateralis, and vastus lateralis muscles was acquired on the dominant side. Results The velocity and amplitude parameters of the center of pressure displacement were similar between the groups, as well as the amplitude of the electromyography signal of the tibialis anterior, vastus lateralis, and gastrocnemius lateralis muscles. There was a statistical difference between the groups in the gluteus maximus muscle in the first perturbation. Conclusions Older tennis players present similar center of pressure velocity performance and amplitude of center of pressure displacement behavior to young people. Older tennis players have an increased range of muscle activation, generating automatic postural responses adapted to deal with situations of balance perturbations.