Six weeks of balance or power training induce no generalizable improvements in balance performance in healthy young adults

Abstract

BackgroundTraining programs for fall prevention often fail to induce large general effects. To improve the efficacy of fall prevention programs, it is crucial to determine which type of training is most effective in inducing generalizable effects, i.e., improvements in untrained situations. Two likely candidates are balance and resistance training. Here, we assessed whether either varied balance training or a training program aiming to increase leg power would improve performance and acquisition rate of a novel balance task.MethodsForty-two healthy recreationally active subjects (16 females, age 24 ± 3y) were assigned to a control group, a varied practice balance group or a loaded squat and plyometrics power group, training for 6 weeks (twice per week, 40 min per session). Before and after the training, we measured peak power in countermovement jumps and balance performance in two different untrained balance tasks (10 trials pre and 50 trials post-training).ResultsAfter training, the performance and the acquisition rate in the two untrained tasks were similar for all groups (no group x time interaction), i.e., no generalization of learning effect was induced by either form of training. Peak power in the countermovement jump did not change significantly in any of the groups.ConclusionsNeither a six-week power training nor a varied balance training improved performance or acquisition of an untrained balance task. This underpins the task-specificity principle of training and emphasizes the need for studies that assess the mechanisms of transfer and generalization, thus helping to find more effective intervention programs for fall prevention.

Motor learning induces time‐dependent plasticity that is observable at the spinal cord level

“…2015, 2018; Giboin et al . 2019 a, b ) that was accompanied by task‐specific H‐reflex modulation after 6 weeks of training (Giboin et al . 2019 c ).…”

Learning a new balance task: The influence of prior motor practice on training adaptations

“…In contrast to the reported evidence from cognitive and classical motor learning tasks, two recent studies did not find a learning-to-learn effect for human postural control (Giboin, Gruber, & Kramer, 2019a, 2019b. The authors concluded that the task-specificity of balance training might hinder a learning-to-learn effect.…”

“…The design of the second study was based on two ideas: (i) it is known that using a variety of tasks induces structural learning (Braun, Aertsen, Wolpert, & Mehring, 2009) and (ii) using a broader range of movements can lead to a better generalization (Berniker, Mirzaei, & Kording, 2014). Nevertheless, Giboin et al (2019b) were not able to find an improved learning rate in the second training phase. A possible reason for the absence of facilitated learning in the study of Giboin et al (2019b) could be the different requirements of tasks from phase1 and phase2 (e.g.…”

Judokas Show Increased Resilience to Unpredictable Stance Perturbations

“…Lack of generalizability of balance gains from specific training (Giboin et al, 2019;Naumann et al, 2015;Ringhof et al, 2019) contrasts with findings of improved balance control in judokas as compared to non-judokas, who showed improved balance stability in bipedal quiet standing with eyes closed (Itamar, et al, 2013). In comparison to professional dancers and non-athletes on a dynamic task in which there were rhythmic rotational oscillations of the support base, judokas had higher balance stability with eyes open and with eyes closed (Perrin et al, 2002).…”

“…An issue of interest for the trainability of balance control is understanding whether judokas' high capacity to resist unpredictable stance perturbations is specific to the sport's demands or is a generalizable skill that would apply to perturbations not experienced in judo training. Results from investigations providing balance training to inexperienced individuals in the experimental task have suggested that balance gains are task-specific to training and do not transfer to unpracticed tasks, as might be observed in balance training on a stable versus unstable support base (Naumann et al, 2015), slackline training (Ringhof et al, 2019), and practice of balance tasks with different requirements (Giboin et al, 2019).…”