Influence of gymnastics training on the development of postural control

This study investigated the influence of gymnastics training on the postural control of children with and without the use of visual information. Two age groups, aged 5–7 and 9–11 years old, of gymnasts and nongymnasts were asked to maintain an upright and quiet stance on a force platform with eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) for 30 s. Area of the stabilogram (AOS) and mean velocity of the center of pressure (COP) in anterior–posterior (AP) and medial–lateral (ML) directions were calculated and used to investigate the effects of gymnastics training, age, and visual information. Younger gymnasts presented greater postural control compared to younger nongymnasts while visual information did not improve postural control in younger nongymnasts. Younger gymnasts displayed improved postural control with EO compared to EC. The mean velocity of the COP in the ML direction was: less for younger gymnasts than younger nongymnasts with EO. These results suggest that gymnastics training promotes improvements in postural control of younger children only, which results from their use of visual information when available.

Research highlights
► Gymnastics training improves postural control of 5–7 years old children.
► Development of postural control in 9–11 years old children may be task-dependent.
► Younger gymnasts take better advantage of visual cues than younger nongymnasts.