The effects of a high volume versus low volume balance training program on postural sway

This study determined if high or low volume training was more effective in improving postural sway, after an 8-week balance training program utilizing the same exercises. Seventeen healthy subjects (14 male, 3 female) with a mean age of 24.06 ± 5.6 years were randomly allocated into a control group (C), low volume training (LVT) or high volume training (HVT). Subjects completed 8 weeks of balance training of up to 30mins duration, 3 times per week. LVT consisted of 40 repetitions for week 1, progressing to 90 repetitions by week 8.HVT consisted of 60 repetitions for week 1, progressing to 130 repetitions by week 8. Postural sway was measured by subjects performing a single limb stance on a force plate. The disbursement of the centre of pressure (CoP) was obtained from the force plate in the medial-lateral (m-l) sway path and subsequently used for pre-test and post-test analysis. After the 8 week training intervention, there was a significant (P<0.011) difference in postural sway between pre and post testing for both the LVT (pre = 88.69mm ± 25.08mm, post = 72.17mm ± 27.53.5mm) and HVT (pre = 77.47mm ± 10.57mm, post = 58.54mm ± 7.01mm) groups. There was no significant (P>0.05) difference detected for improvements between the LVT and HVT, however, reported effect sizes showed medium effect size changes in the high volume training (ES = 0.6) whereas low volume training showed small effect size changes (0.2). Further research is required on the volume of balance training required to improve postural sway.