A Single Session of Slackline Training Induces Rapid, Task‐Specific Balance Improvements and Elevated Resting‐State Beta Band Power.
Balance training underpins both sports performance and rehabilitation, while its efficacy depends on the amount of training and task difficulty. Here, we characterized neurophysiological changes accompanying the earliest phase of slackline‐specific balance acquisition within a closely matched active...
| Published in: | European Journal of Sport Science Vol. 26; no. 7; pp. 1 - 12 |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts randomized controlled trial Journal Article |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
Jul2026
|
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=195000321&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 195000321 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 17461391 IX3 jtl: European Journal of Sport Science issn: 17461391 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jul2026 vid: 26 iid: 7 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 195000321 195000321 195000321 10.1002/ejsc.70205 195000321 ppf: 1 ppct: 11 formats: tig: atl: A Single Session of Slackline Training Induces Rapid, Task‐Specific Balance Improvements and Elevated Resting‐State Beta Band Power. aug: au: Kenville, Rouven Groß, Dennis Helbich, Maximilian Behrens, Hendrik Ragert, Patrick Maudrich, Tom affil: Department of Movement Neuroscience, Faculty of Sport Science, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany sug: subj: Balance, Postural Physiology Balance Training, Physical Task Performance and Analysis Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory Electroencephalography Neurophysiology Training Effect (Physiology) Human Adult Male Female Randomized Controlled Trials Random Assignment Nonparametric Statistics Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design Models, Theoretical Descriptive Statistics Spectral Analysis One Leg Stand Movement Data Analysis Software Mann-Whitney U Test Analysis of Variance Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient Adult: 19-44 years Male Female ab: Balance training underpins both sports performance and rehabilitation, while its efficacy depends on the amount of training and task difficulty. Here, we characterized neurophysiological changes accompanying the earliest phase of slackline‐specific balance acquisition within a closely matched active‐control design. For this purpose, 35 healthy, slackline‐naïve adults were randomized to a slackline intervention or a time‐matched active control. Before and after training, participants completed slackline single‐leg stance with eyes open (SL‐EO) and eyes closed (SL‐EC), resting‐state electroencephalography (EEG), and tibial‐nerve somatosensory‐evoked potentials (SEP). EEG band‐specific power was quantified after aperiodic correction and resulting change scores were analyzed with non‐parametric mixed models. The intervention group showed larger gains in SL‐EO than control, whereas SL‐EC showed no between‐group difference. Resting‐state EEG exhibited a band‐specific pattern with a greater post‐training increase in beta power in the intervention group, whereas alpha and theta showed no selective group effects. SEP amplitudes did not change pre‐post in either group. Finally, within the intervention group, beta power change did not correlate with individual performance gains. Overall, the present study revealed that resting‐state beta power was sensitive to the earliest phase of slackline‐specific balance acquisition, whereas tibial‐nerve SEP amplitudes remained unchanged. These findings suggest that resting beta power may capture acute post‐practice sensorimotor network changes after a single session of slackline training. Future work should assess generalizability across tasks and populations, combine task‐based EEG with resting measures to link brain state to on‐task control, and track if SEP changes arise over practice to refine models of balance learning. Highlights: Resting‐state EEG showed a selective post‐training increase in beta‐band power after a single session of slackline training, whereas theta and alpha power showed no comparable intervention‐specific effects.Short‐latency tibial‐nerve somatosensory‐evoked potential amplitudes remained unchanged, suggesting that acute slackline learning may not immediately alter stimulus‐locked somatosensory processing.Changes in resting‐state beta power were not significantly associated with individual balance improvements, indicating that beta power may reflect training‐related sensorimotor network state rather than direct performance gains. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts randomized controlled trial Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|