1Department of Physical Therapy, Samsung Electronics Musculoskeletal Disorders Prevention Center, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
2Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health and Welfare, Dongshin University, 185, Gunjae-ro, Naju, Chonnam, Republic of Korea
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of sensorimotor training and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on changes in proprioception and static and dynamic balance in soccer players.
Ten soccer players with at least 5 years of experience playing soccer participated in the study. The players were randomly assigned to group I (n=5, only sensorimotor training) and group II (n=5, both sensorimotor training and tDCS). Each group underwent training once a day for 5 days. Proprioception was assessed using 4D-MT, while balance ability was assessed using BIO Rescue. Assessments were performed before, immediately after, and 5 days after a match.
The comparison results with regard to proprioception (reproduction of ankle dorsiflexion and plantar flexion angles), static balance ability (surface area ellipse), and dynamic balance ability (limits of stability in forward, backward, and whole directions) confirmed that group II had a greater recovery to pre match levels in comparison to group I.
For soccer players who need to recover quickly after a vigorous soccer match, applying tDCS together with sensorimotor training can have a positive effect on improving proprioception and balance ability.
Sensorimotor training, tDCS, Proprioception, Balance, Soccer player
