Examining Sex Differences in Visual Reliance During Postural Control in Intercollegiate Athletes

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Biomechanics
• Human Movement Science

Background:

• Sports injuries present varying risk factors between sexes.
• Postural stability deficits are linked to lower extremity injuries.
• Understanding sex-based differences in postural control is crucial for injury prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate sex-based differences in static postural stability among intercollegiate athletes.
• To assess the impact of visual information (eyes open vs. eyes closed) on postural stability in male and female athletes.
• To determine if visual reliance for postural control differs between sexes.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 135 male and 51 female intercollegiate athletes from football, soccer, basketball, and volleyball.
• Static postural stability assessed using single-limb stance on a force plate under eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) conditions.
• Ground reaction force data quantified as a composite score (COMP); absolute and percentage changes between EO and EC calculated.

Main Results:

• Males demonstrated significantly poorer postural stability than females in both eyes open (EO COMP) and eyes closed (EC COMP) conditions.
• Males exhibited a significantly greater absolute decline in postural stability when transitioning from EO to EC compared to females.
• No significant difference was found in the percentage change in postural stability between sexes when visual input was removed.

Conclusions:

• Significant sex-based differences exist in static postural stability, with females generally exhibiting better stability.
• The similar percentage change in stability between sexes suggests that visual reliance is not the primary factor explaining these differences.
• Female athletes may possess inherently superior static postural stability compared to male athletes, though both sexes can adapt to visual deprivation.