Higher Visual Reliance During Single-Leg Balance in Female Dancers: Traditional Center-of-Pressure and...

Excessive visual reliance for postural control may increase injury risk, yet its extent in dancers remains unclear. In this study, we examined whether dancers exhibit greater dependence on visual input during single-leg balance compared to non-dancers using traditional center-of-pressure (COP) and time-to-boundary (TTB) metrics. Forty-eight participants (24 dancers and 24 non-dancers) performed three 10-second single-leg balance trials on a force plate under eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) conditions. Eleven COP and six TTB parameters quantified postural control, with visual reliance defined as the percent reduction in balance performance upon visual input removal. Independent t-tests showed that dancers displayed significantly higher visual reliance in five of the COP parameters (p = 0.022 to 0.037, average 21.6% increase) and three of the TTB metrics (p = 0.014 to 0.047, average 7.3% increase) compared to non-dancers. Effect size analyses confirmed moderate group differences with non-overlapping confidence intervals. These findings indicate that dancers depend more on visual cues for postural control during single-leg balance. The combined use of COP and TTB assessments offers a comprehensive evaluation of visual reliance, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to mitigate potential injury risks in dancers.