Effects of a Warm-Up Sequence on Postural Balance in Unmanipulated and Manipulated Sensory Conditions

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare postural balance before (PRE) and 10 min after (POST) a warm-up sequence, under unmanipulated and manipulated sensory conditions using tendon vibration. Methods: Forty-three participants were divided into two groups: warm-up (n = 23) and control (n = 20). The warm-up sequence consisted of 17 min exercises. Bipedal postural balance was assessed using a force platform. Spatio-temporal parameters of the displacement of the centre of the feet pressure (CoP) were recorded. PRE-POST differences were tested using paired sample Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Spearman’ correlations were performed to assess whether beneficial effects of warm-up were related to the participant’s balance abilities at baseline. Results: In the unmanipulated condition, the CoP surface and the CoP Y velocity significantly increased POST-warm-up. In the manipulated condition, CoP parameters significantly decreased post warm-up. In both conditions, moderate to strong correlations were observed, thus suggesting that subjects’ abilities to take advantage from the warm-up sequence depended on participants’ intrinsic balance abilities. Conclusions: Participants who exhibited the worst postural balance at baseline benefited more from the effects of the warm-up. Since the effects of the same warm-up sequence differ from one individual to another, the content of the optimal warm-up should be sought for each individual before a performance.