Effects of fatigue on stabilometer performance and learning of males and females

The effect of severe physical fatigue on the learning and performance of males and females was compared. The task used in the study was a stabilometer balance task, and fatigue was induced by walking on a treadmill. Thirty male and 30 female subjects were randomly assigned to 2 experimental and 2 control groups. Each subject was pretested, received 20 trials, and was post-tested the following day. The experimental groups were fatigued to a heart rate between 175 and 180 bpm for 5 minutes prior to the first trial and for one minute following every second trial. The control groups were not fatigued. Both time on balance (TOB) and total error (TE) scores were recorded for each trial. The TOB data indicated that fatigue was detrimental to both performance and learning of this dynamic balance task. In addition, the TOB learning data revealed that learning is detrimentally affected by fatigue. Conclusions were that severe fatigue is detrimental to both performance and learning of stabilometer balance and that fatigue has similar effects on balance performance and learning of males and females.