Effects of Reactive Footwork Training Versus Simple-Reaction Training on Lower-Extremity Motor Coordination, Dynamic Balance, and Cognitive Screening Scores in University Sport Science Students: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

Background: Reactive footwork training combines rapid multidirectional movement with perceptual decision making; however, its effects in non-athlete university students are unclear. This study compared reactive footwork training with simple-reaction training. Methods: Eighteen sport science students were randomly allocated (nine per group) to a five-station reactive circuit with dual-task stimuli or a three-station simple-reaction programme, three times weekly for four weeks. Sessions were matched for duration (600 s) but not for work time (360 s vs. 240 s). The outcomes were the Lower-Extremity Motor Coordination Test (LEMOCOT; primary outcome, designated post hoc), the Y-Balance Test, and the Thai Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Results: After baseline adjustment (ANCOVA, defined post hoc), LEMOCOT scores were higher in the experimental group than in controls for the dominant limb (mean difference: 8.66 contacts; 95% CI: 1.29–16.03) and the non-dominant limb (10.39, 1.56–19.22; ηp2 = 0.30). After Bonferroni correction for the two limbs (unadjusted p = 0.0243 and 0.0242), both differences were borderline (adjusted p = 0.049 and 0.048) and were not consistently robust in sensitivity analyses. Balance and MoCA scores did not differ between groups. Conclusions: Within the same 10 min session, reactive footwork training was associated with greater improvement in bilateral coordination than simple-reaction training, but this borderline, post hoc finding is preliminary and needs confirmation. As the reactive programme also involved 50% more work time, the advantage cannot be attributed to stimulus reactivity alone.