Özet:

Introduction: Center of pressure (CoP) is an objective measure to assess postural control. A higher displacement of the CoP position can express a decline in postural control. Previous studies have demonstrated that a sedentary lifestyle affects balance negatively and increases the risk of falling. In addition, most activities of daily living involve performing two or more tasks concurrently. Thus, while performing a dual or multi-tasks, it is essential to maintain an adequate postural control to prevent the risk of falls and injuries. Objective: The main goal of this study was to compare the center of pressure displacement between healthy young adults with different levels of physical activity during motor dual-task performance. Method: After checking eligibility criteria, 35 healthy young adults (23.09 ± 3.97 years, mean ± SD) were recruited to perform a motor dual-task: maintaining quiet upright standing posture while performing a concurrent motor task – answer the smartphone, during 60 s. The total excursion of the center of pressure (TOTEX_CoP), the displacement anterior-posterior (CoP-AP), and medial-lateral (CoP-ML) of the center of pressure were recorded by Bertec® force plate, and the data was assessed with a Matlab routine. To analyze center of pressure excursions in different levels of physical activity, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) – short version was used to assess physical activity levels. Then, the participants were divided into three groups: sedentary (n=5), minimally active (n=13), and highly active (n=17). Statistical analyses were performed using IBM-SPSS (version 25.0). To compare center of pressure displacement between different levels of physical activity during motor dual-task was used the Kruskal-Wallis test. The significance level was set at p < 0.05, and the data were shown as the median and interquartile range (IQR). Results: A tendency for a higher total displacement of the center of pressure was observed in the sedentary group (TOTEX_CoP: 3110.67 (2466.54-3908.73) mm) compared to the physically active groups (minimally active - TOTEX_CoP: 2600.75 (2500.34-3205.97) mm; highly active - TOTEX_CoP: 2712.99 (2499.01-3275.84) mm), but differences were not statistically significant between the three groups (p > 0.05). The same happened in the anteroposterior and mediolateral center of pressure displacement (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Physically active young adults did not present less postural oscillation than sedentary young adults during motor dual-task performance. The small sample in each physical activity group could have contributed to the lack of statistical significance. Therefore, we suggest more studies that assess the influence of the level of physical activity on postural control.

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