Effect of analogy and explicit learning on dynamic balance performance in individuals with a history of ACL injury

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of analogy and explicit learning on dynamic balance performance in individuals with a history of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Overall, 42 athletes (all male, mean age = 23.59 & PLUSMN; 2.87 years) with a history of ACL injury were selected as convenience and randomly divided into two groups: analogy and explicit learning. The participants took part in the pre-test (three trials), practice (five sessions of 24 trials), retention (three trials), and transfer under dual-task conditions (three trials) and performed the Y balance task and their maximum reach distance was recorded. Declarative knowledge of the participants was also recorded in the last intervention session. The results showed that in all phases of practice, retention, and transfer conditions, the analogy learning group was superior to the explicit learning group. The results also showed that the accumulation of declarative knowledge in the analogy learning group was less than in the explicit learning group. Therefore, it seems that analogy learning can be suitable for improving the dynamic balance performance in people with a history of ACL injury.