The effect of contralateral training: Influence of unilateral isokinetic exercise on one-legged standing balance of the contralateral lower extremity in adults

Purpose: To investigate the effects of unilateral isokinetic exercises on the one-legged standing balance of the contralateral lower extremity. Subjects: A volunteer sample of 32 healthy adults (12 men and 20 women) was randomized to training and control groups. Methods: The training group received unilateral hip isokinetic exercises of the dominant leg for two weeks. Contralateral single-limb balance was measured before and after intervention, including three stability index scores of balance using Biodex Stability System: Anterior Posterior Stability Index (APSI), Medio-lateral Stability Index (MLSI), and Overall Stability Index (OSI) scores. Results: Comparison of pre-test and post-test data revealed significant improvements in APSI, MLSI, and OSI scores in the training group (p < 0.05), but not in the control group. The gains of stability scores from pre- to post-test, were also significantly greater (p < 0.05) in the training group than the control group. Conclusion: These results suggest that contralateral training with unilateral isokinetic exercises increases the one-legged standing balance of the contralateral limb following a short duration of training. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.