Dynamic balance is a key component of normal daily activities such as walking, running
and climbing stairs. Since balance is such an important aspect of every day life, it is imperative
to find programs useful for maintaining proper balance. One such suggestion that has been made
in an effort to improve balance is the correlation between muscular strength training and
enhanced balance. Training the core muscles especially has been hypothesized as an
improvement program, but there is a lack of current scientific evidence to support this claim.
Further investigation on a core stability program’s effect on balance is therefore needed in a
effort to provide a balance maintenance program. Therefore, this study sets out to compare the
effects of a core stability program on dynamic balance as measured with the Star Excursion
Balance Test.
Thirty participants (15 male, 15 female) with no known musculoskeletal injuries or
neurologic deficits volunteered for the study. The participants were randomly divided into two
groups, a control group and an exercise group. The control group performed an initial Star
Excursion Balance Test followed by six weeks of no core strengthening exercises and a second
Star Excursion Balance Test. The exercise group performed the first Star Excursion Balance
Test followed by six weeks of a core stability program and a second Star Excursion test. The
maximum excursion distances as normalized to leg length were recorded for each test. For a
majority of the reach directions, maximum excursion distances improved for the exercise group
when compared to the control group. This improvement in reach distance justifies the proposal
of core strengthening improving dynamic postural control.