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Recently, slacklining has become very popular internationally. Sensorimotor functions, muscular strength, proprioception, visual and vestibular sensory systems are postulated. Due to these requirements, slacklining represents an interesting physiotherapeutic (preventive) training tool for the preservation of postural stability. The main question to be answered is how postural stability can be obtained and enhanced through balancing on a slackline at the time of primary intervention and at a subsequent date. The results obtained from the literature research and analysis of slacklining show insufficient available data to describe the effects of slackline training on postural stability. However, there is evidence for improvements of medio-lateral balance performances during perturbed single-leg-stand after four weeks of slackline training. As the state of research about physiotherapeutic slackline training is still insufficient, more studies must be conducted. Further investigation is needed to prove whether there exists a transferability of postural skills acquired with slackline training to other static and dynamic postural tasks.
About the author
Sandra Degelsegger, BSc: studies of physiotherapy at the FH Joanneum Graz, neurological physiotherapist at the University Hospital Graz; active involvement for the physiotherapeutic educational and professional system on a national and international level since 2011; student of cultural- and social anthropology at the University of Vienna.
