The effect of practicing selected sports on the value of the COP index

Abstract

Center of pressure (COP) analysis is a method used in postural control research. The purpose of this study was to determine whether training for a marathon and powerlifting could affect the value of COP in static and dynamic testing assessed with the FreeMed ground reaction force platform. A barometric mat was used to evaluate COP values, using Free Step computer software. The study was performed in three groups: marathon runners (M, n = 31), powerlifters (PL, n = 24), and a control group (C, n = 30). Basic descriptive statistics (mean ± standard deviation) were calculated for COP in the static, anteroposterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) directions, followed by dynamic test variables for the dominant (D) and non-dominant (ND) lower limb. One-factor ANOVA, two-factor MANOVA, and r-Pearson correlation coefficient between COP and D, as well as ND lower limbs in the three study groups, were calculated. No statistically significant differences were observed between the means of the COP in the groups studied in the static test. A statistically significant difference between the COP of the D and ND lower limb (p < 0.001) was observed in the dynamic test only in the M group. In this study, there was a high correlation between the lower limbs tested only in the PL group. Conclusions. Only in the M group, statistically significant differences between the D and ND lower limbs were found in the dynamic study. These athletes developed specific postural strategies characterized by the difference between the length of the sway path between the D and ND lower limbs.