Study of Neuromuscular and Proprioceptive Training Program on Postural Stability in Active Middle-Aged Men

Background: The risk of falling increases with age, and the outcome might sometimes be severe injury or even death. Objectives: This study was designed to determine whether a 12-week neuromuscular and proprioceptive training (NPT) plan was impressive on postural stability of active middle-aged men. Methods: The study had a quasi-experimental design with a control group. In 2016, 50 middle-aged males of the Ukrainian Sports Medicine Center (Kiev) were randomly divided to experimental (performed the NPT program, rather than general warm-up routines) and control groups (maintained the general warm-up routines). The mean center of pressure (CoP) fluctuations of postural stability was assessed during eyes open (EO) and closed (EC) using a force platform in the two directions, before and after the 12-week study. Results: The intervention leads to a significant improvement in the mean CoP velocity in both planes (P < 0.05) in the experimental group compared to the control. All CoP parameters used in this study showed very large correlations. Conclusions: The NPT program had a positive effect on postural stability. This may have a direct impact on reducing lower limb injury in middle-aged men.