Comparative analysis of one-foot balance in rythmic gymnastics athletes = Análise comparativa do equilíbrio unipodal de atletas de ginástica rítmica

Introduction: Rhythmic gymnastics requires a high level of physical quality; therefore, good performance depends on muscular strength and endurance, motor coordination and postural balance. Objective: Develop a comparative analysis of postural balance in rhythmic gymnasts. Methods: 10 rhythmic female gymnasts were evaluated on a force platform on one-foot and balance functional tests (Side Hop Test and Figure of Eight Hop Test). The anteroposterior and mediolateral of the center of pressure (COP) parameters were used for the functional tests, while for the functional tests, the performance time-seconds was analyzed. Results: Significant difference (p = 0.01) was found between lower limbs in the mean frequency parameter in the mediolateral direction, in which the non-dominant lower limb presented higher postural stability than the dominant one. For functional tests, there was no significant difference between limbs. Conclusion: The difference found in the control of balance of mediolateral direction may be related with different muscular actions of the hip region, which is present during the sport practice for stabilization, trunk maintenance and maneuvers performance with the lower limbs. These results indicate the need of a balance program and pelvic stabilization for the analyzed athletes in order to maintain muscular symmetry of the limbs for high sports performance.