Report / Paper metadata
The effect of six weeks of squat training on static and dynamic postural control: a randomized controlled trial of adjunctive tDCS.
Six weeks of squat training improved several balance measures in a small trial of healthy adults. Adding anodal transcranial direct current stimulation did not provide a detectable extra benefit under the tested settings.
What was compared?
Forty-eight participants were randomly assigned to four groups: squat training with active brain stimulation, squat training with sham stimulation, active stimulation alone, or sham stimulation alone. The stimulation targeted the primary motor cortex. Training groups used barbell squats at 85% of their one-repetition maximum.
How was balance measured?
The study assessed sensory organization, motor control and single-leg stance. Testing occurred at baseline, after three and six weeks of intervention, and one week after the intervention ended. Several tests used eyes-open or eyes-closed conditions; these are measures of postural control, not direct measures of injury prevention or everyday fall risk.
Did stimulation add a benefit?
The researchers report improvements within both training groups on several outcomes. The sham-stimulation training group also performed better than some non-training groups on selected measures. However, comparisons between active-stimulation training and sham-stimulation training did not show a significant added effect across the sensory organization, motor control and stance measures.
What does this finding mean?
Improvement within a group is not enough to show that an extra intervention helped. The active-versus-sham training comparison is the relevant comparison for that question. This trial did not find an additional stimulation benefit at its chosen dose, timing and training conditions; that is narrower than proving that every stimulation approach is ineffective.
Where are the limits?
The trial involved healthy adults and a short follow-up. The abstract does not establish results in people with neurological disease, older adults at risk of falling or longer training programmes. This page explains the reported abstract, not an independent full-paper review or a recommendation to use electrical stimulation.
- Journal
- Gait & posture
- Kind
- Paper metadata
- Identifier
- PMID 42753671