Purpose: The advantage of an external attentional focus for improving motor learning and performance has consistently been demonstrated. However, an external focus can be obtained by different communication ways1. In this sense, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of adopting different attentional external foci (analogy vs. metaphor) on static balance performance. Methods: Seventeen moderately-active university students were tested for static balance (postural sway with eyes closed for 30 s) on a firm surface under three different conditions in a randomized order: i) using an internal focus (i.e., ‘‘stand still and focus on how your foot supports your weight—from the heel, across the arch, to the tip of your toes’’); ii) using a metaphor as external focus (i.e., ‘‘stand still as if you were a stone or a statue’’); iii) using an analogy as external focus (i.e., ‘‘imagine being on top of the mountain and you don’t have to fall down’’). Postural sway was assessed by Microgate GYKO inertial sensor system2. Results: Sway area, convex hull area, antero-posterior length, mean distance, root mean square distance and mean velocity of the center of mass trajectory in the ground surface were lower in both the analogy and metaphor external focus than in the internal focus (p\0.05). Furthermore, no significant differences were revealed between analogy and metaphor in any of the parameters (p[0.05). Conclusions: This study confirms the superiority of an external over an internal focus for static balance performance3. However, the way in which the external focus is communicated by the practitioner (using a metaphor or an analogy) did not differently affect static balance performance. Our findings may help practitioners to identify the most appropriate way for communicating and using instructions on different attentional foci when the main purpose is postural control.
POSTURAL SWAY USING DIFFERENT TYPES OF EXTERNAL ATTENTIONAL FOCI
D. Formenti;Paolo Castiglioni;G. Merati;L. Cavaggioni
2026-01-01
Abstract
Purpose: The advantage of an external attentional focus for improving motor learning and performance has consistently been demonstrated. However, an external focus can be obtained by different communication ways1. In this sense, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of adopting different attentional external foci (analogy vs. metaphor) on static balance performance. Methods: Seventeen moderately-active university students were tested for static balance (postural sway with eyes closed for 30 s) on a firm surface under three different conditions in a randomized order: i) using an internal focus (i.e., ‘‘stand still and focus on how your foot supports your weight—from the heel, across the arch, to the tip of your toes’’); ii) using a metaphor as external focus (i.e., ‘‘stand still as if you were a stone or a statue’’); iii) using an analogy as external focus (i.e., ‘‘imagine being on top of the mountain and you don’t have to fall down’’). Postural sway was assessed by Microgate GYKO inertial sensor system2. Results: Sway area, convex hull area, antero-posterior length, mean distance, root mean square distance and mean velocity of the center of mass trajectory in the ground surface were lower in both the analogy and metaphor external focus than in the internal focus (p\0.05). Furthermore, no significant differences were revealed between analogy and metaphor in any of the parameters (p[0.05). Conclusions: This study confirms the superiority of an external over an internal focus for static balance performance3. However, the way in which the external focus is communicated by the practitioner (using a metaphor or an analogy) did not differently affect static balance performance. Our findings may help practitioners to identify the most appropriate way for communicating and using instructions on different attentional foci when the main purpose is postural control.
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