BJMB! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Research Article!
Brazilian(Journal(of(Motor(Behavior(
(
https://doi.org/10.20338/bjmb.v15i2.207
sensory reweighting.
3,4
In this way, whenever environmental or central nervous system
conditions change, sensory inputs must be dynamically reweighed to optimize the control of
postural stability.
3
This dynamic sensory reweighting process allows us to properly perceive the
environment and then appropriately act in that environment. Thus, the action is influenced
by the perceived environment, and that action may influence the perceived environment.
5
In
Gibson’s words, action leads to the detection of information, and information plays a vital
role in controlling the action.
6
So, it can be said that people perceive to move and move to
perceive
7
.This mutual dependency of action and perception is designated as the formation
of an action-perception pattern
5
or cycle
1
; that is, an action-perception coupling.
7
Interestingly, postural control functioning is not ready at the beginning of life; on the
contrary, it changes throughout life. As a result, the ability to select and use sensory
information for the appropriate and consistent functioning of the postural control system
according to the environmental demands depends on age,
4,8,9,
and practice.
10,11
For this reason, several studies have examined the sport training effects on postural
control
11,12,13,14
in experimental conditions that manipulated vision
11,12,14
and
somatosensory
14
information. And, among athletic training, Parkour emerge as an
interesting option.
Parkour is derived from the French word parcourt meaning “obstacle course,” and
was created in Paris's suburbs by David Belle and Sébastien Foucan.
15
It is defined as an
art allowing to pass any obstacle to go from one point of space to another with the
possibilities offered by the human body.
16
Thus, Parkour involves practitioners (called
“tracers”) training to overcome obstacles in their path by adapting their movements to the
given environment to reach somewhere or something or escaping from someone or
something.
17
There are several specific Parkour movements, and these movements vary
according to environmental conditions. In general, it can be mentioned vaults (movements
that involves overcoming an obstacle by climbing, jumping, or diving over an obstacle while
using feet, hands, or not touching it at all), precision jumps (jump from or jump to a specific
point from a stationary position), wall runs (horizontal or vertical runs, used to get over a wall
too high), and “cat leaps” or arm leap (jump used to land on a ledge, a wall, or a fence).
18
Due to the rapid growth of this activity worldwide
16,19
and the fact that this activity
had been recognized as a discipline by the International Gymnastics Federation, studies
have been conducted to understand tracer’s performance better. Most studies have been
interested in injuries caused by this activity,
15
sociocultural aspects,
16,19
strength and power
performance,
20
and biomechanics characteristics of landing.
17
However, few studies have been carried out to evaluate the effect of such practice
on postural control. To the best of our knowledge, there are only two studies that
investigated postural control of tracers. One pilot study
18
that investigated postural control
during the maintenance of a standing upright position, and another study
21
that investigated
postural control during Parkour landing. Nonetheless, in these studies, postural stability was
described by linear descriptors (global descriptors such as the area of the center of pressure).
Thus, it was possible to describe the amount of sway but not the dynamics that regulate
balance control.
To describe and understand these underlying physiological and biomechanical
mechanisms related to postural control, more robust analyses should have been employed,