UCLA Study Confirms: SLACKBOARD Outperforms Traditional Balance Training
Why Balance Training Is the Key to Long-Term Fitness
A UCLA Study Shows: Not All Balance Methods Are Equally Effective
Balance exercises occupy a niche role in most training programs. If they're included at all, they typically appear as a warm-up drill or brief cool-down routine—more obligation than priority.
A new randomized controlled trial in collaboration with UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) fundamentally challenges this thinking. The findings suggest that balance isn't just a nice addition, but a fundamental motor skill—and that your choice of training method determines success.
The Core Research Question
The scientific team wanted to find out two things: Does targeted training measurably improve this ability? And does the way you train make a difference?
Rather than working with recreational athletes or isolated single exercises, the researchers focused on a group where performance and injury prevention are at stake daily: NCAA Division I football players.
The Study Design in Detail
30 athletes completed the same structured off-season program. They were randomly divided into three groups:
- A control group without specific training
- A group with traditional tools like wobble boards, BOSU balls, and foam pads
- A group with slackline technology on SLACKBOARDs
Both training groups integrated their sessions directly into their regular training plan—three times per week, 15 to 20 minutes each, over eight weeks.
The researchers evaluated progress using two established measurement methods: force plates for static control and the modified Star Excursion Balance Test, a procedure for measuring dynamic stability and injury risk indicators.
The Results Speak Clearly
The control group showed no significant improvements after eight weeks.
Both training groups significantly outperformed the control group. But the truly interesting differences emerged between the two methods.
The slackline group achieved better scores than the conventional tools group in several critical areas:
- Greater reduction in body sway on unstable surfaces
- More pronounced improvements in dynamic stability, especially in movement directions with elevated injury risk
- Higher overall scores across all test procedures
These differences were statistically significant and consistent across multiple measurements.
In other words: Targeted training works—but the slackline method demonstrably works better in performance-relevant areas.
What Makes Slackline Training So Special?
To understand why these differences occur, it helps to look behind the numbers.
Caroline Käding, a physical therapist with over 17 years of experience in therapy and performance training with slacklines, explains the mechanism:
"Standing on a slackline is fundamentally different from standing on a foam pad or wobble board. The surface is narrow and elastic—every movement creates an immediate reaction. Your body must constantly rebalance."
This continuous feedback challenges your nervous system to precisely coordinate posture, muscle activation, and joint positioning. There's no stable position you can settle into. No wide edge you can rely on.
"On more stable surfaces, your body can compensate," says Käding. "On the slackline, that's not possible. You have to organize yourself efficiently—or you fall."
This exact principle is at the core of SLACKBOARD technology, which we've developed at GIBBON. The instability isn't random or chaotic. It's reactive, directional, and challenges your body just like real, complex movements in daily life or sports.
Why This Goes Far Beyond Elite Sports
While the study focused on Division I football players, the insights are universally applicable.
The slackline group's greatest progress showed in dynamic stability—the ability to maintain control while reaching, shifting, decelerating, or making sudden directional changes. This form of body control is directly linked to injury prevention and efficient movement in daily life.
It's the ability you need when walking on uneven terrain, stumbling, reacting spontaneously, or absorbing unexpected forces.
"This ability has long been underestimated in training science," says Käding. "Yet it's the foundation of all movement—whether you're an elite athlete, want to stay active in daily life, or simply age injury-free."
For everyone who wants to remain mobile, resilient, and independent long-term, the conclusion is clear: Training works best when it mirrors the complexity of real movement.
Conclusion: Balance Isn't a Bonus—It's the Foundation
Strength makes you powerful. Endurance makes you resilient. But without stable control, you can't fully leverage either.
This UCLA-backed study provides scientific proof: Targeted training of this ability deserves a permanent place in your weekly routine. And the slackline method, as implemented on a SLACKBOARD, outperforms traditional tools in the areas that truly matter.
This isn't due to magic or marketing promises, but a simple principle: The SLACKBOARD forces your body to continuously reorganize itself under unstable conditions—in a way that's safe, effective, and demonstrably proven.
The result isn't just better body control. It's the foundation for sustainable, long-term movement quality—exactly what GIBBON stands for.
