Adding training components showed no clear overall balance advantage
A review of randomized trials in recreational athletes found no significant overall difference, while narrower analyses suggested that age and injury status may matter.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
For recreational athletes, this review did not detect a statistically significant overall balance difference between single-component and multicomponent neuromuscular training. That leaves uncertainty about whether adding components improves balance. The findings concern balance test performance; they do not establish that either approach prevents injuries or that the approaches are equivalent.
The abstract does not report program durations or injury outcomes. Its separate standardized balance estimates should not be read as a clear head-to-head effect size.
What researchers found
Overall balance performance
Single-component versus multicomponent neuromuscular training; assessment timing was not reported in the abstract.
What researchers compared
The review compared programs using a single training component with programs combining several. Researchers pooled randomized trials that also included control groups without neuromuscular training, focusing on performance on balance tests.
Where uncertainty remains
The overall finding was also reflected in static and dynamic balance tests. Sensitivity analyses suggested benefits from multicomponent training in injured and younger adults, but these narrower results do not show that the programs prevent injuries.
The original publication
Effects of Single- Versus Multicomponent Neuromuscular Training on Balance Performance in Recreational Athletes: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.
Navaratnarajah S, Razman R, Goh SL
J Sport Rehabil · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41110466
- Record checked
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