A CASE STUDY ON BALANCE RECOVERY IN SLACKLINING

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The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the basic balance recovery movements performed during slackline balancing. Slacklining is an activity where the athlete balances on a thin piece of webbing that is mounted between two fixed points in a not too tight way. We designed an experimental setting where a controlled perturbation is applied to the slackline and study the movements of athletes to regain a balanced position. Four athletes took part in the study and for each we recorded five trials using a Vicon motion capture system. With the help of a 15 segment biomechanical model we studied mechanical quantities like the center of mass trajectory, the energy contributions, and also analyzed joint actuation patterns.