Objectives: Since listening to music is very common while performing various activities of daily living among young adults, it is important to know its effects on balance control. This study aimed to examine the effects of different genres of music on static and dynamic balance control, especially during common activities of daily living such as sit-to-stand and walking, using both clinical and computerized balance assessment tools.
Materials and Methods: Thirty-six healthy young adults participated in this crossover study. Static balance was assessed using the modified Clinical Test Sensory Interaction on Balance in a computerized balance assessment device. Moreover, the dynamic balance during the common activities of daily living were assessed using the sitto-stand test and walk across test in the same device. The timed up and go test as a clinical measure was also used to assess dynamic mobility. All the tests were performed in different conditions, including without listening to music, listening to pop, rock, and classical music.
Results: There were 18 female and 18 male participants with a mean age of 23.0 (SD = 1.0) years. No statistically significant differences were found in the static and dynamic postural control variables (p>0.05). Partial eta squared values indicated that the effect sizes were small.
Conclusion: This study showed that different genres of music including classical, rock, and pop do not influence the static and dynamic balance control in young adults. The influence of different genres of music with different frequency or groove properties on balance control and chronic effects of music should be investigated in future studies.