This study investigated whether a 5-day ski camp could improve postural stability in young adults. It was hypothesized that skiing would reduce postural sway. In this quasi-experimental design, 43 undergraduate students who participated in a 5-day ski camp (approximately 20 h of skiing) were compared to 35 peers who did not attend. Postural stability was assessed using the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration and Balance protocol of the Balance Tracking System, which evaluates sway under four standing conditions: eyes open or closed, and on stable or unstable surfaces. Quade nonparametric ANCOVAs were used to compare percentage change scores between groups, controlling for age. No significant group differences emerged for standard, proprioceptive, or vestibular postural stability (p > 0.05). However, a statistically significant group effect was found for visual postural stability (p = 0.006), with improvement observed only in females (p = 0.003), not in males (p = 0.961). A 5-day ski camp significantly enhanced visual postural stability in females but did not affect males or other postural domains. These findings suggest a potential sex-specific adaptation to skiing and highlight the need for further research into the mechanisms underlying balance improvement.

Changes in performance caused by positive and negative expectations (i.e., placebo and nocebo responses) were found to play an important role in many aspects of motor performance. This study aimed to test the impact of placebo/nocebo responses and the assumed moderating role of dispositional optimism and anxiety on proprioceptive accuracy, an essential aspect of motor functions. 78 undergraduate university students completed questionnaires assessing dispositional optimism, state anxiety, and motivation to cooperate, then were randomly assigned to three experimental groups. A sham subliminal electric stimulation was applied with claimed positive (placebo group, n = 26), negative (nocebo group, n = 26) or neutral (control group, n = 26) impact on proprioceptive accuracy. Proprioceptive accuracy was measured with active and passive versions of the Joint Position Reproduction task before and after the intervention. Expected and perceived changes in performance were also assessed; changes in state anxiety, optimism, and motivation to cooperate were used as control variables (covariates). Mixed analyses of variance indicated that the experimental manipulation did not affect actual proprioceptive accuracy but impacted expected and perceived performance. Adding the covariates to the models did not substantially change the results. Further, no significant association emerged between actual and perceived change in performance in the active test, and only a weak correlation was found in the passive test. Expected performance did not predict actual performance but predicted perceived performance in both tasks. The results suggest that only perceived (subjective) aspects of proprioceptive accuracy are susceptible to placebo and nocebo interventions.