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.

Background: Balance and proprioception are essential elements in postural control and injury prevention. Proprioception, the body’s sense of position and movement, is closely tied to balance, which depends on input from the visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems. This article explores the link between trauma experiences and proprioceptive dysfunction, emphasizing how heightened muscle tone, dissociation, and altered sensory processing contribute to balance issues and the risk of injury. Method: The study included 48 participants, aged 18–25. Participants completed the Emotional Regulation Scale, Dissociative Experiences Scale II, and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, after which they had to stand on a BTrackS Balance Plate while being exposed to images that are designed to evoke emotions from the OASIS image set. The balance plate software calculated outcomes of the participants’ postural sway (total sway, sway area, root mean square (RMS) to the mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior (AP) way, and excursion to ML and AP ways). Results: Dissociative experience shows significant correlation with RMS ML when viewing positive pictures (rτ = 0.207, p = 0.045) and when viewing negative pictures again; scores with RMS ML (rτ = 0.204, p = 0.049) but also with RMS AP (rτ = 0.209, p = 0.042) and with Excursion ML (rτ = 0.200, p = 0.049) were significant. Experiences of physical abuse affected certain indicators of postural sway when viewing positive images compared to participants with no such experience (sway area: U = 374.50, p = 0.027; RMS AP: U = 383.50, p = 0.016; Excursion ML: U = 397.00, p = 0.007). Similarly, physical neglect affected postural sway during viewing of negative images (sway area: U = 366.50, p = 0.003; RMS AP: U = 371.00, p = 0.004; Excursion ML: U = 347.00, p = 0.034; and Excursion AP: U = 353.00, p = 0.010). Conclusions: The study highlights that dissociation disrupts balance in trauma survivors, especially under emotional stress which highlights the potential for motor-based treatments.