Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Methodol. Jun 20, 2026; 16(2): 117099
Published online Jun 20, 2026. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v16.i2.117099
Published online Jun 20, 2026. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v16.i2.117099
Effects of spinal cord transcutaneous stimulation priming on single-leg balance control
Simone Zaccaron, Mattia D’Alleva, Lara Mari, Jacopo Stafuzza, Stefano Lazzer, Enrico Rejc, Department of Medicine, University of Udine, Udine 33100, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
Simone Zaccaron, Mattia D’Alleva, Lara Mari, Jacopo Stafuzza, Stefano Lazzer, Enrico Rejc, School of Sport Sciences, University of Udine, Udine 33100, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
Simone Zaccaron, Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona 37124, Veneto, Italy
Mattia D’Alleva, Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, eCampus University, Como 22060, Lombardy, Italy
Author contributions: Zaccaron S, D’Alleva M, Mari L, Stafuzza J, and Lazzer S contributed to data collection; Zaccaron S and Rejc E designed the study, performed data analysis, prepared figures, interpreted the results of experiments and drafted the manuscript; Rejc E conceived the research. All authors edited and read the manuscript, and agreed to its published version.
Institutional review board statement: The experimental protocol was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the University of Udine (Approval No. 197/2023).
Clinical trial registration statement: The study was not formally registered in a clinical trial database. This pilot human study was designed to investigate mechanisms of balance control, and not health-related outcomes.
Informed consent statement: Before the start of the study, subjects were carefully informed about its purpose and risks, and written informed consent was obtained from all of them.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author through material transfer agreement upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Enrico Rejc, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Udine, Piazzale Kolbe 4, Udine 33100, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy.
Received: December 3, 2025
Revised: January 11, 2026
Accepted: February 25, 2026
Published online: June 20, 2026
Processing time: 146 Days and 2.4 Hours
Revised: January 11, 2026
Accepted: February 25, 2026
Published online: June 20, 2026
Processing time: 146 Days and 2.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Previous studies showed that non-invasive, spinal cord transcutaneous stimulation (scTS) priming can improve lower limb neuromuscular performance during high-intensity, fatiguing efforts but not during a low-level, torque steadiness task. Here, balance control with eyes open and eyes closed was assessed before and after the application of scTS or sham stimulation. scTS did not affect single-leg stance balance control in young active males. Also, as expected, balance control was impaired with visual deprivation (i.e., eyes closed). These findings, together with previous observations, contribute to define the potential framework and applications of scTS priming.