Background: Preparatory workforce often lacks pre-employment physical capacity assessments, leading to early occupational injuries. Trunk muscle endurance imbalances may affect lower-limb biomechanics through the kinetic chain.
Objectives: To investigate the associations between trunk muscle endurance and static and dynamic balance abilities in the preparatory workforce (firstyear university students preparing to enter industrial workplaces) using sensor- based plantar pressure analysis.
Design: Cross-sectional correlational study. Methods: Twenty-two first-year university students participated. Trunk muscle endurance was assessed using McGill trunk endurance tests, static balance was evaluated with the Romberg test using a sensor platform, and dynamic balance was analyzed through plantar pressure assessment during gait. Spearman's rank correlation analysis was performed.
Results: The trunk lateral endurance ratios (right/extension and left/extension) demonstrated strong correlations with mediolateral plantar load distribution during gait (r=.616-.711, P<.05). Trunk flexion/extension ratio showed significant correlations with contralateral foot load distribution (r=±.557, P<.01). Correlations with dynamic plantar pressure variables ranged from r=.505 to .711 (moderate to strong), which were numerically stronger than correlations with static balance variables (r=.441-.442, moderate).
Conclusion: Lateral trunk muscle endurance is essential for maintaining postural stability and may serve as a preliminary screening tool for the preparatory workforce during the pre-employment transition period. Dynamic gait analysis provides objective data for evaluating balance capacity in young adults transitioning to industrial employment. However, generalizability is limited by the small sample size and single-institution design.