ABSTRACT
There are many sports where balance is critical, such as skiing, gymnastics (e.g., balance beam), and surfing; however, balance is also important in almost all other sports. The ears are not only important for hearing. There are structures in the inner ear that are critical for balance including the semicircular canals, the utricle, and the saccule. These structures detect when a movement takes place in any direction and detect the head position in relation to the force of gravity. However, these portions of the vestibular system are not the only sensory system important for balance. Vision is also critical as is feedback from the nerves that carry information from our muscles, tendons, and joints, which are called the proprioceptive system. Even pressure on our skin carries information back to our brain and helps with balance. The means the way by which these systems are integrated is not fully known; however, in addition to describing these sensory systems, this chapter also discusses how these systems might be integrated.
