Objective: While there is evidence on the short-term effects of unilateral balance training (BT) on bipedal balance performance, less is known on the acute effects of unilateral BT on unilateral (i.e., ipsi- and contralateral) balance performance. Thus, the present study examined the acute effects of a single unilateral BT session conducted with the non-dominant, left leg or the dominant, right leg on ipsilateral (i.e. retention) and contralateral (i.e., inter-limb transfer) balance performance in healthy young adults ( N  = 28).

Results: Irrespective of practice condition, significant improvements ( p  < 0.001, d  = 1.27) in balance performance following a single session of unilateral BT were observed for both legs. Further, significant performance differences at the pretest ( p  = 0.002, d  = 0.44) to the detriment of the non-dominant, left leg diminished immediately and 30 min after the single unilateral BT session but occurred again 24 h following training ( p  = 0.030, d  = 0.36). These findings indicate that a single session of unilateral BT is effective to reduced side-to-side differences in balance performance, but this impact is only temporary.