The Role of Verbal Feedback in the Motor Learning of Gymnastic Skills: A Systematic Review

The main purpose of this study was to systematically review the effects of feedback on motor skill acquisition in gymnastic skills. A systematic literature search was conducted in the electronic databases MEDLINE (EBSCO), Scopus, SPORTDiscus (EBSCO), and Web of Science. Of the initial 743 search articles, 13 studies were included in the quantitative analysis. Studies were included if they met the following criteria: (a) healthy subjects, (b) studies with gymnastic, artistic gymnastic, or trampoline elements in the study protocol, (c) verbal feedback intervention, (d) the study compared verbal feedback intervention with other forms of feedback, instructional intervention, or with a control intervention, and (e) task performance evaluation. Methodological quality was identified using the PEDro scale. Combining verbal instructions with different forms of feedback is beneficial when learning complex gymnastic skills. Verbal feedback may be useful to improve the technical performance of a gymnastic element; in particular, information regarding the errors committed in a key element of the performance seems to be effective in the motor learning process.