Cervical Motor Control Exercises in Strength and Perception of Effort in Electronic Sports Players

NCT04258124 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: CMOTOR
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Introduction. One of the most common injuries in competitive esports professionals is dorsolumbar and neck pain, due to the effort caused by the maintenance of the site for long periods of time. Cervical motor control exercises recruit the deep musculature by increasing its strength and reducing muscle fatigue. Aim. Evaluate the effectiveness of motor control exercises in cervical muscle fatigue and strength, in electronic athletes from 18 to 25 years. Study design. Randomized clinical trial, simple blind. Methods. 30 electronic athletes will be randomly assigned in two groups: experimental (which will perform 3 sessions of 3 motor control exercises) and control (which will not perform any type of intervention). The intervention will last 6 weeks, with 3 weekly sessions of 10 minutes each. The study variables are the muscle strength of the deep cervical muscle (measured by a stabilizer pressure gauge) and the subjective perception of the effort (Borg scale). Expected results. The aim is an improvement in the muscular strength of deep cervical muscles, together with a decrease in subjective perception of exertion.

Conditions

Sports Physical Therapy

Keywords

Physiotherapy; Motor Control; Cervical; Stabilizer; Esports

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change from baseline strength of the deep cervical musculature after treatment and at 1 month

  An assessment will be carried out with a pressure gauge (Stabilizer model). It will be used according to the protocol indicated by Hudswell et al. The athlete will be positioned supine. The pressure gauge will be placed on the stretcher in the posterior cervical area, asking the subject for a craniocervical flexion. The unit of measure of this measuring instrument is mmHg. A higher score indicates greater strength.

  Screening visit, within the first seven days after treatment and after one month follow-up visit

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change from baseline subjective perception of effort after treatment and at 1 month

  Screening visit, within the first seven days after treatment and after one month follow-up visit

Study Arms (2)

Experimental group

EXPERIMENTAL

Each session will last 10 minutes, taking place 3 days a week, over a period of 6 weeks. The intervention will take place at the beginning of the training session. The intervention will be carried out in 3 sessions with 3 exercises of 15 repetitions, and with breaks of 40 seconds between each series and exercise. Exercise 1. In quadruped position, keeping the back flat, making an isometric contraction of the transverse muscle, and raising one arm and one leg contralaterally. Exercise 2. Training of the deep cervical flexor muscles, supine. Players will move their heads slowly towards craniocervical flexion. Exercise 3. In standing position, an ocular-cervical coordination exercise by means of a cranio-cervical flexion, adding a rotation, guided by an eye feedback provided by the physiotherapist by means of a laser projected on a wall.

Other: Control motor intervention

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

Athletes in the control group will be asked to follow their usual warm-up routine.

Interventions

Control motor intervention OTHER

The intervention through motor control will consist in the application of the protocol described by Hidalgo-Peréz et al. The objective of the application of the technique is to produce an increase in the strength of the deep cervical musculature. The exercises will be performed with the subject in different positions: supine, quadrupedic and standing position. The physiotherapist will be placed in standing position in front of the subject. The intervention will be carried out in 3 sessions with 3 exercises of 15 repetitions, and with breaks of 40 seconds between each series and exercise.

Experimental group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Electronic sportsmen
• Male sex
• From 18 to 25 years
• That at the time of the study participate in national competitions
• That they have not suffered a musculoskeletal pathology in the last 4 months.

You may not qualify if:

• Athletes taking anti-inflammatory drugs that may influence the intervention
• Players who are allergic to nylon (main component of the evaluation device)
• That they have not signed the informed consent document.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Investigación en Hemofilia y Fisioterapia: lead

Study Sites (1)

European University of Madrid

Madrid, 28670, Spain

Location

Study Officials

• Rubén Cuesta-Barriuso, PhD

  Universidad Europea de Madrid

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Rubén Cuesta-Barriuso, PhD

CONTACT

+34 913146508; ruben.cuestab@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: NETWORK
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 4, 2020
• First Posted: February 6, 2020
• Study Start: September 24, 2020
• Primary Completion: November 20, 2020
• Study Completion: December 10, 2020
• Last Updated: September 29, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-09

Locations

ES (1)