Effect of a Specific and General Physical Exercise Intervention on Gaming and E-Sport Performance

NCT06264375 | Active Not Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: E-SPORT
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 28
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this randomized control intervention study is to test the effect of i) a specific physical training for e-sport and ii) a general physical training on e-sport performance, compared to iii) not training physically at all. Participants are gamers and e-athletes who play at least \>2hours peer week. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Does physical training have an effect on e-sport related abilities (hand grip strength, reaction, anticipation)
• Does the training of specific elements, which aim at these abilities "out-game", transfer on the actual skills needed using a keyboard and mouse Participants will be randomly - but mediated by hours of playing per week - distributed in 1 of 3 groups.
• Group 1 will 3 times per week for 30 minutes perform a specific physical training with focus on abilities needed in e-sport (grip strength, reaction, anticipation) over a timespan of 8 weeks.
• Group 2 will perform a similar physical training (load, intensity) to Group 1, but without specific elements.
• Group 3 will serve as control group without any training. Researchers will compare Group 1, Group 2 and Groups 3 to see if the different trainings (Group 1 and Group 2) have different effect on e-sport performance and if no training (Group 3) differs in e-sport performance development.

Conditions

Physical Activity

Keywords

e-sport; gaming; physical activity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Grip Strength (Out-Game)

  Grip strength of the hand measured in kg using the Takei Dynamometer 5401

  Baseline and week 8

• Reaction Time (Out-Game)

  Reaction time will be measured using a browser solution (aimbooster.com) and a 4-fold reaction test including 4 buttons which need to be pressed when a certain light shows up. Left upper corner light = left hand, right upper corner light = right hand, left lower corner light = left foot, right lower corner light = right foot. Per round, the lights will light up 10 times and the average reaction time will be calculated.

  Baseline and week 8

• Anticipation (Out-Game)

  The test is a horizontally moving laser, who differs in speed randomly. The test starts with ten left-to-right movements to get into the lasers' movement behavior, after which the actual test start. The task is to click on a button, just in the moment when the laser reaches the middle point, which is indicated by a "X" on the wall. The software detects the time difference for ten trials, if the click was performed too early, or too late respectively.

  Baseline and week 8

• Whole Body Fitness

  To test the ability of the participants to react not only using one movement, but combining different movements as a whole-body movement and fitness test, the BlazePods will be used. This training device consists of 4 so-called "pods", which are controlled by a smartphone application and enlighten in randomized order. The task is to tap upon the pod, as soon as it lights up. The test lasts 60 second, implementing a cardiovascular test.

  Baseline and week 8

• Gaming Performance - Accuracy/Speed and Anticipation

  Participants have to click on 1 of 3 visible circles which appear in the 3D surrounding of the game AimLab fpr 60 seconds. The task is to be as fast as possible in eliminating the circles, testing accuracy and speed of the participants. The AimLab software is a validated tool in measuring abilities needed in First-person-Shooters (FPS). A second task will be to track a circle which flicks randomly from one side to the other, again for 60 seconds. This ability is also needed in all FPS games.

  Baseline and week 8

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Well-being after training

  Baseline, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8

Study Arms (3)

Specific physical training

EXPERIMENTAL

3 times training per week for approx. 30 minutes for 8 weeks. The training contains high intensity interval training (HIIT) elements. Moreover, exercises to improve grip strength, reaction times and anticipation are included.

Behavioral: Physical exercise

General physical training

EXPERIMENTAL

3 times training per week for approx. 30 minutes for 8 weeks. The training contains high intensity interval training (HIIT) elements.

Behavioral: Physical exercise

No Training

NO INTERVENTION

Control group

Interventions

Physical exercise BEHAVIORAL

see group description

General physical training; Specific physical training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 10 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• playing video games on a regular basis (\>2h per week)
• willing to take part in an 8 weeks intervention period containing physical training

You may not qualify if:

• any reasons which would make participation in physical activity impossible, such as acute injuries, chronic health problems or medical advices

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universitaet Innsbruck: lead

Study Sites (1)

Department of Sport Science

Innsbruck, Tyrol, 6020, Austria

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Wachholz F, Gamper N, Schnitzer M. An 8-week physical exercise intervention for e'athletes improves physical performance rather than short-term esports performance parameters - a randomized controlled trial. Front Sports Act Living. 2025 Jan 21;6:1504205. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1504205. eCollection 2024.

  PMID: 39906318 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity

Interventions

Exercise

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Felix Wachholz, PhD

  Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Masking Details: Data is collected and afterwards anonymized during the pre- and post measurement and during the intervention using a weekly questionnaire (activity level, gaming time)
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: 8 weeks of intervention, where Group 1 does a specific physical training, Group 2 a general physical training and Group 3 who does not train.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 8, 2024
• First Posted: February 20, 2024
• Study Start: January 19, 2024
• Primary Completion: April 19, 2024
• Study Completion: September 30, 2024
• Last Updated: April 23, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-04

Locations

AU (1)