Investigation of the Immediate Effect of IASTM on Some Parameters in E-Sports Players

NCT07006363 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: IASTM-Esports2025
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Due to the nature of competitive sports, frequent and regular training by e-sports players to increase their performance provides e-athletes with success in the field, but it also increases the time spent in front of the screen. It is known that e-athletes train for an average of 5.5 to 10 hours per day. Therefore, sedentary behavior that develops due to screens is an issue that e-athletes should be careful about. While reasons such as disrupted sleep patterns, increased stress levels and mood changes experienced in the game following increased screen time negatively affect cardiovascular and metabolic health, the fact that e-sports do not require any physical effort also negatively affects the e-sports player's muscular activation. Due to the reasons mentioned, e-sports can cause chronic diseases in the long term. The process from the presence of a stimulus to the execution of the action that will occur following the stimulus is called reaction time. Reaction time can also be described as the value taken when a stimulus exceeds the threshold value, when movement is released or at the beginning of the explosive response. Reaction time consists of stages. The process, which starts with the transmission of the sensory stimulus through the receptors, establishes a perceptual link with the motor response and decides to produce a reactive response, and ends with the process of producing a movement that requires muscular force in the perceptual process. In studies conducted on e-sports players, the most common complaints resulting from long training periods are vision problems and eye fatigue, followed by pain experienced especially in the back, neck and wrist areas. E-sports players perform with poor posture compared to traditional athletes. Games played on mobile phones, especially computer-based games, cause changes in the structure of the spine, pain complaints, movement limitations, and loss of stability and balance. It is argued that the main reason for the pain experienced by approximately half of the players is the anterior displacement of the head due to the prolonged static position spent in front of the screen after a certain number of minutes and the pains brought about by muscle strength imbalances. To our knowledge, there is no study in the literature that investigates the immediate effect of a myofascial release technique applied to university student e-sports players on hand reaction time, neck pain and cervical joint position sense parameters. The aim of this study is to investigate the instantaneous effect of a myofascial release technique, the Graston Technique, on hand reaction time, neck pain and cervical joint position sense in university student e-sports players. Our study is valuable in this respect.

Conditions

Cervical Pain, Posterior; Musculoskeletal Disorder of the Neck; Neck Pain; Posture

Keywords

instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization; e-sports; hand reaction time; graston technique; joint position sense; myofascial release; pain

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Hand Reaction Time

  In e-sports players, hand reaction speed is a factor that affects their performance. Although there are other methods that evaluate hand reaction time, in this study, since the participants are e-sports players, a mouse and web page based method was preferred ("Aim Trainer" Hand Reaction Time Test). This method tests hand-eye coordination along with hand reaction time. When the test starts, a target board appears on the screen. The participant must point to the target board with the mouse and click 30 times in a row. The average time per target is given in milliseconds as a result of the test.

  baseline, immediately after the intervention

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Neck Pain

  baseline, immediately after the intervention

• Cervical Joint Position Sense

  baseline, immediately after the intervention

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

IASTM: For the application, the participant is seated on a chair, puts his hands together on the bed in front of him and puts his head on his hands (Figure 4). Vaseline cream is applied to the area to be applied to ensure that the Graston Technique instruments slide more easily in the tissue. The application area is the area between the mastoid processes proximally, the acromial processes laterally, and the T2 vertebra level distally. The researcher who will perform the application stands behind the participant. Application is performed for 10 minutes at a 45o angle with 3 different Graston instruments.

Other: IASTM

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Members of the Control Group who will not be subjected to the application will be made to wait for 10 minutes (the same duration as the application in the Experimental Group) without doing anything between the two evaluations.

Interventions

IASTM OTHER

IASTM: For the application, the participant is seated on a chair, puts his hands together on the bed in front of him and puts his head on his hands (Figure 4). Vaseline cream is applied to the area to be applied to ensure that the Graston Technique instruments slide more easily in the tissue. The application area is the area between the mastoid processes proximally, the acromial processes laterally, and the T2 vertebra level distally. The researcher who will perform the application stands behind the participant. Application is performed for 10 minutes at a 45o angle with 3 different Graston instruments.

Also known as: Graston Technique, Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization, Myofascial Release

Intervention Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 30 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• being a university student
• exercise in front of a screen for at least 3 hours a day
• become a licensed e-sports player
• volunteering to participate in the study

You may not qualify if:

• having had upper extremity surgery
• having visual impairment that may affect the research results
• having a neurological problem
• having an orthopedic problem causing neck pain

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Bahçeşehir University: lead
• Sivas Cumhuriyet Universtiy: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Sivas Cumhuriyet University

Sivas, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neck Pain; Pain

Interventions

Myofascial Release Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Massage; Therapy, Soft Tissue; Musculoskeletal Manipulations; Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Rehabilitation

Study Officials

• Mustafa Oğuz Kethüdaoğlu, PT, MSc

  Bahcesehir University, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Sefa Eldemir, PT, PhD

  Cumhuriyet University

  STUDY CHAIR

• Ayşenur Canan Benli, PT, MSc

  Cumhuriyet University

  STUDY CHAIR

Central Study Contacts

Mustafa Oğuz Kethüdaoğlu, PT, MSc

CONTACT

+905544169776; mustafaoguzkethudaoglu@gmail.com

Sefa Eldemir, PT, PhD

CONTACT

+905303019158; sefa.eldemir@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: After the first evaluation, participants will determine their groups by choosing closed and opaque envelopes.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: PT, MSc

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 28, 2025
• First Posted: June 5, 2025
• Study Start: June 14, 2025
• Primary Completion: June 21, 2025
• Study Completion: July 14, 2025
• Last Updated: June 5, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TU (1)