Role of Stepping and BOSU Ball Training in Enhancing Postural Balance and Performance of Badminton Players

NCT07353866 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: INTI IUFHLSRCBPHTI1NY12024/018
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 66
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Influence of Square Stepping and BOSU Ball Exercise on Lower Extremity Balance and Strength in Badminton Players: An Expanded Explanation for Patients, Families, and Health Care Providers Badminton is a dynamic and physically demanding sport that requires a unique combination of speed, agility, balance, coordination, and muscular strength. Unlike many other sports, badminton involves frequent and rapid changes in direction, explosive lunges, sudden stops, jumps, and controlled landings, often performed repeatedly within a short period of time. These movements place significant stress on the lower extremities, particularly the ankles, knees, hips, and surrounding muscles. As a result, maintaining good balance and adequate lower limb strength is essential not only for optimal performance but also for injury prevention. This research study focuses on understanding how two specific exercise methods, Square Stepping Exercise (SE) and BOSU Ball Exercise (BE)-can influence lower extremity balance and strength when used together in badminton players. While each of these exercises has already been shown to provide benefits when used individually, their combined effect, particularly in relation to badminton-specific physical demands, has not been well explored. The findings of this study may help athletes, families, coaches, physiotherapists, and other health care providers make informed decisions about training, rehabilitation, and injury prevention strategies. Understanding the Physical Demands of Badminton To appreciate the importance of this study, it is essential to understand the physical demands of badminton. Badminton is often underestimated as a recreational sport; however, at both competitive and recreational levels, it is one of the fastest racket sports in the world. Players must react quickly to the shuttlecock, which can travel at extremely high speeds, and move efficiently across the court using complex footwork patterns. Key physical requirements of badminton include: Dynamic balance, which allows players to maintain body control while moving, lunging, jumping, or landing. Lower limb strength, especially in the quadriceps, hamstrings, calf muscles, and hip muscles, to generate power and absorb forces. Agility and coordination, enabling quick directional changes and precise foot placement. Postural control to stabilize the body during rapid and asymmetrical movements. During a typical rally, a badminton player may perform multiple lunges, side steps, backward steps, and jumps within seconds. These movements are often performed on one leg, increasing the challenge to balance and joint stability. If a player lacks adequate balance or strength, they may struggle to control these movements efficiently, which can negatively affect performance and increase the likelihood of injury. Common Lower Extremity Injuries in Badminton: Because of the sport's high physical demands, badminton players are at risk of various lower extremity injuries. These injuries can occur due to overuse, improper landing mechanics, muscle weakness, or poor balance control. Common injuries include: Ankle sprains are often caused by sudden changes in direction or unstable landings. Knee injuries, such as patellar tendinopathy or ligament strain Muscle strains, particularly in the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles Overuse injuries, resulting from repetitive movements without adequate recovery. Many of these injuries are linked to deficits in balance, muscle strength, and neuromuscular control. Improving these physical components through targeted exercise programs is therefore a key focus of sports training and rehabilitation. In badminton, exercises that improve balance and lower limb strength can help players move more efficiently, react faster, and maintain stability during challenging movements. Balance and strength training also improve communication between the nervous system and muscles, which is essential for precise and controlled movements. Square Stepping Exercise (SE) is a structured form of stepping activity performed on a grid or pattern marked on the floor, usually consisting of multiple squares arranged in rows and columns. Participants are instructed to step into specific squares in a particular sequence, moving forward, backward, sideways, or diagonally. A BOSU ball is a training device consisting of a half-sphere dome attached to a flat base. While square stepping and BOSU ball exercises are effective individually, they target balance and strength in slightly different ways. Square stepping focuses more on movement accuracy, coordination, and directional control, whereas BOSU ball exercise emphasizes stability, muscle activation, and joint control under unstable conditions. Combining these two exercises may improve both static and dynamic balance and enhance functional strength relevant to badminton movement efficiency.

Conditions

Sports Injury; Injury Prevention in Sports

Keywords

Postural stability; Balance; Health risk; Lower limb explosive power; Square Stepping exercise

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Postural Sway

  Postural sway refers to the small, continuous movements of the body that occur while a person is standing upright and attempting to maintain balance. One widely used and cost-effective tool for this purpose is the Wii Balance Board. Originally developed for gaming, the Wii Balance Board has been validated for use as a force platform in scientific and clinical research. It contains four pressure sensors positioned at each corner of the board, which measure vertical ground reaction forces generated by the user. When a person stands on the board, changes in weight distribution across the sensors are recorded, allowing the calculation of the center of pressure (COP).

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Vertical Jump Height

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

Study Arms (3)

Square stepping and BOSU ball exercise group

EXPERIMENTAL

Square stepping and BOSU ball exercise group will receive Square Stepping Exercise and BOSU ball training for the period of 8 weeks, 3 times per week.

Other: Square stepping + BOSU ball exercise

BOSU ball and Shadow training group

EXPERIMENTAL

BOSU ball and Shadow training group receives BOSU ball training Protocol along with shadow training for the period of 8 weeks, 3 days per week

Other: BOSU ball and Shadow training

Conventional Exercise group

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Conventional Exercise group will undergo regular conventional badminton training for the period of 8 weeks, 3 days per week

Other: Conventional Training

Interventions

Square stepping + BOSU ball exercise OTHER

Participants in Square Stepping Exercise and BOSU ball exercise group will perform both Square Stepping Exercise and BOSU ball training. Square Stepping Exercise will be implemented on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a period of 8 weeks, each session lasts for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, all participants in this group will undergo specified BOSU ball protocol on Tuesday Thursday and Saturday for the same duration of 8 weeks, 30 minutes each session. The Square Stepping training comprises of a series of forward, backward, lateral, and diagonal steps, with the complexity of pattern increasing from week 2 to week 8.

Square stepping and BOSU ball exercise group

BOSU ball and Shadow training OTHER

Participants in BOSU ball and Shadow training group will perform both BOSU ball and Shadow training. BOSU ball will be implemented on 3 days a week for a period of 8 weeks, each session lasts for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, all participants in this group will undergo Shadow training on 3 days a week for a period of 8 weeks, each session lasts for 30 minutes.

BOSU ball and Shadow training group

Conventional Training OTHER

Participants in the conventional training group will undergo regular training for the period of 8 weeks, 3 session in a week each session last for 50-60 minutes.

Conventional Exercise group

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• minimum of 1 year of experience in badminton
• competed in a minimum of 2 club-level badminton tournaments in the past 6 months

You may not qualify if:

• any lower limb surgery
• ACL injury, or any other injury in the lower extremity in the past 1 year
• involved any other form of physical training other than badminton-specific training
• neurological disorders that may affect the balance and proprioception

Sponsors & Collaborators

• INTI International University: lead
• Saveetha University: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University Badminton Club

Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, 71800, Malaysia

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Clark RA, Mentiplay BF, Pua YH, Bower KJ. Reliability and validity of the Wii Balance Board for assessment of standing balance: A systematic review. Gait Posture. 2018 Mar;61:40-54. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2017.12.022. Epub 2017 Dec 30.

  PMID: 29304510 BACKGROUND

• Lu Z, Zhou L, Gong W, Chuang S, Wang S, Guo Z, Bao D, Zhang L, Zhou J. The Effect of 6-Week Combined Balance and Plyometric Training on Dynamic Balance and Quickness Performance of Elite Badminton Players. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jan 30;19(3):1605. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031605.

  PMID: 35162627 BACKGROUND

• Wang YH, Liu YH, Yang YR, Wang RY. Effects of square-stepping exercise on motor and cognitive function in older adults - A systematic review and meta-analysis. Geriatr Nurs. 2021 Nov-Dec;42(6):1583-1593. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2021.10.022. Epub 2021 Nov 10.

  PMID: 34773911 BACKGROUND

• Malwanage KT, Senadheera VV, Dassanayake TL. Effect of balance training on footwork performance in badminton: An interventional study. PLoS One. 2022 Nov 17;17(11):e0277775. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277775. eCollection 2022.

  PMID: 36395192 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Athletic Injuries

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Wounds and Injuries

Study Officials

• Vinosh Kumar Purushothaman

  INTI International University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Vinodhkumar Ramalingam

  Saveetha College of Physiotherapy

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Central Study Contacts

Vinosh Kumar Purushothaman

CONTACT

+601139081610; vinoshmpt@yahoo.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Lecturer

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 11, 2026
• First Posted: January 21, 2026
• Study Start: January 21, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 24, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 21, 2026
• Last Updated: January 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Locations

MY (1)