Effects of Hydrogen-rich Water Consumption on Transient Fatigue During an Official Football Match: Protocol for a Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Parallel-group Trial

NCT07855120 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: Molecular hydrogenIGA_FTK_2026_002
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether drinking hydrogen-rich water can reduce fatigue and help football players maintain high-intensity physical activity during an official football match. The study will include 30 male football players competing in the second and third tiers of the Czech national football league system. Participants will be randomly assigned to drink either hydrogen-rich water or placebo water. Neither the players nor the researchers conducting the assessments will know which type of water each participant receives until the study has been completed. Participants will begin drinking the assigned water 72 hours before the match and will continue drinking it on match day. Players' physical activity and heart rate will be monitored throughout the match. The main outcome will be the distance covered at high intensity during consecutive 5-minute periods of the match. Repeated-sprint ability, jumping performance, and perceived muscle soreness will also be assessed before and after the match. The study will compare the hydrogen-rich water and placebo groups to determine whether hydrogen-rich water helps players maintain high-intensity activity during the match and reduces short-term fatigue after the match.

Conditions

Exercise-Induced Fatigue; Football Performance

Keywords

molecular hydrogen; external load; recovery; antifatigue; muscle pain

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• High-Intensity Distance During Match Play

  High-intensity distance (HID), defined as the distance covered at running speeds \>14.4 km·h-¹, will be measured continuously during an official football match using a 10-Hz global positioning system (GPS; Vector S7, Catapult Sports, Melbourne, Australia). HID will be quantified in metres for consecutive 5-minute intervals throughout match play. The temporal pattern of HID will be compared between the hydrogen-rich water and placebo groups.

  During the official football match (consecutive 5-minute intervals, up to 90 minutes)

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Total Distance During Match Play

  During the official football match (consecutive 5-minute intervals, up to 90 minutes)

• PlayerLoad During Match Play

  During the official football match (consecutive 5-minute intervals, up to 90 minutes)

• Top Speed During Match Play

  During the official football match (up to 90 minutes)

• Heart Rate During Match Play

  During the official football match (consecutive 5-minute intervals, up to 90 minutes)

• Repeated-Sprint Ability

  Pre-match and immediately post-match

Study Arms (2)

Hydrogen-Rich Water (HRW)

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants assigned to this arm will consume hydrogen-rich water (HRW) containing 1.2-1.4 ppm dissolved molecular hydrogen. Participants will consume 1,260 mL (three 420-mL packs) at 72, 48, and 24 hours before the official football match, 840 mL (two 420-mL packs) after the pre-match warm-up, and 420 mL (one 420-mL pack) during the first half of the match.

Dietary Supplement: Hydrogen-Rich Water (HRW)

Placebo water

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Participants assigned to this arm will consume placebo water containing no dissolved molecular hydrogen (0.0 ppm). The placebo will be provided in visually identical 420-mL packs and administered according to the same supplementation schedule as the HRW intervention: 1,260 mL at 72, 48, and 24 hours before the official football match, 840 mL after the pre-match warm-up, and 420 mL during the first half of the match.

Dietary Supplement: Placebo Water

Interventions

Hydrogen-Rich Water (HRW) DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Hydrogen-rich water containing 1.2-1.4 ppm dissolved molecular hydrogen (H₂), supplied in gas-tight 420-mL plastic-aluminium packs. Participants will consume 1,260 mL at 72, 48, and 24 hours before the official football match, 840 mL after the pre-match warm-up, and 420 mL during the first half of the match, corresponding to a total intervention volume of 5,040 mL per participant.

Hydrogen-Rich Water (HRW)

Placebo Water DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo water containing no dissolved molecular hydrogen (0.0 ppm), supplied in visually identical 420-mL plastic-aluminium packs. The placebo will be administered according to the same volume and timing schedule as the hydrogen-rich water intervention, corresponding to a total intervention volume of 5,040 mL per participant.

Placebo water

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Male football players aged 18 years or older.
• Currently competing in the second or third tier of the Czech national football league system.
• At least 15 years of football experience.
• Participation in at least four team training sessions per week in addition to regular competitive matches.
• Free from injury or other medical conditions that could limit participation in training, testing, or match play.
• Willing and able to provide written informed consent.

You may not qualify if:

• Illness during the three weeks preceding the baseline assessment.
• Injury during the three weeks preceding the baseline assessment.
• Any injury or medical condition that could limit participation in training, testing, or match play.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Palacky University: lead
• University of Split: collaborator

Related Publications (1)

• Aoki, K., Nakao, A., Adachi, T., Matsui, Y., & Miyakawa, S. (2012). Pilot study: Effects of drinking hydrogen-rich water on muscle fatigue caused by acute exercise in elite athletes. Medical Gas Research, 2, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/2045-9912-2-12 Bangsbo, J., Mohr, M., & Krustrup, P. (2006). Physical and metabolic demands of training and match-play in the elite football player. J. Sports Sci., 24(7), 665-674. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410500482529 Beato, M., Coratella, G., Schena, F., & Hulton, A. T. (2017). Evaluation of the external and internal workload in female futsal players. Biology of Sport, 3, 227-231. https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2017.65998 Botek, M., Krejci, J., McKune, A. J., Sladeckova, B., & Naumovski, N. (2019). Hydrogen Rich Water Improved Ventilatory, Perceptual and Lactate Responses to Exercise. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE, 40(14), 879-885. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-0991-0268 Botek, M., Krejčí, J., McKune, A., Valenta, M., & Sládečková, B. (2022). Hydrogen Rich Water Consumption Positively Affects Muscle Performance, Lactate Response, and Alleviates Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness After Resistance Training. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 36(10). https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2022/10000/Hydrogen_Rich_Water_Consumption_Positively_Affects.15.aspx Bradley, P. S., & Noakes, T. D. (2013). Match running performance fluctuations in elite soccer: Indicative of fatigue, pacing or situational influences? Journal of Sports Sciences, 31(15), 1627-1638. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2013.796062 Brownstein, C. G., Dent, J. P., Parker, P., Hicks, K. M., Howatson, G., Goodall, S., & Thomas, K. (2017). Etiology and Recovery of Neuromuscular Fatigue following Competitive Soccer Match-Play. Frontiers in Physiology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2017.00831 Chan, A.-W., Boutron, I., Hopewell, S., Moher, D., Schulz, K. F., Collins, G. S., Tunn, R., Aggarwal, R., Berkwits, M., Berlin, J. A., Bhandari, N., But

  RESULT

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Myalgia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Muscular Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Neuromuscular Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Musculoskeletal Pain; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Central Study Contacts

Karel Hulka, PhD

CONTACT

+420585636506; karel.hulka@upol.cz

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: QUADRUPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Coaches and the statistician performing the primary analysis will also be masked to treatment allocation. The allocation code will be held exclusively by the manufacturer and will not be disclosed until the database has been finalised and the primary statistical analysis has been completed.
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Palacký University Olomouc

Model Details: Participants are randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either hydrogen-rich water or placebo in two parallel groups.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 28, 2026
• First Posted: October 2, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): January 20, 2027
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 15, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 10, 2027
• Last Updated: October 2, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF
• Time Frame: Beginning immediately following publication of the primary study results, with no planned end date.
• Access Criteria: De-identified individual participant data underlying the results reported in the primary publication, together with the study protocol, will be publicly available through the Open Science Framework (OSF). The data will be accessible to researchers and other interested users without the need for individual approval or submission of a formal data request.