Acute Effects of Stretching, Kinesio Taping, Cold Water Immersion and Foam Rolling on Wrist Strength and Precise Force and Position Control

NCT07886736 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: KIF-5/2022-KovacicID: 5/2022
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 56
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Static stretching, dynamic stretching, elastic (Kinesio) taping, brief cold water immersion and foam rolling are used daily in sport and rehabilitation to prepare the forearm and hand, but it is not known whether, immediately after use, they change how strongly the wrist can flex and how precisely a person can control the force and the position of the wrist. This study measured all five methods in the same 56 healthy adults on separate weekly visits, immediately before and after each method, in a randomised crossover design. Outcomes included peak isometric wrist-flexion force, normalised error in a force-tracking task, normalised error in a position-tracking task, and active range of motion. The study also quantified learning across visits and the measurement properties of the variables. The trial was registered retrospectively; the reason is given in the detailed description.

Conditions

Muscle Strength; Healthy Volunteers; Motor Control

Keywords

wrist; stretching; Kinesio taping; cold water immersion; foam rolling; force tracking; kinaesthesia; motor learning

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Change in Peak Isometric Wrist-Flexion Force

  Peak force (newtons), defined as the highest 1-second moving average of the force signal in the best of three maximal isometric wrist-flexion contractions. Change is expressed as the percentage change from pre- to post-intervention.

  Pre-intervention and 10-20 seconds post-intervention at each of 5 intervention visits (Weeks 2-6)

• Change in Normalised Error of the Force-Tracking Task

  Normalised error (%) while tracking a randomly generated sinusoidal force curve with isometric wrist flexion, calculated as the root-mean-square deviation from the reference curve divided by its amplitude and averaged over three trials. Change is expressed as the percentage change from pre- to post-intervention.

  Pre-intervention and approximately 3-6 minutes post-intervention at each of 5 intervention visits (Weeks 2-6)

• Change in Normalised Error of the Position-Tracking Task

  Normalised error (%) while tracking a randomly generated sinusoidal wrist-angle curve with wrist flexion and extension, calculated as the root-mean-square deviation from the reference curve divided by its amplitude and averaged over three trials. Change is expressed as the percentage change from pre- to post-intervention.

  Pre-intervention and approximately 8-11 minutes post-intervention at each of 5 intervention visits (Weeks 2-6)

Secondary Outcomes (12)

• Change in Active Palmar-Flexion Range of Motion

  Pre-intervention and approximately 6-8 minutes post-intervention at each of 5 intervention visits (Weeks 2-6)

• Change of Tracking Error Across Visits in the Pre-intervention Measurements (Learning)

  Pre-intervention at each of 6 weekly visits (Weeks 1-6)

• Change in Mean Absolute Error of the Force-Tracking Task

  Pre-intervention and approximately 3-6 minutes post-intervention at each of 5 intervention visits (Weeks 2-6)

• Change in Mean Absolute Error of the Position-Tracking Task

  Pre-intervention and approximately 8-11 minutes post-intervention at each of 5 intervention visits (Weeks 2-6)

• Change in Peak Force by Repetition Position

  Pre-intervention and 10-20 seconds post-intervention at each of 5 intervention visits (Weeks 2-6)

Study Arms (5)

Static Stretching

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received 60 seconds of static stretching of the wrist flexors on one of five weekly crossover visits (order randomised per participant), with measurements immediately before and after.

Other: Static stretching

Assisted Dynamic Stretching

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received 60 seconds of assisted dynamic stretching of the wrist flexors on one of five weekly crossover visits (order randomised per participant), with measurements immediately before and after.

Other: Assisted dynamic stretching

Kinesio Taping

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received Kinesio taping of the wrist flexors on one of five weekly crossover visits (order randomised per participant), with measurements immediately before and after application, tape on.

Other: Kinesio taping

Cold Water Immersion

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received 60 seconds of hand and forearm immersion in water at 14 degrees Celsius on one of five weekly crossover visits (order randomised per participant), with measurements immediately before and after.

Other: Cold water immersion

Foam Rolling

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants received 60 seconds of foam rolling of the forearm flexors on one of five weekly crossover visits (order randomised per participant), with measurements immediately before and after.

Other: Foam rolling

Interventions

Static stretching OTHER

Seated, the participant grasped the fingers and palm of the test hand with the other hand, placed the fingers and wrist in maximal extension with the forearm supinated, extended the elbow fully and held the position for one continuous bout of 60 seconds at an intensity "to the limit of pain tolerance".

Static Stretching

Cold water immersion OTHER

Hand and forearm immersed above the elbow in water at 14 degrees Celsius (plus or minus 1 degree) for 60 seconds; arm towel-dried before testing.

Cold Water Immersion

Foam rolling OTHER

Standing, the forearm flexors were rolled on a smooth foam roller placed on a table, from distal to proximal and back, for 60 seconds, with pressure "to the limit of pain" and pauses on tender spots.

Foam Rolling

Assisted dynamic stretching OTHER

Seated with the forearm supinated, the participant actively extended the elbow and wrist; at the end of the active range the other hand grasped the fingers and palm and added passive extension of the fingers and wrist to the limit of pain tolerance; the position was held for about 2 seconds and the arm returned actively over about 2 seconds, non-ballistically; about 15 cycles in 60 seconds.

Assisted Dynamic Stretching

Kinesio taping OTHER

Kinesio Tex Gold 5-centimetre tape applied by the examiner: a Y-strip anchored without tension on the medial epicondyle with the tails along the wrist-flexor bellies to the wrist joint line at 30-40% tension (facilitation), and an I-strip across the palmar wrist at 50-75% tension with inward pressure (mechanical correction). The tape remained on during the post-intervention measurement.

Kinesio Taping

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 20 Years - 35 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Healthy adults aged 20-35 years recruited through a public call
• Right-hand dominant (dominant hand = throwing hand)
• Written informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Left-hand dominance
• Current pain in the dominant arm at rest, during exertion or movement
• History of injury limiting the function or range of motion of the dominant arm
• Diagnosed neuromuscular disorder
• Participation in competitive sport
• Joint hypermobility on the Beighton scale

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Grgur Kovačić: lead

Study Sites (1)

PROPRIO Centar - Physical Therapy

Zadar, 23000, Croatia

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Muscle Stretching Exercises

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Exercise Therapy; Rehabilitation; Aftercare; Continuity of Patient Care; Patient Care; Therapeutics; Physical Therapy Modalities; Exercise; Motor Activity; Movement; Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena; Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Masking Details: Participants and the examiner could not be masked to the intervention; the order of interventions was concealed from the examiner until the day of the visit; outcomes were recorded automatically by the measurement system.
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator, Doctoral Candidate

Model Details: Five-period crossover: each of the 56 participants received all five interventions (one arm per intervention), one per weekly visit, in an individually randomised order, with measurements immediately before and after each intervention; a baseline visit preceded the first intervention. Washout at least 6 days (median 7 days).

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 7, 2026
• First Posted: October 21, 2026
• Study Start: April 4, 2022
• Primary Completion: May 13, 2022
• Study Completion: May 13, 2022
• Last Updated: October 21, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
• Time Frame: Available since September 2026, with no end date
• Access Criteria: Open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) licence; https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:117:012259

Locations

CR (1)