Cervical Motor Control Exercises in Strength and Perception of Effort in Electronic Sports Players

NCT ID: NCT04258124

Last Updated: 2020-09-29

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 20 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-09-24
• Study Completion Date: 2020-12-10

Brief Summary

Introduction. One of the most common injuries in competitive esports professionals is dorsolumbar and neck pain, due to the effort caused by the maintenance of the site for long periods of time. Cervical motor control exercises recruit the deep musculature by increasing its strength and reducing muscle fatigue.

Aim. Evaluate the effectiveness of motor control exercises in cervical muscle fatigue and strength, in electronic athletes from 18 to 25 years.

Study design. Randomized clinical trial, simple blind. Methods. 30 electronic athletes will be randomly assigned in two groups: experimental (which will perform 3 sessions of 3 motor control exercises) and control (which will not perform any type of intervention). The intervention will last 6 weeks, with 3 weekly sessions of 10 minutes each. The study variables are the muscle strength of the deep cervical muscle (measured by a stabilizer pressure gauge) and the subjective perception of the effort (Borg scale).

Expected results. The aim is an improvement in the muscular strength of deep cervical muscles, together with a decrease in subjective perception of exertion.

Conditions

Sports Physical Therapy

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Experimental group

Each session will last 10 minutes, taking place 3 days a week, over a period of 6 weeks. The intervention will take place at the beginning of the training session. The intervention will be carried out in 3 sessions with 3 exercises of 15 repetitions, and with breaks of 40 seconds between each series and exercise.

Exercise 1. In quadruped position, keeping the back flat, making an isometric contraction of the transverse muscle, and raising one arm and one leg contralaterally.

Exercise 2. Training of the deep cervical flexor muscles, supine. Players will move their heads slowly towards craniocervical flexion.

Exercise 3. In standing position, an ocular-cervical coordination exercise by means of a cranio-cervical flexion, adding a rotation, guided by an eye feedback provided by the physiotherapist by means of a laser projected on a wall.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Control motor intervention

Intervention Type: OTHER

The intervention through motor control will consist in the application of the protocol described by Hidalgo-Peréz et al. The objective of the application of the technique is to produce an increase in the strength of the deep cervical musculature. The exercises will be performed with the subject in different positions: supine, quadrupedic and standing position. The physiotherapist will be placed in standing position in front of the subject. The intervention will be carried out in 3 sessions with 3 exercises of 15 repetitions, and with breaks of 40 seconds between each series and exercise.

Control group

Athletes in the control group will be asked to follow their usual warm-up routine.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Control motor intervention

The intervention through motor control will consist in the application of the protocol described by Hidalgo-Peréz et al. The objective of the application of the technique is to produce an increase in the strength of the deep cervical musculature. The exercises will be performed with the subject in different positions: supine, quadrupedic and standing position. The physiotherapist will be placed in standing position in front of the subject. The intervention will be carried out in 3 sessions with 3 exercises of 15 repetitions, and with breaks of 40 seconds between each series and exercise.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Electronic sportsmen
• Male sex
• From 18 to 25 years
• That at the time of the study participate in national competitions
• That they have not suffered a musculoskeletal pathology in the last 4 months.

Exclusion Criteria

• Athletes taking anti-inflammatory drugs that may influence the intervention
• Players who are allergic to nylon (main component of the evaluation device)
• That they have not signed the informed consent document.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 25 Years
• Eligible Sex: MALE
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Investigación en Hemofilia y Fisioterapia

NETWORK

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Rubén Cuesta-Barriuso, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Universidad Europea de Madrid

Locations

European University of Madrid

Madrid, , Spain

Countries

Spain

Central Contacts

Rubén Cuesta-Barriuso, PhD

Role: CONTACT

ruben.cuestab@gmail.com

+34 913146508

Facility Contacts

Rubén Cuesta-Barriuso, PhD

Role: primary

ruben.cuestab@gmail.com

Other Identifiers

CMOTOR

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id