Relationship Between Proprioceptive Flexibility and the Occurrence of Lower Limb Ligament Injury in Pivot-contact Sports

NCT ID: NCT07028723

Last Updated: 2025-07-18

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 150 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-06-30
• Study Completion Date: 2028-01-01

Brief Summary

Among young athletes involved in pivot and pivot-contact sports (soccer, handball, rugby, etc.), lateral ankle sprains and lesions of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are the most frequent ligament injuries. Despite existing prevention programs, these injuries lead to prolonged downtime, risk of recurrence and long-term sequelae.

A little-studied risk factor is proprioceptive rigidity, defined as the central nervous system's difficulty in adapting the use of sensory information (proprioception) according to environment and motor context. This deficit could limit the ability to maintain balance in high-risk situations, thereby increasing the likelihood of injury.

To our knowledge, there is no evidence of a direct link between proprioceptive profile (flexible/rigid) and the incidence of lower-limb ligament injury. If such a link is established, preventive strategies focusing on the recovery of an optimal proprioceptive profile could be developed in an attempt to limit the occurrence of ligament injuries in young elite and sub-elite athletes, and thus limit the medical, financial and personal repercussions for these athletes.

Conditions

Lower Limb Ligament Injury

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

proprioceptive profile measurement

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

proprioceptive profile measurement

Intervention Type: OTHER

Proprioceptive profile is measured by assessing static bipodal balance on a force platform. The patient is asked to stand motionless in bipodal support on a stable and then unstable floor, with vision masked by an eye mask. The investigators randomly apply a tendon vibration (80Hz) to the subjects' Achilles tendons or paravertebral muscles.

This vibration alters proprioceptive information in the vibrated zone, leading to a disturbance in postural balance and an increased displacement of the center of pressure, whose position is continuously calculated from the force platform's sensors.

Thus, depending on the amount of displacement of the center of pressure, the investigator calculates a proprioceptive weighting ratio (PWR) to deduce the weight assigned by the Central Nervous System to the various proprioceptive inputs during the postural task.

An PWR of 1 indicates 100% use of information from the ankle, while an PWR of 0 means 100% use of information from the hip.

Interventions

proprioceptive profile measurement

Proprioceptive profile is measured by assessing static bipodal balance on a force platform. The patient is asked to stand motionless in bipodal support on a stable and then unstable floor, with vision masked by an eye mask. The investigators randomly apply a tendon vibration (80Hz) to the subjects' Achilles tendons or paravertebral muscles.

This vibration alters proprioceptive information in the vibrated zone, leading to a disturbance in postural balance and an increased displacement of the center of pressure, whose position is continuously calculated from the force platform's sensors.

Thus, depending on the amount of displacement of the center of pressure, the investigator calculates a proprioceptive weighting ratio (PWR) to deduce the weight assigned by the Central Nervous System to the various proprioceptive inputs during the postural task.

An PWR of 1 indicates 100% use of information from the ankle, while an PWR of 0 means 100% use of information from the hip.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Athlete practicing in a high-level program
• Aged between 14 and 25
• Practicing a pivot-contact sport (rugby, soccer, handball)

Exclusion Criteria

• Lower limb injury <6 weeks prior to inclusion
• Concussion <6 weeks prior to inclusion
• Known neurological or vestibular disorder
• Lack of consent from athlete or legal guardians
• Non-affiliation with a social security scheme
• Persons under court protection
• Participant in another study with an ongoing exclusion period

• Minimum Eligible Age: 14 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 25 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

University Hospital, Montpellier

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

CHU Montpellier

Montpellier, , France

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

France

Central Contacts

Benoit ATTALIN, MD

Role: CONTACT

fed-medecinedusport@chu-montpellier.fr

+33467330565

Facility Contacts

ATTALIN Benoît, MD

Role: primary

b-attalin@chu-montpellier.fr

Other Identifiers

2025-A00797-42

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

RECHMPL25_0121

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id