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Completed

NCT Number: NCT03459430

Chronic Effect of Individualized Core Stability Programs in Recreational Athletes.

Core stability (CS) training is nowadays largely used in several fields, mainly to enhance athletic performance and to prevent and rehabilitate musculoskeletal injuries. However, in several experimental studies, CS training programs have not delivered as positive results as could be expected. The lack of proper modulation and quantification of the training load parameters (such as intensity, volume, frequency, etc.) may be one of the main explanations. Although training intensity has been manipulated by modifying the CS exercise difficulty through variations in mechanical constraints (i.e. participant posture, lever arms, base of support, unstable surfaces, etc.), to the best of the authors' knowledge no experimental study has quantified the CS training intensity based on objective parameters. The quantification of the load intensity is fundamental to analyze the dose-response relationships between training and CS adaptations. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of two individualized CS training programs using smartphone accelerometers placed on the pelvis to quantify the intensity of several of the most common CS exercises employed in fitness, sports and rehabilitation. The expected effect is that the experimental groups will improve CS significantly.

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Key information

Conditions

Core Stability

Age range

18 year–35 year

Sex eligibility

Male

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Sport Research Center

Elche, Alicante, 03202, Spain

About this study

Sixty recreational male athletes will be evaluated twice (pre-test 1 and pre-test 2) before a core stability (CS) training program. Testing sessions will consist in several tests to assess sitting and global dynamic postural control, trunk isometric endurance, neuromuscular function of the lower extremities, trunk response to sudden and unexpected load perturbations and pelvic oscillation during CS exercises evaluated with a smartphone accelerometer. Later, they will be randomly assigned to one of the three groups included in the study: two experimental groups (low and high intensity) and a control group. The intervention will have a training frequency of 2 days per week for 6 weeks. Each CS training session will consist in 4 sets of one variation of four of the most popular stabilization exercises used to challenge core muscles: frontal bridge, back bridge, lateral bridge and bird-dog. Exercise variations will be performed isometrically in increasing order of difficulty through the modifications of the following mechanical constraints: lever-arm, number of supports and/or the use of unstable surfaces. The CS training programs will differ in exercises intensity, mainly. Each participant of the low intensity group will perform those exercise variations in which they have obtained an oscillation ranged between 0.2 and 0.3 m/s2 in pre-test, while participants of the high intensity group will perform the exercise variations in which they have obtained an oscillation ranged between 0.4 and 0.5 m/s2. The exercise duration will be set at 30 s and 15 s for the low intensity and high intensity group, respectively. All participants of the training groups will be revaluated every two weeks during the training period. After the intervention period, all participants will perform a post-test to evaluate the effectiveness of both CS programs. Statistical analysis will consist in repeated-measures ANOVAs for detecting possible significant differences within and between-groups.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Healthy recreative male athletes between 18 and 35 years old

Exclusion criteria

  • Inguinal hernia or urinary incontinence
  • Pathologies that contraindicate physical exercise practice
  • Low back pain in the last six months prior to testing
  • Pathologies related with Central Nervous System that affect balance
  • Professional athletes of sports modalities with high core stability demands

Treatment and study plan

Core stability training

Other

Effect of different core stability programs using diverse training intensities

Primary outcomes

  1. Mean radial error of center of pressure in sitting condition

    Time frame: Baseline - 6 weeks

    Postural control in sitting condition over an unstable seat evaluated through the mean radial error of center of pressure displacement (Units: millimeters)

  2. Trunk angular displacement

    Time frame: Baseline - 6 weeks

    Trunk angular displacement after sudden loading perturbations in different planes of motion (units: degrees)

  3. Pelvis mean acceleration

    Time frame: Baseline - every 2 weeks up to 6 weeks

    Pelvis mean acceleration in different isometric stabilization exercises measured with a smartphone accelerometer (Units: m/s2)

Other outcomes

  1. Global dynamic balance in anterior direction

    Time frame: Baseline - 6 weeks

    Anterior reaching distance during unipodal stance (units: centimeters)

  2. Global dynamic balance in posteromedial direction

    Time frame: Baseline - 6 weeks

    Posteromedial reaching distance during unipodal stance (units: centimeters)

  3. Global dynamic balance in posterolateral direction

    Time frame: Baseline - 6 weeks

    Posterolateral reaching distance during unipodal stance (units: centimeters)

  4. Mean radial error of center of pressure in upright tandem stance

    Time frame: Baseline - 6 weeks

    Postural control in upright tandem stance condition evaluated through the mean radial error of center of pressure displacement (Units: millimeters)

  5. Trunk extensors isometric endurance

    Time frame: Baseline - 6 weeks

    Time to maintain a particular position against gravity until exhaustion using Biering-Sorensen test; (Units: seconds)

  6. Trunk flexors isometric endurance

    Time frame: Baseline - 6 weeks

    Time to maintain a particular position against gravity until exhaustion using using Plank test; (Units: seconds)

  7. Trunk lateral flexors isometric endurance

    Time frame: Baseline - 6 weeks

    Time to maintain a particular position against gravity until exhaustion using Side Bridge test; (Units: seconds)

  8. Neuromuscular function of lower extremity

    Time frame: Baseline - 6 weeks

    Triple hop test (Units: centimeters)

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

CASTO JUAN RECIO

Other

Collaborators

  • Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain

Registry information

Official study title

The Effect of Core Stability Programs With Different Training Intensities Quantified Using Accelerometers Integrated in Smartphones: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2018
Primary completion
2018
Study completion
2018
First posted
Mar 8, 2018
Registry last updated
Feb 8, 2019

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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