Effects of Percussion Therapy on the Biomechanics of Pickleball Movement

Not Applicable

Not yet recruiting

• Conditions: Injury;Sports; Muscle Soreness

• Registration Number: NCT07005934
• Lead Sponsor: Point Loma Nazarene University

Brief Summary

With increased demand on pickleball as a recreational exercise, it is of interest in investigating the biomechanical characteristics of pickleball and determining the impacts of percussion therapy on them. This study aims to examine the effects of percussion therapy on the biomechanics of pickleball movement and muscle activation patterns in recreational pickleball players. It is hypothesized that kinematics and kinetics of pickleball performance improves after 4 weeks of percussion therapy.

Detailed Description

Pickleball has rapidly increasing its playing population among people with different ages and performance levels. While pickleball is keeping people of all age active, injury prevalence of recreational pickleball players particularly for elderly populations has rapidly become a great concern in health care in recent years. It is crucial not only for individuals who play the sports but also for sports medicine professionals to prevent injuries and assure wellbeing of pickleball players. Percussion therapy with a handheld massage gun has widely utilized both in clinical or sports settings and by individuals as a self-care device, allowing the treatment popular and accessible. While previous research has examined acute effects of percussion therapy, the impacts of percussion therapy on exercise performance are not yet fully understood mainly due to diverse designs, protocols, and qualities of previous studies. Moreover, little is known how biomechanical characteristics (i.e., joint kinematics and kinetics) of sports specific movements of pickleball are altered after the percussion therapy. With Increased demand on pickleball as a recreational exercise, it is of interest in investigating the biomechanical characteristics of pickleball and determining the impacts of percussion therapy on them. The proposed project aims to examine the effects of percussion therapy on the biomechanics of pickleball movement and muscle activation patterns in recreational pickleball players. It is hypothesized that kinematics and kinetics of pickleball performance improves as well as static joint range of motion (ROM) after the percussion therapy.

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2025-04
• Study First Submitted: 2025-04-26
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-05-27
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-05-27
• Study Start: 2025-06-01
• Study First Posted: 2025-06-05
• Last Update Posted: 2025-06-05
• Primary Completion: 2025-12-31
• Study Completion: 2026-03-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 30

Inclusion Criteria

• Age range: 18 - 80 years old
• Free from injury in lower extremity for the last 6 months
• Plays pickleball regularly defined as self-reported participation on at least a weekly basis for a year or more

Exclusion Criteria

* Joint injury within previous 6 months

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Passive hip flexion range-of-motion (ROM)	Cross-sectional design with two tests over a 30 minute period (before and after a 20 minute intervention session)	Passive flexion ROM (degrees) of the dominant hip
Passive knee flexion range-of-motion (ROM)	Cross-sectional design with two tests over a 30 minute period (before and after a 20 minute intervention session)	Passive flexion ROM (degrees) of the dominant knee
Peak hip extensor moment	Cross-sectional design with two tests over a 30 minute period (before and after a 20 minute intervention session)	Peak extensor moment (Nm) of the dominant hip during change-of-direction tasks
Peak hip abductor moment	Cross-sectional design with two tests over a 30 minute period (before and after a 20 minute intervention session)	Peak abductor moment (Nm) of the dominant hip during change-of-direction tasks
Peak knee extensor moment	Cross-sectional design with two tests over a 30 minute period (before and after a 20 minute intervention session)	Peak extensor moment (Nm) of the dominant knee during change-of-direction tasks
Peak knee abduction moment	Cross-sectional design with two tests over a 30 minute period (before and after a 20 minute intervention session)	Peak abduction moment (Nm) of the dominant knee during change-of-direction tasks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Peak quadriceps group activation intensity	Cross-sectional design with two tests over a 30 minute period (before and after a 20 minute intervention session)	Peak muscle activation via surface electromyography (EMG) as normalized by the maximum voluntary isometric contraction (% MVIC) of the dominant quadriceps (rectus femoris, vastii muscles) during change-of-direction tasks
Peak lateral hamstrings group activation intensity	Cross-sectional design with two tests over a 30 minute period (before and after a 20 minute intervention session)	Peak muscle activation via surface electromyography (EMG) as normalized by the maximum voluntary isometric contraction (% MVIC) of the dominant lateral hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus muscles) during change-of-direction tasks