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Hamstring Viscoelasticity and Low Back Pain

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Low Back Pain
Athletic Injuries
Interventions
Other: Kinesiotaping
Other: Ballistic Stretching Exercise
Other: Extender Exercise
Registration Number
NCT05939609
Lead Sponsor
Istanbul Nisantasi University
Brief Summary

Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent issue among adolescent rowers, particularly males aged 14 to 16 years, with a high lifetime prevalence (94%) and point prevalence (65%). One of the mechanisms of lower back pain in rowing athletes is about the elasticity, stiffness and tone of the hamstring muscle.

Current literature shows that stretching exercises, strengthening exercises and kinesiotaping affects hamstring viscoelasticity in various ways. Stretching exercises affect hamstring muscle tone and elasticity, strengthening exercises affect muscle stiffness and kinesiotaping affects muscle tone. While the effects of each of these interventions on viscoelastic properties individually are examined in the literature, studies comparing the effects of changes in viscoelastic properties caused by these interventions on low back pain, athletic disability index and athletic performance in rowers and their superiority among each other are lacking.

The goal of this study is to change the viscoelasticity of the hamstring muscles and examine its effect on low back pain, disability index and athletic performance.

Detailed Description

Volunteer male elite rowing athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 who score 3/10 or higher on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale at the time of activity will be included in the study. Signed voluntary consent will be obtained from participants and their legal representatives. Participants will be divided into three groups. Study groups will be as follows: a) ballistic hamstring stretching exercise b) hamstring extender exercise c) kinesiotaping

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
Male
Target Recruitment
60
Inclusion Criteria
  • Being between ages 14 and 18 and male gender
  • Having been rowing at an elite level for at least one year with a professional team
  • Having pain 3/10 or higher on NPRS
  • Participating to the study in a voluntary basis.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Having limitation in lower extremity range of motion that limits completion of interventions
  • Having a musculoskeletal injury involving the lower extremity in the last 6 months.
  • Having undergone a operation in the last 6 months.
  • Failing to complete any of interventions.
  • Wanting to quit from study.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
KinesiotapingKinesiotapingKinesio taping will be applied to the hamstring muscle in the direction of inhibition with a Y-shaped and 25% tension force.
Ballistic Stretching ExerciseBallistic Stretching ExerciseAthletes will be asked to reach the floor by leaning over in the standing posture without knee flexion. When they feel the tension in hamstring muscle groups, athletes will be requested to make small rebounding motion at degrees between 3°-5° for half a minute.
Extender ExerciseExtender ExerciseAthletes will lie on his back. Then, athletes will be asked to do 90 degrees of knee and hip flexion at the same time. Finally, the athletes is expected to perform slow repetitive knee extension to the point of maximal possible extension. According to Askling et al. and Aspetar protocol, it will be applied 12 repetitions and 3 sets.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Decrement of Biceps Femoris Musclechange from baseline decrement at 6 weeks

The elasticity of a muscle is described by a logarithmic reduction of tissue's normal amplitude. It is more related with the dissipation of mechanical energy that arises between the deformation of the tissue and its recovery. It is a biomechanical feature of tissue that is called as elasticity. It will be examined by the MyotonPro, Tallinn, Estonia.

Decrement of Semitendinosus Musclechange from baseline decrement at 6 weeks

The elasticity of a muscle is described by a logarithmic reduction of tissue's normal amplitude. It is more related with the dissipation of mechanical energy that arises between the deformation of the tissue and its recovery. It is a biomechanical feature of tissue that is called as elasticity. It will be examined by the MyotonPro, Tallinn, Estonia.

Stiffness of Semitendinosus Musclechange from baseline stiffness at 6 weeks

Stiffness of muscle is described by reaction to contraction or forces from outside of tissue that may cause the original form to deteriorate. It will be examined by the MyotonPro, Tallinn, Estonia.

Frequency of Biceps Femoris Musclechange from baseline frequency at 6 weeks

The tones of muscle is described by frequency of muscle or oscillation frequency (Hz). It will be examined by the MyotonPro, Tallinn, Estonia.

Frequency of Semitendinosus Musclechange from baseline frequency at 6 weeks

The tones of muscle is described by frequency of muscle or oscillation frequency (Hz). It will be examined by the MyotonPro, Tallinn, Estonia.

Stiffness of Biceps Femoris Musclechange from baseline stiffness at 6 weeks

Stiffness of muscle is described by reaction to contraction or forces from outside of tissue that may cause the original form to deteriorate. It will be examined by the MyotonPro, Tallinn, Estonia.

Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)change from baseline pain at the time of activity at 6 weeks

The NPRS is a segmented numeric version of the visual analog scale (VAS) in which a respondent selects a whole number (0-10 integers) that best reflects the intensity of his/her pain. The 11-point numeric scale ranges from '0' representing one pain extreme (e.g. "no pain") to '10' representing the other pain extreme (e.g. "pain as bad as you can imagine" or "worst pain imaginable").

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
2K-rowing testchange from baseline performance time at 6 weeks

It is an ergometer test that measures 2,000 meter rowing time as a gold standard.

Standing Long Jump Test (SLJT)change from baseline performance level at 6 weeks

It is a horizontal jump test that measures anaerobic performance.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

İstanbul Nisantasi University

🇹🇷

Istanbul, Maslak, Turkey

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