Effectiveness of Physical Therapy for Pain Relief in Footballers With Muscle Injuries: a Prospective Study

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Physical Therapies; Athletic Injuries
• Interventions: Other: Cryoultrasound therapy plus high-intensity laser therapy; Other: diathermy plus high-intensity laser therapy

• Registration Number: NCT06018779
• Lead Sponsor: University of Palermo

Brief Summary

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cryoultrasound therapy versus diathermy in combination with high-intensity laser therapy for pain relief in male professional soccer players with muscle injuries. The main questions it intends to answer are:

• Is this combination of treatments effective in these patients in terms of pain relief?

Participants will receive a rehabilitation treatment consisting of cryo-ultrasound therapy and high intensity laser. Researchers will compare the group of participants, called the treatment group, with a control group to see if:

• Is the combined treatment of cryoultrasound therapy and high intensity laser more effective in these patients than the combination of diathermy and high intensity laser?

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-09-01
• Primary Completion: 2023-03-13
• Study Completion: 2023-04-15
• Status Verified: 2023-08
• Study First Submitted: 2023-08-21
• Study First Submitted QC: 2023-08-28
• Last Update Submitted: 2023-08-28
• Study First Posted: 2023-08-31
• Last Update Posted: 2023-08-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 31

Inclusion Criteria

• age 18-21 years;
• professional footballer in a competitive club;
• presence of a grade III A muscle lesion, according to the Mueller-Wohlfart classification, confirmed by ultrasound examination and occurring during sports activity at least 5 days before inclusion in the present study;
• no previous muscle injuries in the last 6 months;
• signature of the written informed consent for participating in the study.

Exclusion Criteria

• previous muscle injuries or bone fractures of the lower limbs in the last 6 months;
• knee instability due to previous rupture of knee ligaments;
• active neoplastic or infectious diseases;
• congenital anomalies of the lower limbs.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Group A	Cryoultrasound therapy plus high-intensity laser therapy	Group A will include patients who will receive a rehabilitation treatment consisting of: cryo-ultrasound therapy and high-intensity laser therapy
Group B	diathermy plus high-intensity laser therapy	Group B will include patients who will receive a rehabilitation treatment consisting of: cryo-ultrasound therapy and diathermy

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
entity of the pain	2 weeks	numerical rating scale; the total score ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating more pain.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
frequency of relapses	3 months after the injury	number of relapses
size of the muscle tear	2 weeks	measurement in centimeters by ultrasound.
return to play	3 months after the injury	number of days

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Functional Recovery and Rehabilitation Unit of the A.O.U.P. Paolo Giaccone; 🇮🇹 Palermo, Italy