Pectoralis Minor Shorthening and Swimming Performance

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Ability to Swim 100m Independent Freestyle; Be Between the Ages of 9-16; Continuing Running as Part of a Sports Club; The Study Will Not be Based on Any Disease
• Interventions: Behavioral: Group in which the Pectoralis Minor stretching exercise was performed in a sham manner; Behavioral: pektoralis minor shortnes; Behavioral: The group in which Pectoralis Minor stretching exercise was not applied

• Registration Number: NCT06344520
• Lead Sponsor: Istinye University

Brief Summary

Swimming is one of the sports branches that includes many factors such as aerobic and anaerobic endurance, strength, flexibility, speed, quickness, rhythm, coordination as well as sportive performance and technical skills.

Athletes must have a high level of fitness, strength, coordination, agility, speed and motor control to perform at an elite level with minimal injury risk.

Repetitive upper extremity movements imposed by freestyle swimming may lead to changes in muscle length and tension by paving the way for postural misalignment in adolescent swimmers.

As can be seen in the studies, young swimmers who are preparing for the competition have postural disorders and injuries related to use, such as decreased posture, shoulder joint range of motion and subacromial distance.

Pectoralis minor stretching exercise to be performed in swimmers is aimed to improve swimming performance and prevent possible postural disorders by contributing to the increase of maximal shoulder muscle strength as well as correcting the incorrectly developed posture in children.

Detailed Description

Sport has become a necessity for a healthy and balanced life today. Children who play sports regularly at a young age become adults who do sports later in their lives. Swimming is one of the sports branches that includes many factors such as aerobic and anaerobic endurance, strength, flexibility, speed, quickness, rhythm, coordination as well as sportive performance and technical skills. Swimming is not only a sport, but also provides a symmetrical and balanced development of some muscles as well as making use of free time, gaining strength and rehabilitation.

The primary function of the nervous system in all living things is movement. Parallel to the phylogenetic development, there is also an improvement in the movement function. The realization of a movement is not possible only with the operation of the pyramidal system, which is the primary movement system. In addition, the extrapyramidal system that will provide the most appropriate postural tone for the organ that will perform the voluntary movement towards the goal, the cerebellar system that will provide the coordination of the agonist antagonist muscles, and the awake state must be normal and the level of consciousness must be open for this movement. The sum of the systems that provide all this movement is called the motor system. The factor that ensures the harmonious operation of the movement emerging from this system is motor control.

Athletes must have a high level of fitness, strength, coordination, agility, speed and motor control to perform at an elite level with minimal injury risk. Dysfunctional movement patterns are directly related to the mechanism of injury. In addition, the improvement of motor control is directly related to the prevention of injury. It is very important to prevent injury in order to ensure continuity in sports in athletes.

Repetitive upper extremity movements imposed by freestyle swimming may lead to changes in muscle length and tension by paving the way for postural misalignment in adolescent swimmers . Study, revealed that there were great differences in sagittal stance angles of freestyle swimming female adolescent athletes compared to their non-swimming peers, and adolescent athletes engaged in swimming sports had far from the desired angles in sagial stance.

One of the parameters affecting swimming sport is muscle strength. While four techniques are used as freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, swimming speed is considered to be the most important performance indicator in all. Swimming speed is defined as completing the 25m or 50m swimming distance in the pool in the shortest time and is considered the most important feature of the swimmer that needs to be developed in terms of trainers. Lower extremity strength is also accepted as an important criterion in terms of starting swimming and especially completing the first 15 meters .

Intrinsic and extrinsic factors are effective in the prevention of acute, subacute and chronic injuries in sports . The most important system affecting these intrinsic and extrinsic factors is the Sensorymotor system. The sensorymotor system, on the other hand, is defined as the system that provides sensory, motor and central integration to ensure functional joint stability. Swimming; It is a sport branch that includes many factors such as high level aerobic and anaerobic endurance, strength, flexibility, speed, quickness, rhythm, coordination, sportive performance and technical skills .

As can be seen in the studies, young swimmers who are preparing for the competition have postural disorders and injuries related to use, such as decreased posture, shoulder joint range of motion and subracromial distance. In this context, it is important to see the effects of the studies applied on land and motor control on the performance in water and to ensure that the deficiencies are eliminated. As with any sport, swimming is a sport with a risk of injury. The presence of asymmetry between general leg strength, which is also observed among elite athletes, will negatively affect performance. An effective factor in acceleration during swimming is the force of the arm while pulling the water. The lower trapezius, latismus dorsi, pectoralis minor, and the supclavius muscle work as the scapula-thoracic depressor. The lower trapezius and pectoralis minor muscles directly affect the scapula, while the latismus dorsi muscle helps by pushing the humerus inferiorly. While the pectoralis minor muscle pulls the crocoid process forward, it lowers its posterolateral corner, which helps the latismus dorsi to extend and the lower trapezius to depress the scapula. In the shortness of the pectoralis minor muscle, the full function cannot be revealed, thus preventing the maximum extension of the arm. The shortness of the pectoralis minor muscle causes a postural disorder called the round shoulder. It is important to increase the mobility of the shoulder by stretching this muscle in terms of the smoothness of the posture. Since the depressed scapula increases the backward thrust of the arm, it is thought that it will directly affect the acceleration in swimming sports. They observed the effects of shoulder stabilization exercises and pectoralis minor stretching exercises on balance and maximal shoulder strength in a study conducted on healthy young people with a rounded shoulder posture. Based on these, pectoralis minor stretching exercise to be performed in swimmers is aimed to improve swimming performance and prevent possible postural disorders by contributing to the increase of maximal shoulder muscle strength as well as correcting the incorrectly developed posture in children.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-12-29
• Primary Completion: 2023-08-30
• Study Completion: 2023-10-30
• Status Verified: 2024-03
• Study First Submitted: 2024-03-20
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-03-27
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-03-27
• Study First Posted: 2024-04-03
• Last Update Posted: 2024-04-03

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 91

Inclusion Criteria

• Ability to swim 100m independent freestyle
• Be between the ages of 9-16
• Continuing running as part of a sports club

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Exclusion Criteria

• Not accepting to work
• Injury history in the last 3 months
• Having received physiotherapy in the last 6 months
• Having a systemic disorder

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Group in which the sham Pectoralis Minor stretching exercise	Group in which the Pectoralis Minor stretching exercise was performed in a sham manner	Volunteer athletes who agreed to participate in the thesis were initially administered tests measuring balance, posture, motor control and swimming speed. After the tests, in addition to their own training, 3 sham pectoralis minor stretching exercises with a total duration of 15 minutes, were applied for 8 weeks, at least 2 times a week.
Pectoralis minor stretching exercise group	pektoralis minor shortnes	They observed the effects of shoulder stabilization exercises and pectoralis minor stretching exercises on balance and maximal shoulder strength in their study on healthy young people with rounded shoulder posture. Based on this, the pectoralis minor stretching exercise to be performed in swimmers not only corrects the maldeveloped posture in children, but also increases maximal shoulder muscle strength. It is aimed to increase swimming performance by contributing to the increase in swimming performance.Volunteer athletes who agreed to participate in the thesis were initially administered tests measuring balance, posture, motor control and swimming speed. After the tests, in addition to their own training, 3 pectoralis minor stretching exercises with a total duration of 15 minutes, as specified by Mi-Kyoung et al. (2018), were applied for 8 weeks, at least 2 times a week.
The group in which Pectoralis Minor stretching exercise was not applied	The group in which Pectoralis Minor stretching exercise was not applied	Volunteer athletes who agreed to participate in the thesis were initially administered tests measuring balance, posture, motor control and swimming speed. After the tests,They continued to do their own training

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Anthropometric Measurement:	2 Mounth	Body Mass Index : The mesurment is in kg/m\^2
Posture analysis: (ANNEX2)	2 Mounth	Posture analysis: (ANNEX2) It will be measured with the New York Posture analysis test. NYP.The highest score is 65 and the lowest score is 0. It is a scale that shows that the higher the score, the better the person's posture.
Anthropometric Measurement 2	2 Mounth	Fathom Measurement: The Participant Leans On The Scale With His Arms : the measurment is in meters
Round Shoulder	2 Mounth	For shoulder protraction (round shoulder) measurement, the position of the shoulder is measured by measuring the distance from the front end of the acromion to the wall while the participants are in a comfortable position with their backs against the wall. The protraction of the shoulder is determined by determining the distance from the anterior end of the acromion, which should normally be in contact with the wall, to the wall.
Apley test	2 Mounths	The test is performed by looking at the distance of the arm to be tested from the crossed scapula. External rotation and abduction of the arm are checked.; Shoulder protraction measurement: While the participants are in a comfortable position with their backs against the wall, the position of the shoulder is measured by measuring the distance from the front end of the acromion to the wall.
Y Balance Test	2 Mounth	Y Balance Test is a test that is suitable for use in many different sports branches and evaluates lower extremity functional movement capacity, balance and motor control
Speed Tests	2 Mounths	Swimming Speed: The Swimming Speed Of Children And Young People Preparing For The Competition Will Be Measured With A Stopwatch By An Experienced Coach.
Eurofit Test Battery	2 Mounth	Strength Tests : Hand strength will be measured in kilograms with a hand dynameter.
Eurofit Test Battery 2	2 Mounth	Flexibility Tests:In the flexibility test, the distance the person can reach forward while sitting on the floor with his legs straight will be measured in centimeters.
Eurofit Test Battery 3	2 Mounth	Sit-Up Test : The person lies on the ground on his back with his knees bent and puts his arms behind his head. The stopwatch is kept for 30 seconds while the number of times the person lifts his back from the ground, approaches his feet and lies down again is recorded.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Galatasaray Ergün Gürsoy Olympic Swimming Pool; 🇹🇷 Üsküdar, Nuhkuyusu, Turkey