Integrated Exercise Therapy Interventions on the Performance and Injury Prevention in Competitive Sports

Summary

Football is an increasingly popular exercise and common practice among adolescent and elite athletes. However, these athletes tend to have injuries involving the lower extremity and foot. Recent literature has proposed a promising concept of core stability on the arch of the foot and proximal hip control exercise for a knee injury. They have highlighted that foot core training begins with targeting the plantar intrinsic muscles through exercise intervention, which may enhance the capacity and control of the foot core system. Moreover, it is hypothesized that the 'complexity algorithm' of exercise intervention for proximal hip control may provide more sufficient effects on musculoskeletal pain in the lower extremity. However, some conflicting issues such as assessment and training of foot intrinsic muscle in functional positions still largely lack devices and research to elucidate the underlying mechanism of its development and integrated exercise interventions proximally and distally on these athletes.

Firstly, the investigators aim to design and develop of novel intrinsic foot muscle assessment and training device for sporting tasks and to examine the feasibility and reliability of muscle stiffness in foot and hip joints before and after exercise intervention using shear wave ultrasound elastography (SWUE) in athletes without and with foot and ankle overuse injuries; second, investigators will investigate whether immediate and persistent alteration after the integrated therapeutic exercise on motor control and muscle stiffness.

Conditions

• Strain of Fascia of Intrinsic Muscle of Foot (Disorder)
• Elastography
• Muscle Weakness

Interventions

DEVICE

Shear Wave Ultrasound Elastography

Scanned protocols of sonographic imaging will be used in this study to measure extrinsic (FDL, FHL and PER) and intrinsic (AbdH, FDB and FHB) muscle CSA and thickness, and plantar fascia thickness (at heel, mid and forefoot sites). The muscle stiffness will be calculated from the program provided by the US machine as shown real time elastography (RTE, unit: KPa).

DEVICE

The 3-D Motion Analysis

The 3-D Motion Analysis, Forceplates and EMG acquisition system and full body kinematic model (Bonita, VICON Corp, UK) in the Biomechanics and Motor Control Laboratory (BMCL).

DEVICE

Electromyographic

Electromyographic activity (EMG) of AbdH, TA, PL, SO, gluteus medius (Glut Med) and gluteus maximus (Glut Max) will be recorded bilaterally using pairs of surface electrodes. Motor coordination of these muscles will be evaluated through assessment of temporal and spatial parameters of EMG during functional tasks such as kicking in one leg standing. The primary outcome measure will be percentage of EMG relative to maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) on the same side. In order to remove the potential for investigator bias, all data will be presented individually without identification of the muscle, order of trials or whether the trials precede or follow the intervention.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Foot intrinsic muscle assessment and training device

The main concept for this design is to provide the quantitative assessment of the foot intrinsic muscles and facilitation of intrinsic muscles of the fool during functional sporting activities such single-leg-standing.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Chich-Haung R. Yang, PhD · College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

15 Years

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-08-01

Primary Completion

2022-12-31

Completion

2022-12-31

Countries

• Taiwan

Study Locations