Investigation of the Immediate Effect of IASTM on Some Parameters in E-Sports Players

Summary

Due to the nature of competitive sports, frequent and regular training by e-sports players to increase their performance provides e-athletes with success in the field, but it also increases the time spent in front of the screen. It is known that e-athletes train for an average of 5.5 to 10 hours per day. Therefore, sedentary behavior that develops due to screens is an issue that e-athletes should be careful about. While reasons such as disrupted sleep patterns, increased stress levels and mood changes experienced in the game following increased screen time negatively affect cardiovascular and metabolic health, the fact that e-sports do not require any physical effort also negatively affects the e-sports player's muscular activation. Due to the reasons mentioned, e-sports can cause chronic diseases in the long term. The process from the presence of a stimulus to the execution of the action that will occur following the stimulus is called reaction time. Reaction time can also be described as the value taken when a stimulus exceeds the threshold value, when movement is released or at the beginning of the explosive response. Reaction time consists of stages. The process, which starts with the transmission of the sensory stimulus through the receptors, establishes a perceptual link with the motor response and decides to produce a reactive response, and ends with the process of producing a movement that requires muscular force in the perceptual process. In studies conducted on e-sports players, the most common complaints resulting from long training periods are vision problems and eye fatigue, followed by pain experienced especially in the back, neck and wrist areas. E-sports players perform with poor posture compared to traditional athletes. Games played on mobile phones, especially computer-based games, cause changes in the structure of the spine, pain complaints, movement limitations, and loss of stability and balance. It is argued that the main reason for the pain experienced by approximately half of the players is the anterior displacement of the head due to the prolonged static position spent in front of the screen after a certain number of minutes and the pains brought about by muscle strength imbalances. To our knowledge, there is no study in the literature that investigates the immediate effect of a myofascial release technique applied to university student e-sports players on hand reaction time, neck pain and cervical joint position sense parameters. The aim of this study is to investigate the instantaneous effect of a myofascial release technique, the Graston Technique, on hand reaction time, neck pain and cervical joint position sense in university student e-sports players. Our study is valuable in this respect.

Conditions

• Cervical Pain, Posterior
• Musculoskeletal Disorder of the Neck
• Neck Pain
• Posture

Interventions

OTHER

IASTM

IASTM: For the application, the participant is seated on a chair, puts his hands together on the bed in front of him and puts his head on his hands (Figure 4). Vaseline cream is applied to the area to be applied to ensure that the Graston Technique instruments slide more easily in the tissue. The application area is the area between the mastoid processes proximally, the acromial processes laterally, and the T2 vertebra level distally. The researcher who will perform the application stands behind the participant. Application is performed for 10 minutes at a 45o angle with 3 different Graston instruments.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sivas Cumhuriyet Universtiy

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Bahçeşehir University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Mustafa Oğuz Kethüdaoğlu, PT, MSc · Bahcesehir University, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation

• Sefa Eldemir, PT, PhD · Cumhuriyet University

• Ayşenur Canan Benli, PT, MSc · Cumhuriyet University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-06-14

Primary Completion

2025-06-21

Completion

2025-07-14

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations