Effects of Gua Sha intervention on sports performance in badminton players
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN12712929 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN12712929 |
- Submission date
- 17/03/2025
- Registration date
- 19/03/2025
- Last edited
- 18/03/2025
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Overall study status
- Ongoing
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Muscle tearing causes inflammation, which can lead to swelling, soreness, and other symptoms. The most common way for preventing muscle soreness and flexibility reduction are foam roller, massage balls, manual massage, and stretching exercises. Gua Sha is a scraping technique that is effective on anti-inflammatory and analgesia. However, there have been very few studies on scraping intervention in sports in the past. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of various massage techniques on the performance of badminton players.
Who can participate?
People who live in Taiwan and aged 18-30 years old who are regularly practice badminton for at least twice per week.
What does the study involve?
Participants will be randomly allocated into three groups using sealed envelopes, namely Gua sha group, foam roller group, and control group. Participants in each group will received a 4-week massage interventions by Gua sha, foam roller or massage oil effleurage technique.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating
The possible benefits include muscle flexibility of the lower extremity improved and further improve the agility and balance. Risks include possible muscle soreness after the measurements.
Where is the study run from?
China Medical University, Taiwan
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
July 2024 to July 2025
Who is funding the study?
China Medical University, Taiwan
Who is the main contact?
Dr Yu-Lin You, oilfish@mail.cmu.edu.tw
Contact information
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
No. 100, Section 1, Jingmao Road, Beitun District
Taichung City
406040
Taiwan
| Phone | +886-4-22053366 ext. 7611 |
|---|---|
| oilfish@mail.cmu.edu.tw |
Study information
| Study design | Interventional randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Other |
| Study type | Other |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | Effects of Gua Sha intervention on the flexibility, agility and balance in badminton players |
| Study objectives | Gua Sha intervention improves flexibility, agility and balance in badminton players |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Approved 30/07/2024, China Medical University Hospital Research Ethics Committee (no. 2 Yude Road, Taichung, 40047, Taiwan; +886-4-22052121; irb@mail.cmuh.org.tw), ref: CMUH113-REC1-127 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Healthy, active, and experienced badminton players |
| Intervention | Participants will be randomly allocated into three groups using sealed envelopes, namely Gua sha group, foam roller group, and control group. Participants in each group will received a 4-week massage interventions by Gua sha, foam roller or massage oil effleurage technique. |
| Intervention type | Other |
| Primary outcome measure | Measured before the intervention, and after a 4-week intervention: 1. Agility test measured using hexagon agility tests 2. Muscle properties of lower extremity measured using Myoton (MyotonPRO, Myoton AS, Tartu, Estonia) |
| Secondary outcome measures | Balance ability will be measured by Y-balance test before the intervention and after a 4-week intervention |
| Overall study start date | 01/07/2024 |
| Completion date | 29/07/2025 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Healthy volunteer |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Upper age limit | 30 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 45 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Badminton training for two days or more per week, with each training session lasting two hours or more. 2. Age: 18-30 years old |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. People with chronic or serious diseases (such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, poor liver and kidney function) 2. Pregnent |
| Date of first enrolment | 20/03/2025 |
| Date of final enrolment | 29/07/2025 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Taiwan
Study participating centre
Jingmao Road
Beitun District
Taichung City
406040
Taiwan
Sponsor information
University/education
Department of Sports Medicine
No. 100
Section 1
Jingmao Road
Beitun District
Taichung City
406040
Taiwan
| Phone | +886 (4) 22052121 |
|---|---|
| 038076@tool.caaumed.org.tw | |
| Website | Website https://www.cmu.edu.tw/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/032d4f246 |
Funders
Funder type
University/education
Private sector organisation / Universities (academic only)
- Alternative name(s)
- CMU
- Location
- Taiwan
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 31/07/2026 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Available on request |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Plnned publication in a high-impact-peer-reviewed journal |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study will be available upon request from Dr Yu-Lin You (oilfish@mail.cmu.edu.tw) until 31/7/2026. The personal information of all participants will be anonymized by code name. |
Editorial Notes
17/03/2025: Trial's existence confirmed by China Medical University Hospital Research Ethics Committee.
