Adolescent Basketball Players, Dynamic Visual Acuity, Injury Risk, Neuroathletic Training
Conditions
Brief summary
This randomized controlled study aims to investigate the effects of neuroathletic training on dynamic visual acuity, endurance, balance, and injury risk in adolescent basketball players. Licensed basketball players aged 14-17 years will be randomly assigned to either a neuroathletic training group or a control group. The training group will receive sport-specific progressive neuroathletic exercises in addition to their regular basketball training for one week, while the control group will continue their usual training routine. Before and after the intervention, participants will be assessed for dynamic visual acuity, core muscle endurance, balance, functional movement, pain, and kinesiophobia. The findings of this study may help clarify whether neuroathletic training can improve performance-related outcomes and reduce injury risk in adolescent basketball players.
Interventions
This intervention is a progressive neuroathletic training program developed by the research team to improve motor skills, balance, eye coordination, and vestibular function in adolescent basketball players. The program is performed for approximately 20 minutes per day over 6 days and includes visual relaxation exercises, eye massage, unilateral vertical jumping, Brock string training, shoulder/wrist/ankle circular movements, sacculus activation, cerebellar activation, and antisaccade exercises. The content is progressively advanced across days by integrating balance challenges and visual-vestibular tasks.
Sponsors
Pamukkale University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
14 Years to 17 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Aged between 14 and 17 years, Being a professional or amateur basketball player, Participating in sports for at least five hours per week and having engaged in the sport for a minimum of two years, Having no cognitive or motor dysfunction, Providing written informed consent signed by the parents/legal guardians.
Exclusion criteria
Reporting a back or lower extremity injury within the previous six months, Having any relevant medical history or current condition that could affect the balance system or perception-action system (e.g., neurological disorders, inner ear disorders, or color blindness), Using medications or substances that could affect balance and visual-motor reaction time performance.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Functional Movement Screen (FMS) total score | Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention | Assessment of injury risk and movement quality using the Functional Movement Screen total score. The test consists of 7 movement patterns scored from 0 to 3, with higher scores indicating better functional movement quality and lower injury risk. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic Visual Acuity (DVA) | Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention | Dynamic visual acuity assessed using a visual chart while the participant performs active horizontal head movements. The lowest clearly read line will be recorded. |
| Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) / Denge Hata Puanlama Sistemi | Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention | Postural stability assessed by the number of balance errors performed in double-leg, single-leg, and tandem stance conditions. Lower scores indicate better balance performance. |
| Core muscle endurance (Prone plank test) | Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention | Core endurance assessed by the duration the participant maintains the correct prone plank position. Longer duration indicates better core endurance. |
| Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK) | Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention | Kinesiophobia assessed using the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia. Higher scores indicate greater fear of movement. |
| Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain | Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention | Pain intensity assessed using a 100-mm visual analog scale, with higher scores indicating greater pain intensity. |
Countries
Turkey (Türkiye)
Outcome results
None listed