Lower Limb Biomechanics of the Roundhouse Kick in Elite and Youth Taekwondo Athletes Using FPCA

January 12, 2026 updated by: Shazlin Shaharudin, Universiti Sains Malaysia

Evaluation of Lower Limb Biomechanical Analysis of Roundhouse Kick in Elite and Youth Taekwondo Athletes Through Functional Principal Component Analysis.

This study aims to understand how the lower limbs (hip, knee, and ankle) function during a taekwondo roundhouse kick. Elite and youth taekwondo athletes will be compared to identify movement and muscle-activation patterns related to kicking performance. Participants will attend one testing session at Ludong University, China. During the session, participants will complete a standardized warm-up and then perform a series of roundhouse kicks. Body movement will be recorded using motion-analysis equipment, and muscle activity will be recorded using surface electromyography (EMG) sensors placed on the skin. These recordings will be used to examine how joint motion and muscle activation change over the kicking movement. The study is expected to involve minimal risk, similar to routine sports testing. Possible discomforts include temporary muscle fatigue or mild soreness. Participants may not receive direct benefit, but the findings may inform training and injury-prevention strategies for taekwondo athletes. All collected data will be kept confidential and analyzed without personal identifiers.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
52

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Shandong
      • Yantai, Shandong, China, 264000
        • Sports Biomechanics Laboratory

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy taekwondo athletes recruited from local training centers/teams will be enrolled and categorized into an elite group and a youth group. Participants will attend a single laboratory visit to perform standardized roundhouse kick trials while lower-limb biomechanics are measured using motion analysis, force platforms, and surface electromyography.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy taekwondo athletes currently training and actively participating in taekwondo.
  • Able and willing to provide written informed consent (and assent with parental/guardian consent for minors, if applicable).
  • Assigned to either the elite group or the youth group based on competition level and/or age category as defined in the study protocol.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current pain, acute injury, or musculoskeletal disorder affecting the lower limbs or trunk that could influence kicking performance.
  • Any injury or illness within the past 3 months that limited full training participation.
  • Neurological, cardiovascular, or other medical condition that may make vigorous sport-specific testing unsafe.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Youth Taekwondo Athletes
Youth taekwondo athletes who will complete one laboratory testing session (roundhouse kick trials) for motion analysis and surface EMG. No intervention.
Elite Taekwondo Athletes
Elite taekwondo athletes who will complete one laboratory testing session (roundhouse kick trials) for motion analysis and surface EMG. No intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Lower-Limb Joint Angles During the Taekwondo Roundhouse Kick
Time Frame: Day 1
Time-series hip, knee, and ankle joint angles (degrees) during standardized roundhouse kick trials. Waveform-based analyses (including FPCA) will compare elite and youth athletes.
Day 1
Lower-Limb Net Joint Moments During the Taekwondo Roundhouse Kick
Time Frame: Day 1
Time-series net joint moments at the hip, knee, and ankle (Nm or normalized as Nm/kg) during standardized roundhouse kick trials. Waveform-based analyses (including FPCA) will compare groups.
Day 1
Ground Reaction Forces During the Taekwondo Roundhouse Kick
Time Frame: Day 1
Time-series ground reaction forces (N or normalized as N/body weight) collected from force platforms during kick trials (e.g., vertical/anterior-posterior/medial-lateral components). Group comparisons will use waveform-based analyses (including FPCA).
Day 1
Surface EMG Amplitude Measures During the Taekwondo Roundhouse Kick
Time Frame: Day 1
Surface EMG from selected lower-limb muscles recorded during kick trials. EMG amplitude outcomes include root mean square (RMS, µV) and integrated EMG (iEMG, µV·s), calculated over pre-specified phases of the kick. Comparisons will be made between elite and youth athletes.
Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Universiti Sains Malaysia

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
December 14, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 14, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 29, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 12, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • USM/JEPeM/KK/25030312

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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