Effectivity of Slackline-Training in Physiotherapy

Effectivity of Slackline-Training in Physiotherapy - a Randomised Controlled Study

Slacklines have been established in the last few years as a training equipment in sports such as climbing, skiing and others to increase postural control. Furthermore, slacklines are used in physiotherapy in terms of stabilizing training such as wobbling boards.

However, if slackline training is effective in rehabilitation has not been investigated yet. Therefore, to goal of this study will be to investigate the effectivity of slackline training in physiotherapy compared to a wobbling board with a single tilting axis.

Outcomes will be electromyographic-data and the kinetics of the whole body.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy Volunteers; Persons With no Known Significant Health Problems
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Slackline; Device: Wobbling Board; Device: Fix visual anchor; Device: Moving visual anchor; Device: Pre-training; Device: Post-training; Device: Slackline vs. standing-on-1-leg vs. control

Detailed Description

Comparing beginners pre-training (less than 1 hour of slackline training) to post-training (9 times 30 minutes of individual, controlled training) to investigate the effects of balance training on a slackline.

Comparing beginners (less than 1 hour of slackline training) to professionals (more than 100 hours of slackline training) to investigate differences in balance strategies.

Comparing professionals during slacklining under two different conditions of their visual anchor: fix vs. moving. This to investigate the role of the visual system during balance reactions.

Comparing slackline training versus a demanding training standing-on-1-leg. We do compare Y-balance-performance, performance on the MFT challenge disc, each compared with simultanousely recording body Sway (lower trunk) with SwayStar.

Muscle activity will be investigated by absolute amplitude (mV) and frequency to get an idea of which muscle fibers are acting during the task and how the activation pattern may change through motor learning.

Body kinematics should show movement strategies especially differences in roll and pitch control of the body.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Switzerland
  • GR
    • Landquart, GR, Switzerland, 7302
      • Thim van der Laan University College Physiotherapy

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 30 years (ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• young healthy, 18-30 years old
• small operations on muscle-skeletal-system on upper extremities
• birth control pill

Exclusion Criteria:

• any actual injuries on lower extremities
• injuries on lower extremities less than one year back
• operations of muscle-skeletal-system at shoulder/neck, trunk/pelvis and lower extremities
• fear of falling
• any medications
• cardiac pacemaker or cardiac arrhythmia
• pregnancy
• skeletal anomaly
• appendicitis less then 2 years back

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: CROSSOVER
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: professionals; balancing on the slackline / wobbling board 3 times by 30 seconds balancing on the slackline with a fix visual anchor / moving visual anchor 3 times by 30 seconds	Device: Slackline; Slackbase PRO CE: certificated by european law for medical devices (EG Richtlinie 93/42/EWG); Other Names: brand name: Slackbase PRO; http://medi-lines.com/slackbasepro/; Device: Wobbling Board; Wobbling Board CE: certificated by european law for medical devices (EG Richtlinie 93/42/EWG); Other Names: name: Standbrett; serial number: 2.1.1; http://www.originell.net/index.php?_disp=40; Device: Fix visual anchor; Professionals have to gaze at a fixed visual anchor during the slacklining.; Device: Moving visual anchor; Professionals have to gaze at a moving visual anchor during the slacklining.
EXPERIMENTAL: beginners; balancing on the slackline / wobbling board 3 times by 30 seconds pre-training compared to post-training	Device: Slackline; Slackbase PRO CE: certificated by european law for medical devices (EG Richtlinie 93/42/EWG); Other Names: brand name: Slackbase PRO; http://medi-lines.com/slackbasepro/; Device: Wobbling Board; Wobbling Board CE: certificated by european law for medical devices (EG Richtlinie 93/42/EWG); Other Names: name: Standbrett; serial number: 2.1.1; http://www.originell.net/index.php?_disp=40; Device: Pre-training; First investigation of the beginners with less than 1 hour experience with slacklining.; Device: Post-training; Second investigation of the beginners occurs after a training session of 9 times 30 minutes within a few weeks.; Device: Slackline vs. standing-on-1-leg vs. control; beginners have to train 9 times ~15minutes within y few weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Muscle activity using surface electromyography device. 1. measuring amplitude of muscle activation in mV (millivolt) 2. measuring frequency pattern of muscle activation to distinguish /detect activation of slow and fast muscle fibers	single investigation for arms: BEGINNERS:a. slackline compared to wobble board; PROFESIONALS:slackline compared to wobble boardfix visual anchor compared to moving visual anchor double investigation: 1. BEGINNERS a. pre-training compared to post-training, expected training period average of 6 weeks, totally 9 trainings of 30 minutes each	average of 6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Whole body kinematics (composite outcome measure): a. calculating joint angles [deg & deg/s] b. calculating absolute and relative body part movements (such as trunk, pelvis, head): tilts & translations [mm, mm/s]	single investigation for arms: BEGINNERS: a. slackline compared to wobble board PROFESIONALS: slackline compared to wobble board fix visual anchor compared to moving visual anchor double investigation: 1. BEGINNERS a. pre-training compared to post-training, expected training period average of 6 weeks, totally 9 trainings of 30 minutes each	average of 6 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
measuring the duration of a trial (if less than 30 sec): measured in sec	single investigation for arms: BEGINNERS: a. slackline compared to wobble board PROFESIONALS: slackline compared to wobble board fix visual anchor compared to moving visual anchor double investigation: 1. BEGINNERS a. pre-training compared to post-training, expected training period average of 6 weeks, totally 9 trainings of 30 minutes each	average of 6 weeks
Y-balance-performance: measured in cm	single investigation for arms: BEGINNERS: a. slackline training vs. standing-on-1-leg training vs. control a. pre-training compared to post-training, expected training period average of 6 weeks, totally 9 trainings of 15 minutes each	average of 6 weeks
MFT challenge disc: measured in a score	single investigation for arms: BEGINNERS: a. slackline training vs. standing-on-1-leg training vs. control a. pre-training compared to post-training, expected training period average of 6 weeks, totally 9 trainings of 15 minutes each -------------------------------------- MFT Scale (Multi Functional Training) Scale Construct The diagnostics and scoring on the Challenge Disc is based on experience with other similar test equipment. Espacially the widely used Biodex Stability System. Total Score Total score is composed of the anterior-posterior and lateral-medial movement on the board. Scale Range Score 1-5 (1= good; 5=bad) Subscales unknown	average of 6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: THIM - die internationale Hochschule für Physiotherapie
• Collaborators: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ursula M Kueng, PhD, THIM - die internationale Hochschule für Physiotherapie

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Pfusterschmied J, Lindinger S, Buchecker M, Stoggl T, Wagner H, Muller E. Effect of instability training equipment on lower limb kinematics and muscle activity. Sportverletz Sportschaden. 2013 Mar;27(1):28-33. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-1330725. Epub 2013 Feb 12.
• Donath L, Roth R, Rueegge A, Groppa M, Zahner L, Faude O. Effects of slackline training on balance, jump performance & muscle activity in young children. Int J Sports Med. 2013 Dec;34(12):1093-8. doi: 10.1055/s-0033-1337949. Epub 2013 May 22.
• Honegger F, Tielkens RJ, Allum JH. Movement strategies and sensory reweighting in tandem stance: differences between trained tightrope walkers and untrained subjects. Neuroscience. 2013 Dec 19;254:285-300. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.09.041. Epub 2013 Oct 1.
• Kung UM, Horlings CG, Honegger F, Duysens JE, Allum JH. Control of roll and pitch motion during multi-directional balance perturbations. Exp Brain Res. 2009 Apr;194(4):631-45. doi: 10.1007/s00221-009-1743-3. Epub 2009 Mar 5.
• Raffi M, Piras A, Persiani M, Squatrito S. Importance of optic flow for postural stability of male and female young adults. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2014 Jan;114(1):71-83. doi: 10.1007/s00421-013-2750-4. Epub 2013 Oct 23.
• Pfusterschmied J, Stoggl T, Buchecker M, Lindinger S, Wagner H, Muller E. Effects of 4-week slackline training on lower limb joint motion and muscle activation. J Sci Med Sport. 2013 Nov;16(6):562-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2012.12.006. Epub 2013 Jan 16.
• Paoletti P, Mahadevan L. Balancing on tightropes and slacklines. J R Soc Interface. 2012 Sep 7;9(74):2097-108. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2012.0077. Epub 2012 Apr 18.
• Kung UM, Horlings CG, Honegger F, Allum JH. The effect of voluntary lateral trunk bending on balance recovery following multi-directional stance perturbations. Exp Brain Res. 2010 May;202(4):851-65. doi: 10.1007/s00221-010-2201-y. Epub 2010 Mar 4.
• Kung UM, Horlings CG, Honegger F, Allum JH. Incorporating voluntary unilateral knee flexion into balance corrections elicited by multi-directional perturbations to stance. Neuroscience. 2009 Sep 29;163(1):466-81. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.06.009. Epub 2009 Jun 6.
• Tabira T, Sakai K. Demyelination induced by T cell lines and clones specific for myelin basic protein in mice. Lab Invest. 1987 May;56(5):518-25.

Helpful Links

• Swiss National Clinical Trials Portal (SNCTP)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): August 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): May 31, 2020
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): May 31, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 12, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 14, 2014
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): August 15, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): October 8, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 6, 2020
• Last Verified: May 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: postural control; postural balance; slackline
• Other Study ID Numbers: UCP-2014-0107; KEK-ZH-2014-0107 (REGISTRY: Kantonale Ethikkommission Zürich); PB 2019-00009 (OTHER: Kantonale Ethikkommission Zürich)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No