Effects of Whole-Body Electromyostimulation on Golf Performance

Effects of 16 Weeks of Whole-Body Electromyostimulation on Stability, Strength and Golf Performance in Amateur Golfers - A Randomized Controlled Study

Golf is becoming increasingly popular in Germany. However, the biomechanical and motor challenge of golf should not be underestimated. Nevertheless, only very few amateur golfers carry out serious preparation and conditioning as part of a strength/stabilization program. The main argument for this limitation is the aspect of "limited time resources". A solution to this problem could therefore be the time-effective and highly individualizable whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) technology. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of 16 weeks of WB-EMSapplication on maximum strength of the lower extremities, trunk stability and (golf) handicap in male amateur golfers in a (randomized) controlled setting.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Muscle Strength; Trunk Stability; Golf Specific Performance
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: WB-EMS

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

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Bavaria
    • Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany, 91052
      • Institute of Medical Physics, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• golf amateurs with a history if golf > 2 years
• no WB-EMS application during the last 12 months

Exclusion Criteria:

• contraindications for WB-EMS (in doubt assessment by study physician)
• contraindications for MRI (in doubt assessment by study physician)
• resistance exercise training for more one 60 min/week during the last 12 months
• expected absence of more than one week during the intervention period (WB-EMS)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Whole-Body Electromyostimulation; 16 weeks of dynamic WB-EMS: one supervised session per week, 20 min session; impulse-frequency: 85 Hz; impulse breadth 350 µs; intermittent 4-6 s; of impulse - 4 s of impulse break; impulse intensity RPE 7 (hard+ to very hard) on Borg CR 10 Scale.	Device: WB-EMS; 16 weeks of WB-EMS; Other Names: Whole Body Electromyostimulation
No Intervention: Non exercising control; ...maintained physical activity and exercise habits during the study period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
18 hole golf score	Average golf score of 5 rounds on a 18 hole course (supervised)	through study completion, on average 4 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Hip-/leg extensor strength	Changes of maximum dynamic hip-/leg extensor strength as determine by an isokinetic leg press	At baseline and after 16 weeks
Trunk strength	Changes of maximum isometric trunk strength (index of trunk extension/-flexion; lateral flexion and trunk rotation) as determined by an isometric testing device	At baseline and after 16 weeks
Muscle density at the mid-thigh	Muscle density at the mid-thigh as determined by MRI	At baseline and after 16 weeks
Muscle density at lumbar spine	Muscle density at the para-vertebral site as determined by MRI	At baseline and after 16 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Erlangen-Nürnberg Medical School
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Carina Zink-Rückel, MSc, Institute of Medical Physics, FAU, Germany

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Carina Zink-Rückel, Florian Rückel, Simon von Stengel, Wolfgang Kemmler. The Use of Whole Body Electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) as a Golf Warm-Up - A Randomized Controlled Cross-Over Study. Archives of Physical Health and Sports Medicine Volume 2 (2019)1: 04-12

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 20, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 30, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 6, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 8, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): February 11, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 11, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 7, 2021
• Last Verified: January 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: EMSGOLF

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the responsible researcher [W. Kemmler], upon reasonable request.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Immediately after publication and ending 3 years following article publication
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

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