Effects of Whole-body Electromyostimulation on Golf Performance in Amateur Golfers

Effects of Whole-body Electromyostimulation on Clubhead Speed and Stability in Ambitious Amateur Golfers - a Randomized Controlled Trial.

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-EMS application on trunk stability and clubhead speed in male amateur golfers in a (randomized) controlled setting.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Athletic Performance
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Electromyostimulation

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

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

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Golfhandicap ≤20,
• members of the Golfclub München-Eichenried

Exclusion Criteria:

• diseases and medication that did not allow WB-EMS training (see contraindications WB-EMS) or enable proper assessment of clubhead speed (in cases of doubt, individual medical decision),
• resistance and/or WB-EMS Training during the last 6 months,
• more than two expected missed WB-EMS sessions

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Whole-Body Electromyostimulation; WB-EMS once per week for for 16 week (85 Hz, 350 µs, bipolar, duty cycle 4s-4s)	Device: Electromyostimulation; WB-EMS once per week 20 min for 16 weeks
No Intervention: Non WB-EMS control; No WB intervention, but maintained physical activity and habitual exercise habits

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Clubhead speed	Changes of clubhead speed as determined by a radar-based system ("TrackMan", Scottsdale, USA)	At baseline and after16 weeks (i.e. over 16 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Trunk stability as determined by	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 after16 weeks (i.e. over 16 weeks)
Clubhead speed	Changes of clubhead speed as determined by a radar-based system ("TrackMan", Scottsdale, USA)	At baseline and after 8 weeks (i.e. over 8 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Erlangen-Nürnberg Medical School
• Collaborators: Golfersworld München; Golfclub München-Eichenried

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Zink C, Rückel F, von Stengel S, Kemmler W. 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 2019; 2(1)1: 04-12

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 31, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 17, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 18, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): June 19, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 11, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 10, 2023
• Last Verified: May 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: GOLFEMS III

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 on request from the corresponding author (WK)
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data will become available in January 2021 without time limit
• 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