Neuromuscular Training on Handball Players Selected Physical Fitness Components, Functional Movement and Handball Skills

Effects of Neuromuscular Training on Selected Physical Fitness Components, Functional Movement, and Handball Skills Among Elite Male Handball Players in Pakistan

The neuromuscular training improves nerve-muscle control while increasing the stability of functioning joints. Furthermore, Neuromuscular training has been proven to influence the sensitivity and reactivity of the central nervous system and improves the power of athletes by targeting motor units and coordinating motor units and increasing muscle activation. These enhancements resulted in skillful movements and significantly improved agility, balance, muscular strength and muscular power among individuals. The neuromuscular training also focuses on promoting functional joint stability by improving athletes' neuromuscular control and has been proven to significantly enhance athletes' performance. Finally, to evaluate that neuromuscular training can improve elite male handball players' physical fitness components, handball skills and functional movement.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Inactivity, Physical
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Control group; Other: Neuromuscular training

Detailed Description

This study included two groups, namely the control and neuromuscular training groups. The sample is 18-22-year-old Pakistani elite male handball players who do not do neuromuscular training exercises. Based on the literature review, the training frequency of this experiment was arranged three (3) times/week, the total training duration will be 12 weeks, and the time of each training session will be changed over two weeks. The 12 weeks of exercise last 90 minutes, with a 10-minute warm-up and a 10-minute cool-down. Training intensity ranges from 70% to 95%. Teach all sports techniques before the intervention. In contrast, the control group discussed with their coaches and will continue the 12-week of previous regular exercises.

Content of Experimental Group: Week 1-2: Introduces the classification of neuromuscular training starting from the: One-leg balance and hamstrings and hip flexor each side exercises; Week 3-4: exercises to improve physical fitness: Agility drills ladder hurdles cones, barrier jump forward-backward and Seated press-ups exercises; 5-6 Week: Reviewed the basic handball skills: Net zigzag, baseline-net-baseline (9 cones), balance board stands on one foot to catch the ball (handball) and biceps and triceps, free weights exercises; 7-8 Week: learn the exercises: Mini-arm circles, tennis ball against wall, Swiss ball side plank (Bodyweight) and Iliotibial band each side exercises; 9-10 Week: Review the Sprints: Baseline-net, gastrocnemius/soleus each side, 4-square, various patterns and vertical jump with an additional load exercises; 11-12 Week: Review physical fitness, handball skills and functional movement: Court suicide sprint conditioning drills, Single-leg squats on half foam roll, Push-up with and without countermovement, Plank 3 levels of difficulty, Ladder: various patterns, biceps each side and Single-leg balance with ball handling drills on half foam roll exercises.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 46
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Pakistan
  • Punjab
    • Faisalābad, Punjab, Pakistan, 38000
      • University of Agriculture, Hub of Handball in Pakistan

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 21 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• The population must be elite male handball players between the ages of 18 to 22
• Able to perform all tests and be Physically active (no previous experience performing neuromuscular training)
• Only players who understand the study purposes and procedures and can complete this training requirement can be included in the research data.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Female handball players should be excluded from this study
• On medication that may affect body composition and muscles activity
• Presently engaged in regular neuromuscular training programs
• Players who are consistently late or absent from training sessions will eventually be excluded

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Neuromuscular training of male handball players; Neuromuscular training exercises focus on improving physical fitness and skills performance. Neuromuscular training targets the neuromuscular system through engagements of muscle groups as well as nerve function to optimize movements. This training has been considered an effective treatment method to enhance the neurophysiological entity of the joints for coordinated functioning. However, the present study applied neuromuscular training to elite male handball players to assess fitness level as well as skill performance. Post-test 1 will be after 6 weeks, and post-test 2 after 12 weeks to measure performance.	Other: Neuromuscular training; Neuromuscular training Length: 12 weeks; Training duration: 90 minutes; Intensity: 70-95%; 3 days per week. The intensity of the training is increasing in the first 20 minutes, and the intensity is gradually decreasing in the next 5 minutes; Rest: 30 seconds rest between exercises and 1-minute rest between sets.
Active Comparator: Male handball players continue previous regular exercises; Handball players as a control group will be continuing their previous regular exercises for 12 weeks.	Other: Control group; The Control group continues previous regular exercises for 12 weeks with a duration of 90 minutes and three days per week.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Balance performance of handball players	Balance will be measured by the Star excursion balance test (SEBT). Balance ability of athletes on an activity to keep their balance equilibrium. It is a type of dynamic stability testing. The SEBT involves having a participant maintain a base of support with one leg while maximally reaching in different directions with the opposite leg without compromising base of support of stance leg.	4 weeks
Explosive power of handball players	To measure the explosive power of the leg in vertical jump height jumped. The player chalks the end of his fingertips, stands side onto the wall, keeping both feet remaining on the ground, reaches up as high as possible with one hand and marks the wall with the tips of the fingers. From a static position jump as high as possible and marks the wall with the chalk on his fingertips.	5 weeks
Flexibility of handball players	The test will be conducted indoors using a static sit and reach box, supplied with a tape measure. The participant will give the instruction to sit with legs together and extended in front of him, so that the feet (shoes off) touch the first step. Both knees will be held together and flat on the floor. The purpose of this test is to assess the flexibility of the lower back and hamstring. The intra-class correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability for the sit and reach test was 0.93.	6 weeks
Muscular Strength of handball players	Muscular strength will be measured by the 1RM test. Test-retest ICCs ranged from 0.64 to 0.99 (median ICC = 0.97), where 92% of ICCs were ≥ 0.90, and 97% of ICCs were ≥ 0.80. Based on the previous studies, it can be concluded that the 1RM test generally has good to excellent test-retest reliability, part of the body assessed (upper vs. lower body).	8 weeks
Functional Movement of handball players	The FMS will be used to assess the study participants using the standard 0-3 ordinal scale. A score of 3 will be awarded for performing the specific movement perfectly, a score of 2 for completing the movement with some compensatory movements observed, a score of 1 for the subject failing to complete the movement, and a score of 0 for the movement being painful. Functional movement assesses through the FMS Kit.	9 weeks
Dribbling skill performance of handball players	Slalom sprint and dribble test will measure dribbling performance. Twelve cones will be placed in a zigzag pattern, and the participant is to slalom the 30-m course as fast as possible. Sprints will be timed using a stopwatch. Slalom sprint and dribble test the indication of a good reliability (without ball: Intraclass Correlation Coefficient [ICC] = 0.91; with ball: ICC = 0.79) and validity (i.e., discriminative between level of performances).	11 weeks
Shooting skill performance of handball players	Shooting skill performance will be measure by shooting accuracy test. To measure the shooting ability of accuracy for team handball players can make throws at the target in team handball. Each player had eight shots executed from five different positions, previously established, in the direction of the goal.	12 weeks
Speed performance of handball players	Speed will be measured by a 30-meter sprint test. To monitor the development of the athlete's maximum sprint speed, the 20m sprint test measurement also has a high reliability value (r=0.94 to 0.98).	2 weeks
Agility performance of handball players	Agility will be measured by Illinois agility test running agility using various turns and movements. Participants should lie on their front (head to the start line) and hands by their shoulders. On the 'Go' command the stopwatch is started, and the athlete gets up as quickly as possible and runs forwards 10 meters to run around a cone, then back 10 meters, then runs up and back through a slalom course of four cones. Finally, the athlete runs another 10 meters up and back past the finishing cone.	3 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universiti Putra Malaysia
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Saddam Akbar, PhD, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• McLeod TC, Armstrong T, Miller M, Sauers JL. Balance improvements in female high school basketball players after a 6-week neuromuscular-training program. J Sport Rehabil. 2009 Nov;18(4):465-81. doi: 10.1123/jsr.18.4.465.
• Barber-Westin SD, Hermeto AA, Noyes FR. A six-week neuromuscular training program for competitive junior tennis players. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Sep;24(9):2372-82. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181e8a47f.
• Barber-Westin, S., Hermeto, A., and Noyes, M.D.F. (2015). A six-week neuromuscular and performance training program improves speed, agility, dynamic balance, and core endurance in junior tennis players. J Athl Enhancement 4.
• Borghuis, A. J., Lemmink, K. A., Hof, A. L., & Visscher, C. 5. The Effect of a Soccer-Specific Neuromuscular Training Program on Stability, Agility and Injury in Elite Youth Soccer. Core Stability in Soccer: it's a Matter of Control! 83.
• Trajkovic N, Bogataj S. Effects of Neuromuscular Training on Motor Competence and Physical Performance in Young Female Volleyball Players. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar 8;17(5):1755. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17051755.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 2, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 12, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): March 28, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 19, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 10, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): December 21, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 1, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 27, 2024
• Last Verified: June 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Physical Fitness Components; Handball Skills; Functional movement; Male Handball Players
• Other Study ID Numbers: GS61103

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Since this is my doctoral thesis experiment, I won't share it until I graduate.

Drug and device information, study documents

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