Sleeper Stretch in CrossFit Participants

October 21, 2025 updated by: Alecia M. Gende, Mayo Clinic

The Effects of a Sleeper Stretch Intervention on Measures of Performance and Pain in CrossFit Participants: A Randomized Trial

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of the sleeper stretch in improving shoulder range of motion, strength and upper body performance in CrossFit athletes.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

26

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

  • United States
    • Wisconsin
      • La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, 54601
        • Mayo Clinic Health System-La Crosse
      • Onalaska, Wisconsin, United States, 54650
        • Driftless CrossFit

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Regularly active (attending CrossFit > 2x per week)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Positive test for labral lesions or rotator cuff tears
  • History of recent fracture
  • Orthopedic surgery in the upper limbs or cervical region
  • Any other current injury that would prevent participation in regular work-shift activities

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

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Control Group
Behavioral: Standard workout
Participants will complete their regularly programmed dynamic warm-ups before scheduled workout for 8 weeks.
Experimental: Sleeper Stretch
Behavioral: Sleeper stretch
Participants will complete their regularly scheduled workout activities over 8 weeks, with the addition of the sleeper stretch into the dynamic warm-up. Participants will be instructed to lie side-lying with the dominant arm downward, the trunk rotated posteriorly 20 to 30°, the shoulder raised to 90°, the elbow flexed to 90°, and both knees semi-flexed to ensure stability. Participants will then be asked to use the opposite hand to grasp the dominant hand below the wrist and gradually internally rotate the forearm towards the floor; (i.e., the participant will perform passive internal rotation with the opposite arm). This stretch position will be completed on both sides. Participants will be instructed to complete 2 sets of 10 repetitions for each arm and hold the position for ~2 seconds.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Upper body function
Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Measured by isometric horizontal push test (IHPT), a newly designed test that selectively measures the horizontal component of maximal isometric force, with 3 minutes of rest between each trial. The participants will place their hands on force platforms that sample ground reaction force data at 1000 Hz throughout the test.
Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Mayo Clinic

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Alecia Gende, DO, CAQSM, Mayo Clinic

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)

May 15, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 30, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

September 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 3, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 3, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

December 6, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

October 22, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 21, 2025

Last Verified

October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 24-007771

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

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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