Ergonomic Protocol for Competitive E-Sport Athletes

February 26, 2025 updated by: Donnamarie Krause, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

The Effectiveness of an Ergonomic Protocol in Reducing Ergonomic Risk and Improving Performance for Competitive E-Sport Athletes

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if this ergonomic protocol can improve performance and reduce ergonomic risk in esports athletes. It will also learn about the insight of esports athletes and their experience in implementing this new protocol. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does this ergonomic protocol improve performance? Does this ergonomic protocol reduce ergonomic risk?

Researchers will assign the protocol to esports athletes who meet inclusion criteria and express interest in participating in the study. A pre-post design will be conducted to note any differences.

Participants will:

  • Participate in a 6-week study with 4 in-person visits
  • Volunteers will be requested to participate in a focus group during Week 6.
  • Implement the strengthening protocol 3x a week and a warm up/cool down protocol before and after each gaming session.
  • Attend one educational session about gaming ergonomics during Week 1
  • Complete the Rapid Entire Body Assessment, Kovaaks Asessment, and a Questionnaire during Week Zero, Week 3, and Week 6.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

  1. Recruitment will occur via snowballing, word-of-mouth, flyers, emails, and social media posts
  2. Potential participants will complete a general Demographic questionnaire via Qualtrics as part of the inclusion criteria, collecting information such as age, race, type of gaming input they use (mouse and keyboard or controller), gaming experience, and any self-reported symptoms of musculoskeletal issues from prolonged gaming if any.
  3. Potential participants will be contacted within 48 hours of completing the demographic survey informing them of whether or not they are eligible.
  4. Eligible participants will complete informed consent via Zoom after 3 days of being informed of eligibility for the study by the student researcher 1 week prior to beginning the study. Potential participants will have 48 hours to make a decision on whether or not they would like to participate in the study.
  5. Week Zero of the study will commence and baseline assessments will be performed in person at either Black Fire Innovation or the Tonopah Lounge based on participate convenience, using REBA to assess ergonomic risks and Kovaaks to assess current gaming performance. A questionnaire exploring their current knowledge via Qualtrics in ergonomics will also be provided during this first visit. Participants will be given a scheduled time to show up for this part of data collection.
  6. During week one, the student researcher will deliver the supplemental educational component and the ergonomic protocol in person at the Tonapah Lounge. The educational module and ergonomic protocol will be attached. This session will approximately take about 45 minutes to an hour to deliver all information. All information will be found on a website created by the student researcher as a hub for all information taught and implemented during this visit. Handouts of the protocol will also be provided.
  7. During week three, the student researcher will conduct an in-person follow-up at the Tonapah Lounge or Black Fire Innovation depending on participant convenience assessing any changes in ergonomic risk and performance using REBA and Kovaaks which will approximately take about 60-90 minutes. Participants will be given a scheduled time to show up for this part of data collection.
  8. A second in-person follow-up will be conducted during week six using REBA and Kovaaks, and the focus group will be conducted at this time to explore their progress in the implementation of the protocol after gathering all objective data. This focus group will comprise of 5-7 volunteer participants who will be provided with an incentive of an additional $10 gift card to Steam, a gaming platform. This focus group will be conducted in a secure room at the Tonapah Lounge, separate from the shared space area. An audio recording of the session will be done for the duration of the session for the purpose of transcription. Participants will be assigned unique identifiers to uphold privacy and confidentiality. An audio recording of the session will be done on a password-protected device.
  9. A post-survey will also be distributed to all participants via Qualtrics at Week 6. This will take a total of 2-3 hours for the visit.
  10. A long-term follow-up will be conducted at Week 12. Participants will receive a questionnaire created on Qualtrics via email to explore adherence to the protocol.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

12

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 Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Nevada
      • Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, 89154
        • Recruiting
        • University of Nevada, Las Vegas
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Donnamarie Krause, Ph.D
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Althea Rivera

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
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18+ years old
  • Primarily participates in PC games(s) using mouse and keyboard for at least a year
  • Plays at least 10 hours a week
  • Must be affiliated with an established Esports team or organization
  • Must have transportation

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals currently receiving treatment for self-reported pain related to prolonged gaming
  • Those with a history of surgical procedures in the upper extremities
  • Individuals with cognitive impairments
  • Individuals with a history of a neck, shoulder, wrist, and/or back injury

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Ergonomic Protocol for Esports Athletes
This arm of the study involves the implementation of a six-week ergonomic protocol specifically designed for esports athletes who primarily use a PC setup (mouse and keyboard). The intervention includes an educational component on proper posture, warm-ups, and cool-down exercises, as well as a postural rehabilitation program to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries and improve gaming performance. Participants will attend four in-person sessions for assessments and training, with ergonomic risk and gaming performance evaluated at baseline, mid-point, and post-intervention. A focus group and long-term follow-up questionnaire will also be included to gather feedback and assess adherence to the protocol.
Other: Esports Ergonomic Protocol

The Esports Ergonomic Protocol is a six-week intervention designed to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries and enhance gaming performance for esports athletes. It includes an educational session on ergonomics, focusing on proper posture, body mechanics, and workstation setup. The protocol also incorporates warm-up and cool-down exercises to prevent strain and improve flexibility, as well as a postural rehabilitation program targeting the upper extremities and core muscles.

Participants will attend four in-person sessions at specified intervals for ergonomic risk assessments (using REBA) and gaming performance evaluations (using Kovaaks). The intervention also features online resources, including exercise tutorials and ergonomic tips, to support adherence and long-term implementation. Feedback will be collected through post-intervention surveys and an optional focus group to refine the protocol for future use in the esports community.

Other Names:
  • Gaming Ergonomics Intervention
  • Ergonomic Training for Esports Athletes

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA)
Time Frame: At intervals throughout the 6 week cycle.
The REBA is a standardized ergonomic assessment tool used to evaluate the risk of musculoskeletal strain associated with specific body postures and tasks. In this study, the REBA is used to analyze the participants' gaming postures, focusing on key areas such as the neck, back, shoulders, arms, and wrists. Scores are generated based on observed postures and movements, with higher scores indicating greater ergonomic risk. This outcome measure helps identify and quantify changes in participants' ergonomic risk levels before, during, and after the intervention.
At intervals throughout the 6 week cycle.
Kovaaks
Time Frame: At intervals throughout the 6 week cycle.
Kovaaks is a gaming performance training and evaluation software designed for esports athletes. It provides customizable scenarios to assess and improve critical gaming skills, such as aim, accuracy, and reaction time. In this study, Kovaaks is used as an objective measure to track changes in participants' gaming performance over the six-week protocol. Metrics such as actions per minute (APM), accuracy percentages, and reaction times are recorded to evaluate the impact of the ergonomic intervention on performance outcomes.
At intervals throughout the 6 week cycle.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

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)

February 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 13, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 13, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 26, 2025

Last Verified

February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • UNLV-2024-426

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Breach of informed consent.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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