Isometric vs Dynamic Copenhagen Adduction Exercise in Football Players

May 14, 2026 updated by: Christos Pippas, University of West Attica

Effects of a Dynamic Versus an Isometric Copenhagen Adduction Exercise on Muscle Strength and Athletic Performance in Youth Football: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Hip adductor strength training is important for groin injuries rehabilitation and prevention. A widely used exercise is the Copenhagen Adduction (CA) exercise. The current study will include young football players (12-16 yrs) individually randomised into two CA groups (isometric, dynamic) training 2 times per week for 6 weeks. Both groups will use 2 sets per side and a range of 6-12 repetitions. Maximal eccentric (EHAD) and isometric (IHAD) hip adduction torque, jump and sprint capacity, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and perceived exertion will be recorded. A minimum of 42 participants will be required.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Introduction: Groin injuries are one of the most common injuries in sports such as basketball, hockey and handball. They account for 4-19% of all injuries in Association football (soccer), with movements such as shooting or passing, changes of direction, and jumping being the most common injury mechanisms. Previous groin injury and low hip adductor strength have been shown to be risk factors for groin injuries. Exercise has shown a positive effect on adductor muscle strength, groin pain rehabilitation, and prevention. An exercise widely used in adductor strength training and groin pain rehabilitation is the Copenhagen Adduction (CA) exercise. Another exercise used in groin pain rehabilitation and adductor strength training is the adductor squeeze exercise. Although there are investigations comparing the strength effects of the CA with these of other dynamic exercises, and isometric exercises, there is only one study that included the CA using isometric contraction during a progressive training protocol for the hip adductor muscles, and no studies comparing two contraction types of the CA. Although muscle strengthening is an important component in football training, sprint and jump training also plays an important role in athletes' performance. There is only one study which evaluated the effects of the CA and Nordic Hamstring exercise on athletic performance.

Aim: To compare the effects of a dynamic and an isometric CA on adductor muscle strength and athletic performance (sprint, jump) in male football (soccer) players.

Methods: Young football players (12-16 yrs) will be included in the study. They will be individually randomised into two CA groups (isometric, dynamic) and will train 2 times per week for six weeks using 2 sets per side and a range of 6-12 repetitions maintaining the same repetition number and time under tension. The strength and athletic performance testing will be performed by a physiotherapist and an exercise therapist, respectively. They will not participate in the intervention supervision and will be unaware of the group allocation. The physiotherapist and the exercise therapist who will supervise the intervention, as well as the participants, will not be aware of the testing results until the completion of the study.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

42

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

  • Greece
    • Greece
      • Athens, Greece, Greece, 12243
        • University of West Attica

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

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Healthy male soccer players between 12 and 16 years old systematically (≥4 times per week) participating in training and games

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. musculoskeletal injury and/or neurological disorder that would affect strength and/or athletic performance testing, and/or exercise execution.
  2. adductor muscle injury within 6 months before study initiation.
  3. groin pain greater than 2/10 on a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) during strength and/or athletic performance testing, and/or during exercise execution.
  4. any systematic strength training of the adductor muscles during the last month prior to study initiation.

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Dynamic Copenhagen Adduction (DCA)
Other: Exercise
Both groups (DCA, ICA) will perform 2 weekly sessions, 2 sets per side, 6-12 repetitions
Experimental: Isometric Copenhagen Adduction (ICA)
Other: Exercise
Both groups (DCA, ICA) will perform 2 weekly sessions, 2 sets per side, 6-12 repetitions

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Eccentric hip adductor torque
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks
Maximal eccentric (EHAD) hip adduction torque. Players' strength will be measured in Newtons, leg length in centimeters, and weight in kilograms. These measures will be combined for eccentric torque (Nm/kg) to be recorded and analysed.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks
Isometric hip adduction torque
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks
Maximal isometric (IHAD) hip adduction torque. Players' strength will be measured in Newtons, leg length in centimeters, and weight in kilograms. These measures will be combined for isometric torque (Nm/kg) to be recorded and analysed.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Jump performance
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks
Jump (squat jump, countermovement jump, countermovement jump with arm swing) capacity will be measured in centimetres.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks
Sprint capacity
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks
Sprint (5 meters, 10 meters, 20 meters) capacity will be measured in seconds.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks
Delayed onset muscle soreness
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) will be recorded with the use of a numeric rating scale 0-10.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks
Perceived exertion
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks
Perceived exertion will be recorded with the use of a numeric rating scale 0-10.
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of West Attica

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Christos Pippas, University of West Attica

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.

General Publications

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)

January 10, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 15, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 19, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 17, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

January 2, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 19, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 14, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 60372/01-07-2025

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 will be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Beginning after publication with no end date

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

The data that support the findings of this study will be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Study Data/Documents

  1. Protocol background
    Information identifier: 10.1136/bjsports-2012-091746
  2. Protocol background
    Information identifier: 10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000570
  3. Protocol background
    Information identifier: 10.1080/24733938.2024.2419659
  4. Protocol background
    Information identifier: 10.1177/0363546517720194

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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