Core Stability Training With Balloon Breathing on Balance and Performance in Football Players

January 28, 2026 updated by: Gulf Medical University

Core Stability Training With Ball and Balloon Exercise on Dynamic Balance, Hop Performance, and Core Endurance in Professional Football Players - A Randomized Clinical Trial

Football players require good core strength and balance to perform well and reduce the risk of injury. The muscles of the trunk and diaphragm play an important role in maintaining stability, posture, and movement control during sports activities.

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effects of core stability training combined with balloon breathing exercises on dynamic balance, hop performance, and core endurance in professional football players. Balloon breathing exercises are designed to improve diaphragmatic breathing and trunk muscle activation.

Eligible football players will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group will receive core stability training combined with balloon breathing exercises along with regular football training, while the other group will receive core stability training with regular football training only. The intervention will be performed three times per week for eight weeks under the supervision of a physiotherapist.

Outcome measures, including dynamic balance, hop performances, core endurance, and maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV), will be assessed at baseline, during the intervention, at the end of the program, and at a three-month follow-up. The findings of this study may help improve training strategies aimed at enhancing performance and reducing injury risk in football players.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

68

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 Locations

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:

  • Male professional football players aged 18 to 35 years
  • Currently playing at club level
  • Free from musculoskeletal injury for at least 6 months prior to enrollment
  • Willing to participate and provide written informed consent
  • Able to participate in regular football training and exercise programs

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current musculoskeletal injury or pain affecting training or performance
  • History of lower limb or spinal surgery within the past year
  • Any neurological, cardiovascular, or respiratory condition that limits physical activity
  • Participation in any structured core stability or breathing training program within the past 3 months
  • Female players

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Core Stability Training With Balloon Breathing
Participants receive a structured core stability training program combined with balloon breathing exercises along with regular football training for 8 weeks.
Other: Core Stability Training
McGill's Big Three core stability exercises including curl-up, side bridge, and bird-dog exercises performed three times per week for eight weeks, with progression to unstable surfaces as tolerated.
Other: Balloon Breathing Exercise
Diaphragmatic breathing exercise involving controlled inhalation through the nose and prolonged exhalation into a balloon while maintaining trunk engagement, performed alongside core exercises for eight weeks.
Active Comparator: Core Stability Training Only
Participants receive the same structured core stability training program without balloon breathing exercises, along with regular football training for 8 weeks.
Other: Core Stability Training
McGill's Big Three core stability exercises including curl-up, side bridge, and bird-dog exercises performed three times per week for eight weeks, with progression to unstable surfaces as tolerated.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Dynamic Balance (Y-Balance Test)
Time Frame: Baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks post-intervention
Dynamic balance will be assessed using the Y-Balance Test. Reach distances in the anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral directions will be measured and normalized to leg length.
Baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks post-intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Core Muscle Endurance
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Core endurance will be assessed using McGill's trunk endurance tests, including trunk flexor hold, trunk extensor hold, and side bridge hold tests. The duration (in seconds) each position is maintained will be recorded.
Baseline and 8 weeks
Lower Limb Hop Performance
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Hop performance will be evaluated using single-leg hop, triple hop, and crossover hop tests. The distance hopped will be measured in centimeters.
Baseline and 8 weeks
Vertical Jump Height
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Vertical jump height will be measured using a validated smartphone application (My Jump 2). The average of the best two out of three trials will be recorded.
Baseline and 8 weeks
maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV)
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Inspiratory muscle strength will be assessed using a portable respiratory pressure meter. The highest value from three maximal inspiratory efforts will be recorded.
Baseline and 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Gulf Medical University

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 (Estimated)

February 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 22, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 28, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 4, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 28, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRB-COHS-STD-117-Dec-2025

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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