Non-invasive Vibratory Stimulation of the Knee Muscles for the Improvement of the Somatosensory Input and Motor Performance (VIBMOT)

February 13, 2026 updated by: University of Milano Bicocca

Stimolazione Vibratoria Non-invasiva Per il Miglioramento Del Ritorno Sensoriale e Della Performance Motoria in Atleti Con Lesione al Legamento Crociato Anteriore

The goal of this interventional cross-sectional study is to evaluate motor responses to non-invasive vibratory stimulation applied to the hamstring muscle tendons in healthy individuals. Knee flexion and extension efforts, in both isometric and concentric contractions, will be tested.

The investigators hypothesize that vibratory stimulation causes an increase in activity in the flexor muscles (hamstrings) and a decrease in the extensor muscles (quadriceps) of the knee in all motor tasks. It follows that during knee flexion (both concentric and isometric), vibratory stimulation should cause an increase in the distance between the angular trajectories of the knee obtained with and without vibratory stimulation (with a positive sign). The increased activity of the hamstring muscles would, in fact, contribute to increasing the velocity of the flexor movement. Conversely, during extensor movements (both concentric and isometric), vibratory stimulation should reduce the instantaneous velocity of the movement, therefore causing an increase in distance (with a negative sign) between the trajectories obtained with and without stimulation.

Participants will be tested using an isokinetic dynamometer and they will be asked to perform the following motor tasks in a random order: concentric knee flexion, concentric knee extension, isometric knee flexion, and isometric knee extension. The dominant limb will be tested, only. The assessment will be performed one time.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

35

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

  • Italy
    • Milan
      • Milan, Milan, Italy, 20122
        • Recruiting
        • Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Clinica Capitanio
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Stefano Scarano, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Kevin Soter, M.Sc.

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:

  • Age equal to or greater than 18 years.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Neurological disorders.
  • Musculoskeletal injuries, including previous ones, that may compromise the execution of required movements.
  • Cardiorespiratory disorders.

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Healthy participants
Healthy participants will perform motor tasks with the dominant lower limb, consisting in knee flexion and extension movements in isometric and concentric conditions. The motor tasks will be performed while a vibratory stimulation is applied to hamstring tendons (treatment) and without vibratory stimulation (control) to assess motor responses.
Device: Vibratory stimulation
A vibratory stimulator will be applied to the back of the dominant leg, at the level of the hamstring muscle tendons. The stimulator consists of two small vibrating boxes fixed to the leg by means of an elastic band.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Knee angle
Time Frame: Day 1.
Maximum distance (in degrees) between the knee trajectory obtained with and without vibratory stimulation.
Day 1.
Surface electromyography (sEMG)
Time Frame: Day 1.
Difference in sEMG between the muscle activity with and without vibratory stimulation, for each muscle (i.e., Quadriceps, Hamstrings, and Plantarflexor muscles).
Day 1.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Milano Bicocca

Collaborators

Istituto Auxologico Italiano

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Cristiano Alessandro, Engineering, University of Milano Bicocca

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 20, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 6, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 13, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 13, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Prot. Nr. 138/25

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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