Neuroathletic Training in Adolescent Basketball Players

Effects of Neuroathletic Training on Dynamic Visual Acuity, Endurance, Balance, Kinesiophobia, and Injury Risk in Adolescent Basketball Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled study aims to investigate the effects of neuroathletic training on dynamic visual acuity, endurance, balance, and injury risk in adolescent basketball players. Licensed basketball players aged 14-17 years will be randomly assigned to either a neuroathletic training group or a control group. The training group will receive sport-specific progressive neuroathletic exercises in addition to their regular basketball training for one week, while the control group will continue their usual training routine. Before and after the intervention, participants will be assessed for dynamic visual acuity, core muscle endurance, balance, functional movement, pain, and kinesiophobia. The findings of this study may help clarify whether neuroathletic training can improve performance-related outcomes and reduce injury risk in adolescent basketball players.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Neuroathletic Training; Adolescent Basketball Players; Dynamic Visual Acuity; Injury Risk
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: neuroathletic training

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Pamukkale/Kınıklı
    • Denizli, Pamukkale/Kınıklı, Turkey (Türkiye), 20070
      • Pamukkale University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Aged between 14 and 17 years, Being a professional or amateur basketball player, Participating in sports for at least five hours per week and having engaged in the sport for a minimum of two years, Having no cognitive or motor dysfunction, Providing written informed consent signed by the parents/legal guardians.

Exclusion Criteria:

Reporting a back or lower extremity injury within the previous six months, Having any relevant medical history or current condition that could affect the balance system or perception-action system (e.g., neurological disorders, inner ear disorders, or color blindness), Using medications or substances that could affect balance and visual-motor reaction time performance.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control group
Experimental: Neuroathletic Training Group	Other: neuroathletic training; This intervention is a progressive neuroathletic training program developed by the research team to improve motor skills, balance, eye coordination, and vestibular function in adolescent basketball players. The program is performed for approximately 20 minutes per day over 6 days and includes visual relaxation exercises, eye massage, unilateral vertical jumping, Brock string training, shoulder/wrist/ankle circular movements, sacculus activation, cerebellar activation, and antisaccade exercises. The content is progressively advanced across days by integrating balance challenges and visual-vestibular tasks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Functional Movement Screen (FMS) total score	Assessment of injury risk and movement quality using the Functional Movement Screen total score. The test consists of 7 movement patterns scored from 0 to 3, with higher scores indicating better functional movement quality and lower injury risk.	Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Dynamic Visual Acuity (DVA)	Dynamic visual acuity assessed using a visual chart while the participant performs active horizontal head movements. The lowest clearly read line will be recorded.	Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention
Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) / Denge Hata Puanlama Sistemi	Postural stability assessed by the number of balance errors performed in double-leg, single-leg, and tandem stance conditions. Lower scores indicate better balance performance.	Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention
Core muscle endurance (Prone plank test)	Core endurance assessed by the duration the participant maintains the correct prone plank position. Longer duration indicates better core endurance.	Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention
Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK)	Kinesiophobia assessed using the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia. Higher scores indicate greater fear of movement.	Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention
Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain	Pain intensity assessed using a 100-mm visual analog scale, with higher scores indicating greater pain intensity.	Baseline and immediately following the 1-week intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Pamukkale University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 15, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 26, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): January 12, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 29, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 6, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 13, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 6, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: PAU-FTR-GG-01

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