Back Massage Before a Cognitive Task in Healthy Young Adults

November 9, 2026 updated by: DSW Ideis University

Classical Massage as Preparation for a Cognitive Task: A Randomized Three-Condition Crossover Study

This study will compare a 15-minute back massage, 15 minutes of quiet rest, and no additional break before a mental task in healthy adults aged 18 to 27 years. Each participant will complete all three conditions in a random order at separate visits. The study will measure task accuracy, heart rate, skin conductance, and perceived workload to assess whether massage offers a benefit beyond rest.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This randomized crossover study includes three visits approximately two weeks apart. Task practice and individual calibration take place before a seated resting measurement. Participants then receive massage, rest lying face down, or proceed directly to the task. The TLoadDback task lasts 16 minutes at a fixed, individually calibrated pace. Physiological signals are recorded during rest and task performance. Participants complete the NASA-TLX questionnaire after the task.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

78

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

  • Poland
      • Wroclaw, Poland
        • Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Polskich Olimpijczyków we Wrocławiu
        • Contact:

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

18 years to 27 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 to 27 years and good general health.
  • Informed consent and ability to attend three visits.
  • Normal or corrected vision, understanding of Polish instructions, and ability to perform the computer task with the dominant hand.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Neurological, psychiatric, or other conditions that may affect study participation or task performance.
  • Medications or substances affecting autonomic function.
  • Contraindications to massage, including relevant skin lesions or inflammation.
  • Failure to understand the task after repeated instruction or to complete calibration.
  • Cognitive or relaxation-focused nonpharmacological interventions within the previous three months, excluding recreational physical activity.
  • Caffeine or nicotine within four hours, or strenuous exercise within 12 hours before a visit; the visit may be rescheduled.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Sequence ABC

Back massage, passive rest, then no additional break; one condition per visit before TLoadDback.
Other: Classical Back Massage

A 15-minute classical back massage while lying face down, delivered by trained personnel before TLoadDback.

Behavioral: Passive Rest

A 15-minute quiet rest lying face down on the massage table without massage before TLoadDback.

Other: No Additional Break

TLoadDback begins immediately after the seated resting baseline, without an additional 15-minute preparation period.
Experimental: Sequence ACB

Back massage, no additional break, then passive rest; one condition per visit before TLoadDback.
Other: Classical Back Massage

A 15-minute classical back massage while lying face down, delivered by trained personnel before TLoadDback.

Behavioral: Passive Rest

A 15-minute quiet rest lying face down on the massage table without massage before TLoadDback.

Other: No Additional Break

TLoadDback begins immediately after the seated resting baseline, without an additional 15-minute preparation period.
Experimental: Sequence BAC

Passive rest, back massage, then no additional break; one condition per visit before TLoadDback.
Other: Classical Back Massage

A 15-minute classical back massage while lying face down, delivered by trained personnel before TLoadDback.

Behavioral: Passive Rest

A 15-minute quiet rest lying face down on the massage table without massage before TLoadDback.

Other: No Additional Break

TLoadDback begins immediately after the seated resting baseline, without an additional 15-minute preparation period.
Experimental: Sequence BCA

Passive rest, no additional break, then back massage; one condition per visit before TLoadDback.
Other: Classical Back Massage

A 15-minute classical back massage while lying face down, delivered by trained personnel before TLoadDback.

Behavioral: Passive Rest

A 15-minute quiet rest lying face down on the massage table without massage before TLoadDback.

Other: No Additional Break

TLoadDback begins immediately after the seated resting baseline, without an additional 15-minute preparation period.
Experimental: Sequence CAB

No additional break, back massage, then passive rest; one condition per visit before TLoadDback.
Other: Classical Back Massage

A 15-minute classical back massage while lying face down, delivered by trained personnel before TLoadDback.

Behavioral: Passive Rest

A 15-minute quiet rest lying face down on the massage table without massage before TLoadDback.

Other: No Additional Break

TLoadDback begins immediately after the seated resting baseline, without an additional 15-minute preparation period.
Experimental: Sequence CBA

No additional break, passive rest, then back massage; one condition per visit before TLoadDback.
Other: Classical Back Massage

A 15-minute classical back massage while lying face down, delivered by trained personnel before TLoadDback.

Behavioral: Passive Rest

A 15-minute quiet rest lying face down on the massage table without massage before TLoadDback.

Other: No Additional Break

TLoadDback begins immediately after the seated resting baseline, without an additional 15-minute preparation period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Weighted Accuracy on TLoadDback (WAcc)
Time Frame: During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Weighted accuracy across the full task: 0.65 x letter accuracy + 0.35 x digit accuracy. Letter accuracy includes correct detections and correct withholding of responses; digit accuracy is correct parity classification. Scores range from 0 to 100%, with higher scores indicating better performance.
During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).
Mean Heart Rate During TLoadDback
Time Frame: During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Mean heart rate in beats per minute during the task, derived from photoplethysmography. Analyses will account for the precondition resting baseline from the same visit.
During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).
Mean Skin Conductance During TLoadDback
Time Frame: During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Mean skin conductance in microsiemens during the task. Analyses will account for the precondition resting baseline from the same visit.
During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Perceived Workload (NASA-TLX)
Time Frame: Immediately after the task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Unweighted mean of six NASA-TLX ratings, each scored from 0 to 100 and oriented so that higher values indicate greater workload or poorer perceived performance.
Immediately after the task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).
Median Response Time on TLoadDback
Time Frame: During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Median response time, in milliseconds, for correct responses that require a key press during the task.
During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Letter Accuracy on TLoadDback
Time Frame: During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Percentage of correct letter trials, including correct detections of repeated letters and correct withholding of responses to nonrepeated letters. Higher values indicate better performance.
During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).
Digit Accuracy on TLoadDback
Time Frame: During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Percentage of correctly classified digit-parity trials. Scores range from 0 to 100%, with higher values indicating better performance.
During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).
Incorrect Responses on TLoadDback
Time Frame: During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Number of incorrect responses during the task. Higher counts indicate more errors.
During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).
Omitted Required Responses on TLoadDback
Time Frame: During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Number of trials with no response when a response is required. Correct withholding of a response to a nonrepeated letter is not counted as an omission.
During the 16-minute task at each of three visits approximately two weeks apart (about four weeks in total).

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

DSW Ideis University

Collaborators

Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Maciej Lachowicz, PhD, Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Polskich Olimpijczyków we Wrocławiu

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)

November 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 18, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 18, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

October 26, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 9, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • COG-MASS-2026-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

No individual participant data sharing plan has been established. Study results will be reported in aggregate.

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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