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Elite athletes (female football players) will be randomized to 1 of 2 conditions, comprising a BEMER electromagnet field mattress and a sham-mattress. The mattress is to be used in bed for 8 minutes each morning, and for 8 minutes each evening, for 10 weeks. The system has 3 intensity levels - low, medium, and high. The low level will be used for the 4 first weeks, the medium level for the following 2 weeks, and the high level for the last 4 weeks. Those in the sham conditions have a display and mattress looking identical, and follow the same procedure as those in BEMER electromagnet field mattress condition. The primary outcome comprises total sleep time and sleep efficacy assessed with a sleep radar as well as readiness to play (composite measure of daily self-report of fatigue, sleep quality, muscle soreness, stress and mood). Secondary outcomes comprise duration of deep sleep also assessed with the sleep radar, injury severity, and rate of perceived exertion following training and matches. Baseline registrations are conducted for 4 weeks prior to the intervention and outcomes are registered during the last 4 weeks of the intervention.
Full description
Contrary to common assumptions, athletes often experience insufficient sleep, particularly in the context of competitive events. Furthermore, a significant proportion of athletes report poor sleep quality, potentially linked to frequent travel, intense training, suboptimal training times and inadequate caloric intake. Female athletes are especially susceptible, facing additional challenges such as role conflicts, gender discrimination, body image concerns, increased risk of eating disturbances, and negative impact from menstruation, all of which may hinder restitution. A promising intervention to enhance and facilitate restitution involves the use of low frequency pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy, which has demonstrated the potential to increase blood flow, particularly in micro vessels, and is as such assumed to increase micro-circulation, among other in the skeleton muscles. The effectiveness of PEMF therapy in athletes has so far not been investigated using a randomized controlled design.
In this study, a triple blind (participants, researchers and statistician) randomized controlled trial will be undertaken, with female athletes (N=60) from national (Norway) football teams being randomly designed to receive either a placebo mattress or a PEMF-mattress based on a 1:1 ratio, using stratified randomization by team. During a baseline assessment period of 4 weeks, 3 primary outcomes (radar assessed total sleep time and sleep efficiency), and readiness to play (composite measure of daily self-report of fatigue, sleep quality, muscle soreness, stress and mood) will be recorded at a daily basis. These 3 outcomes will be analyzed also specifically for the day/night following matches (as secondary outcomes). Other secondary outcomes comprise the amount (duration) of slow wave sleep/deep, assessed with the sleep radar technology, the severity of injuries, and the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) following training and matches.
The participants (N=60) will following the 4-week baseline registration commence a 10 week intervention phase involving daily use of the mattress for 2 (morning and evening) x 8 minutes. The system has 3 levels of PEMF-intensity (low, medium, high). The first four weeks the low intensity will be used, the next two the medium intensity will be used, thereafter (last four weeks) the high intensity will be used. This intervention period will be accompanied by reassessment of the primary and secondary outcomes during the last 4 weeks of the 10-week intervention period.
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60 participants in 2 patient groups
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