Effects of Peripheral Somatosensory Stimulation Via Mechanical Pressure on Lower Limb Muscle Strength in Healthy Subjects.

Facultat de ciencies de la Salut Universitat Ramon Llull

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Healthy Volunteers

Treatments: Other: deep peripheral sensory stimulation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06936020

2025-04-08

Details and patient eligibility

About

The proprioceptive system and strength are closely related within the sensorimotor system: proprioception enables effective and coordinated muscle activation (including intramuscular and intermuscular coordination or synergistic abilities), which is essential for maintaining the functional stability of joints and preventing injuries-in short, for controlling motor patterns. This principle provides a window through which changes in strength can be observed via peripheral proprioceptive stimulation that activates the muscular system with the goal of increasing recruitment. This justifies the implementation of proprioceptive input in approaches aimed at motor learning.

Full description

Objective: To determine whether the application of a peripheral proprioceptive stimulus to the neuromuscular motor points of the quadriceps increases strength and neuromuscular activation during the squat movement in the lower limbs of healthy, untrained subjects.

Methods: The design of this study is a randomized crossover clinical trial. All participants (n=36) will randomly receive both the Active and Sham proprioceptive stimulation.The proprioceptive stimulus will consist of intermittent mechanical pressure on the skin, localized at the neuromuscular motor points of the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, and vastus medialis of the quadriceps. The tissue subjected to precise pressure in these highly innervated neuromuscular zones promotes the stimulation of kinesthetic cortical sensitivity. The outcome variable will be the assessment of Maximum Strength (MS) generated by the participant during the squat movement, from a 90º knee flexion position to full extension. At the moment of peak force, the mean velocity (MV) of the concentric phase of the movement and the maximum load the participant can move will be evaluated. The intervention, assessment, and recruitment will take place at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Blanquerna - Ramon Llull University

Enrollment: 36 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 80 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria :

• State of health with no history of neuromuscular injuries
• Without surgical interventions, or lower limb trauma in the last six months
• No associated cardiovascular disease
• No associated severe COPD.
• AllParticipants are considered untrained if they do not engage in any specific vigorous lower-limb strength training or regularly perform physical exercise or sports activities.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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36 participants in 3 patient groups

The control group (CG)

No Intervention group

Description:

he control group (CG) will have the proprioceptive stimulation device placed on the motor points of the quadriceps muscle without the application of deep sensory stimulation throughout the entire evaluation period of Maximum Strength (MS) via Mean Velocity (MV), including rest periods.

The Experimental Group 1 (EG1)

Experimental group

Description:

The Experimental Group 1 (EG1) will have the device placed on the motor points of the quadriceps muscle with deep peripheral sensory stimulation applied via the device's plungers throughout the entire evaluation period of Maximum Strength (MS) via Mean Velocity (MV), including rest periods.

Treatment:

Other: deep peripheral sensory stimulation

The Experimental Group 2 (EG2)

Experimental group

Description:

The Experimental Group 2 (EG2) will have the device placed on the motor points of the quadriceps muscle with deep peripheral sensory stimulation applied via the device's plungers, but only during the rest periods between repetitions in the evaluation process of Maximum Strength (MS) via Mean Velocity (MV), applied continuously for 15 seconds at 20-second intervals over a total of 5 minutes.

Treatment:

Other: deep peripheral sensory stimulation