Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)RequiredNCT06612502
The Effect of Percussion Massage Therapy on the Recovery of DOMS in Physically Active Young Men Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness = DOMS
A study testing Static stretching, Fascia gun ( Short-time PMT ) and Fascia gun ( Long-time PMT ) in people with Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), run by Shanxi Normal University at 1 site in China.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn the effect of percussion massage therapy (PMT) on the recovery of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in physically active young men. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 19 to 23 years, men onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
- What is being tested?
- Static stretching, Fascia gun ( Short-time PMT ) and Fascia gun ( Long-time PMT )
- Type of treatment
- Medical device, Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 30 participants
- Where
- 1 siteChina
- Study dates
- 1 Jul 2024to 21 Jul 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 19 to 23 years
- Men only
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Regularly participate in physical activity, have no contraindications to exercise, and volunteered to participate in this study
Who cannot join
- Participants consumed alcohol and exercised vigorously throughout the formal experiment or they underwent interventions other than those planned for the experiment.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: The Effect of Percussion Massage Therapy on the Recovery of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness in Physically Active Young Men
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn the effect of percussion massage therapy (PMT) on the recovery of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in physically active young men.
The main question it aims to answer is:
Read more
Compared with static stretching, Do 25 minutes and 40 minutes of PMT can decrease pain and increase the rang of motion of knee of low limb DOMS in physically active young men? Compared with static stretching, Do 25 minutes and 40 minutes of PMT sessions can increase power and improve the neuromuscular electrophysiology of low limb DOMS in physically active young men?
Researchers will compare 25 minutes and 40 minutes of PMT to a static stretching to see if different times of PMT are better to treat DOMS.
Participants will： Undergo squats to induce low limb DOMS. Receive static stretching, 25 minutes and 40 minutes of PMT, respectively for three times.
Visit the lab for four times in one week for tests.
- Conditions
- Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
- Being tested
- Static stretching, Fascia gun ( Short-time PMT ), Fascia gun ( Long-time PMT )
- Keywords
- Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, Percussion massage therapy, Stretching, Recovery
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Static stretchingBehavioural
The static stretching protocol comprised eight exercises, performed for 30 seconds per bilateral muscle group (with the exception of the sitting toe touch and butterfly stretch), and included the hip, knee, and ankle. The subjects were instructed to perform the following sequence of stretches: forward lunge, supine knee flexion, lateral quadriceps stretch, sitting toe touch, semi-straddle, straddle, butterfly stretch, and a straight knee ankle extensor wall stretch. Each subject completed each stretch before progressing to the subsequent one. The stretches were maintained until the subject experienced mild discomfort, but not pain.
Fascia gun ( Short-time PMT )Device
The PMT was performed by the two physiotherapists using an OUTSO 06® Fascia Gun equipped with a 5 cm diameter soft attachment head and the vibration frequency was 53 Hz. The targeted muscles included the quadriceps, adductors, hamstrings, iliotibial band, and gluteal muscles for both sides. Throughout the PMT, the physiotherapists carefully maintained a consistent level of moderate pressure on the skin, and followed the direction of the muscle fibers. The short time PMT was applied for 2.5 minutes per muscle site for a total of 25 minutes.
Fascia gun ( Long-time PMT )Device
The PMT was performed by the two physiotherapists using an OUTSO 06® Fascia Gun equipped with a 5 cm diameter soft attachment head and the vibration frequency was 53 Hz. The targeted muscles included the quadriceps, adductors, hamstrings, iliotibial band, and gluteal muscles for both sides. Throughout the PMT, the physiotherapists carefully maintained a consistent level of moderate pressure on the skin, and followed the direction of the muscle fibers. The long time PMT was applied for 4 minutes per muscle site for a total of 40 minutes.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Static Stretching group | Active comparator | The static stretching protocol comprised eight exercises, performed for 30 seconds per bilateral muscle group (with the exception of the sitting toe touch and butterfly stretch), and included the hip, knee, and ankle. Each subject completed each stretch before progressing to the subsequent one. The stretches were maintained until the subject experienced mild discomfort, but not pain. Receives: Behavioral: Static stretching |
| short-time PMT group | Experimental | The PMT was performed by the two physiotherapists using an OUTSO 06® Fascia Gun equipped with a 5 cm diameter soft attachment head. Throughout the PMT, the physiotherapists carefully maintained a consistent level of moderate pressure on the skin, and followed the direction of the muscle fibers. In the S-PMT group, the treatment was applied for 25minutes. Receives: Device: Fascia gun ( Short-time PMT ) |
| long-time PMT group | Experimental | The PMT was performed by the two physiotherapists using an OUTSO 06® Fascia Gun equipped with a 5 cm diameter soft attachment head. Throughout the PMT, the physiotherapists carefully maintained a consistent level of moderate pressure on the skin, and followed the direction of the muscle fibers. In the L-PMT group, the treatment was applied for 40 minutes. Receives: Device: Fascia gun ( Long-time PMT ) |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Muscle pain
The intensity of muscle pain was quantified using the visual analogue scale (VAS), which comprises a 10-cm straight line with one end labelled (score of 0) and the other end labelled intolerable pain (score of 10). Subjects were required to provide a rating of their perceived lower-limb muscle soreness for each leg on a scale of one (no soreness) to ten (maximal soreness). Two measurements were recorded on the VAS scale, and the average was calculated.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment for 3 days
Knee joint ROM
A modified kneeling lunge was employed to assess knee joint ROM. The procedure was as follows: the subjects left leg was bent at the knee, the thigh was parallel to the ground, and the left lower leg was perpendicular to the ground; the right leg was bent at the knee, and the upper body was maintained in an upright position. The subject was required to adjust the position in order to stretch the right hip to the point of discomfort. The angle to which the right hip was stretched was measured and used as a criterion for subsequent measurement of the ROM. The investigator then bent the subjects right knee until the level of discomfort was reached. At this point, the angle between the thigh and calf was recorded using a goniometer, with the following landmarks: the lateral malleolus, the lateral epicondyle, and the center of the vastus lateralis. A larger angle indicated a smaller ROM of the knee joint.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment for 3 days
CMJ
The CMJ was performed in accordance with the established methodology described in the existing literature, and the variables with the CMJ were evaluated using a BTS P-6000 three-dimensional force platform (BTS Bioengineering, Milan, Italy), with a sampling frequency of 1000 Hz. Three trials were conducted for each subject, and the highest vertical jump height was selected for analysis. The variables obtained included the jump height, the peak ground reaction force during the propulsion phase, and the propulsion impulse. The jump height was calculated from the time spent in the air. The peak ground reaction force was obtained from the force-time curve, and the calculation of the propulsion impulse was based on the previous literature.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment for 3 days
Surface EMG
In this study, wireless sEMG (Noraxon USA Inc., Scottsdale, AZ, USA) was employed to collect the integrated EMG (iEMG) from the vastus medialis, rectus femoris, and vastus lateralis during the completion of the CMJ on the dominant leg, with a sampling frequency of 1000 Hz. The skin surface was prepared by abrasion and alcohol swabs. Disposable Ag-AgCl circular surface electrodes (4 mm diameter) were filled with electrode jelly and attached 2.5 cm apart to each muscle. Once the EMG test was complete, the raw data were processed using Noraxon TeleMyo (Noraxon USA Inc., Scottsdale,AZ, USA) software for rectification, smoothing, and filtering. In order to eliminate the effect of time phase, the signal was partitioned in 10-ms windows to find for each muscle and each subject its maximal activation over CMJ (iEMGmax). iEMGmax was considered to be 100%. Then, the iEMG of CMJ duration was divided by the time (iEMG/T) and expressed in percentage iEMGmax.
Measured: From enrollment to the end of treatment for 3 days
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted25 Sep 2024
- Study start1 Jul 2024
- Primary completion15 Jul 2024
- Study completion21 Jul 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)Studies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 30 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Shanxi Normal University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Haiwei Li, Shanxi Normal University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06612502
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2024-0803
- Acronym
- Required
- Status last verified
- May 2024
- First submitted
- 21 Sep 2024
- Last updated
- 25 Sep 2024
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Li H, Luo L, Zhang J, Cheng P, Wu Q, Wen X. The effect of percussion massage therapy on the recovery of delayed onset muscle soreness in physically active young men-a randomized controlled trial. Front Public Health. 2025 Mar 26;13:1561970. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1561970. eCollection 2025.
PubMed 40206177
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 25 Sep 2024. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Effect of Percussion Massage Therapy on the Recovery of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness in Physically Active Young Men
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06612502
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Required / 2024-0803
- Conditions
- Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
- Keywords
- Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, Percussion massage therapy, Stretching, Recovery
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 30 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Shanxi Normal UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Jul 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 15 Jul 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 21 Jul 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 25 Sep 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn the effect of percussion massage therapy (PMT) on the recovery of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in physically active young men.
The main question it aims to answer is:
Compared with static stretching, Do 25 minutes and 40 minutes of PMT can decrease pain and increase the rang of motion of knee of low limb DOMS in physically active young men? Compared with static stretching, Do 25 minutes and 40 minutes of PMT sessions can increase power and improve the neuromuscular electrophysiology of low limb DOMS in physically active young men?
Researchers will compare 25 minutes and 40 minutes of PMT to a static stretching to see if different times of PMT are better to treat DOMS.
Participants will： Undergo squats to induce low limb DOMS. Receive static stretching, 25 minutes and 40 minutes of PMT, respectively for three times.
Visit the lab for four times in one week for tests.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Static Stretching group | Active comparator | Behavioral: Static stretchingThe static stretching protocol comprised eight exercises, performed for 30 seconds per bilateral muscle group (with the exception of the sitting toe touch and butterfly stretch), and included the hip, knee, and ankle. Each subject completed each stretch before progressing to the subsequent one. The stretches were maintained until the subject experienced mild discomfort, but not pain. |
| short-time PMT group | Experimental | Device: Fascia gun ( Short-time PMT )The PMT was performed by the two physiotherapists using an OUTSO 06® Fascia Gun equipped with a 5 cm diameter soft attachment head. Throughout the PMT, the physiotherapists carefully maintained a consistent level of moderate pressure on the skin, and followed the direction of the muscle fibers. In the S-PMT group, the treatment was applied for 25minutes. |
| long-time PMT group | Experimental | Device: Fascia gun ( Long-time PMT )The PMT was performed by the two physiotherapists using an OUTSO 06® Fascia Gun equipped with a 5 cm diameter soft attachment head. Throughout the PMT, the physiotherapists carefully maintained a consistent level of moderate pressure on the skin, and followed the direction of the muscle fibers. In the L-PMT group, the treatment was applied for 40 minutes. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 19 to 23 years
- Sex
- Male only
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Regularly participate in physical activity, have no contraindications to exercise, and volunteered to participate in this study
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Participants consumed alcohol and exercised vigorously throughout the formal experiment or they underwent interventions other than those planned for the experiment.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Static stretchingThe static stretching protocol comprised eight exercises, performed for 30 seconds per bilateral muscle group (with the exception of the sitting toe touch and butterfly stretch), and included the hip, knee, and ankle. The subjects were instructed to perform the following sequence of stretches: forward lunge, supine knee flexion, lateral quadriceps stretch, sitting toe touch, semi-straddle, straddle, butterfly stretch, and a straight knee ankle extensor wall stretch. Each subject completed each stretch before progressing to the subsequent one. The stretches were maintained until the subject experienced mild discomfort, but not pain. | Behavioural | Static Stretching group |
| Fascia gun ( Short-time PMT )The PMT was performed by the two physiotherapists using an OUTSO 06® Fascia Gun equipped with a 5 cm diameter soft attachment head and the vibration frequency was 53 Hz. The targeted muscles included the quadriceps, adductors, hamstrings, iliotibial band, and gluteal muscles for both sides. Throughout the PMT, the physiotherapists carefully maintained a consistent level of moderate pressure on the skin, and followed the direction of the muscle fibers. The short time PMT was applied for 2.5 minutes per muscle site for a total of 25 minutes. | Device | short-time PMT group |
| Fascia gun ( Long-time PMT )The PMT was performed by the two physiotherapists using an OUTSO 06® Fascia Gun equipped with a 5 cm diameter soft attachment head and the vibration frequency was 53 Hz. The targeted muscles included the quadriceps, adductors, hamstrings, iliotibial band, and gluteal muscles for both sides. Throughout the PMT, the physiotherapists carefully maintained a consistent level of moderate pressure on the skin, and followed the direction of the muscle fibers. The long time PMT was applied for 4 minutes per muscle site for a total of 40 minutes. | Device | long-time PMT group |
Primary outcome
Muscle pain
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment for 3 days
The intensity of muscle pain was quantified using the visual analogue scale (VAS), which comprises a 10-cm straight line with one end labelled (score of 0) and the other end labelled intolerable pain (score of 10). Subjects were required to provide a rating of their perceived lower-limb muscle soreness for each leg on a scale of one (no soreness) to ten (maximal soreness). Two measurements were recorded on the VAS scale, and the average was calculated.
Knee joint ROM
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment for 3 days
A modified kneeling lunge was employed to assess knee joint ROM. The procedure was as follows: the subjects left leg was bent at the knee, the thigh was parallel to the ground, and the left lower leg was perpendicular to the ground; the right leg was bent at the knee, and the upper body was maintained in an upright position. The subject was required to adjust the position in order to stretch the right hip to the point of discomfort. The angle to which the right hip was stretched was measured and used as a criterion for subsequent measurement of the ROM. The investigator then bent the subjects right knee until the level of discomfort was reached. At this point, the angle between the thigh and calf was recorded using a goniometer, with the following landmarks: the lateral malleolus, the lateral epicondyle, and the center of the vastus lateralis. A larger angle indicated a smaller ROM of the knee joint.
CMJ
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment for 3 days
The CMJ was performed in accordance with the established methodology described in the existing literature, and the variables with the CMJ were evaluated using a BTS P-6000 three-dimensional force platform (BTS Bioengineering, Milan, Italy), with a sampling frequency of 1000 Hz. Three trials were conducted for each subject, and the highest vertical jump height was selected for analysis. The variables obtained included the jump height, the peak ground reaction force during the propulsion phase, and the propulsion impulse. The jump height was calculated from the time spent in the air. The peak ground reaction force was obtained from the force-time curve, and the calculation of the propulsion impulse was based on the previous literature.
Surface EMG
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment for 3 days
In this study, wireless sEMG (Noraxon USA Inc., Scottsdale, AZ, USA) was employed to collect the integrated EMG (iEMG) from the vastus medialis, rectus femoris, and vastus lateralis during the completion of the CMJ on the dominant leg, with a sampling frequency of 1000 Hz. The skin surface was prepared by abrasion and alcohol swabs. Disposable Ag-AgCl circular surface electrodes (4 mm diameter) were filled with electrode jelly and attached 2.5 cm apart to each muscle. Once the EMG test was complete, the raw data were processed using Noraxon TeleMyo (Noraxon USA Inc., Scottsdale,AZ, USA) software for rectification, smoothing, and filtering. In order to eliminate the effect of time phase, the signal was partitioned in 10-ms windows to find for each muscle and each subject its maximal activation over CMJ (iEMGmax). iEMGmax was considered to be 100%. Then, the iEMG of CMJ duration was divided by the time (iEMG/T) and expressed in percentage iEMGmax.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 25 Sep 2024.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 40206177Li H, Luo L, Zhang J, Cheng P, Wu Q, Wen X. The effect of percussion massage therapy on the recovery of delayed onset muscle soreness in physically active young men-a randomized controlled trial. Front Public Health. 2025 Mar 26;13:1561970. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1561970. eCollection 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Static stretching, Fascia gun ( Short-time PMT ) and Fascia gun ( Long-time PMT ) in people with Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), run by Shanxi Normal University at 1 site in China.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 25 Sep 2024. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Muscle pain (time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment for 3 days). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06612502, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 25 Sep 2024.