Assessment of the Acute Effect of Cycling Practice in Lumbar and Thigh Muscles
Condition: Physical Endurance; Muscle Fatigue; Musculoskeletal Pain; Muscle Tightness
MeSH terms: Musculoskeletal Pain; Fatigue
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Introduction: Cycling represents a very important level of practice, being among the most
      practiced sports in Spain. As in any other sport discipline, its practice is associated with
      the appearance of overloads and sports injuries. Specifically, the 2 most affected areas are
      the lumbar and knee areas, with an annual prevalence of 58% and 36%, respectively. There is
      no clear hypothesis to explain the low back pain associated with the practice of cycling, but
      several authors agree that it may be due to holding an inverted posture of the rachis and the
      characteristics associated with this sport: long duration, static posture, high intensities,
      vibrations generated by the terrain, and so forth. The project proposes to analyze the acute
      effect of a long-lasting bicycle trip (3 hours) on the muscles involved in low back and knee
      pain, see, lumbar paravertebral, quadriceps and hamstrings, by means of tensiomyography
      (TMG).

      Objectives: the main objective of this study is to evaluate the behavior of the mechanical
      characteristics of the lower back and thigh muscles, by means of tensiomyography, in amateur
      cyclists after an acute effort on road and mountain bikes, and to study their possible
      relationship with low back pain (LBP).
    

Detailed description: 
      A crossover randomized controlled trial. The participation in the study requires only 2
      assistances to the data takings that will be developed in the training laboratory of the
      Faculty of Sciences of Physical Activity and Sport of the European University. 40 amateur
      cyclists will be randomly assigned to carry out each (2) conditions of intervention: a road
      bike time trial (CA) and a mountain bike time trial (MT) separated by 7 days washout.
      *Randomization marks the order in which participants are subjected to an intervention
      condition or other.

      These sessions will begin with an initial assessment, which will be carried out: an
      anthropometric assessment (height and weight), followed to an evaluation of the
      tensiomyographic variable maximal radial displacement (Dm) over the thigh muscles: vastus
      medialis (VM), rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), biceps femoris (BF), and erector
      spinae (EE) at the lumbar level, before and after an acute effort (> 3 hours) in CA and MT
      bicycle. Respect to pain assessment, it will be measured the intensity pain perception on the
      lumbar region (LBPP) by using a 0 to 10 numeric pain-rating scale; the pressure pain
      threshold (PPT) with a manual mechanical algometer; and the functional disability caused by
      LBP through the Roland-Morris Questionnaire (RMQ).
    

Intervention name(s): 3 hours Road Cycling Time Trial; 3 hours Mountain Biking Time Trial
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): The road itinerary is a mixed route profile of 90 km, an elevation gain of 900 m, with mixed sections, flat, uphill and down over roads with little traffic.; The mountain itinerary, is a mixed route of 55 km, an elevation gain of 600 m, with sections of wide tracks and trails, flat, uphill and down, with a medium technical difficulty.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Intervention model description: A cross-over study with a single group (n = 40) of amateur cyclists subjected to each 2 different intervention conditions: a road bike time trial (CA) and a mountain bike time trial (MT).
Masking: Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Basic Science
Keywords: Muscle Fatigue; Cycling; MTB; Tensiomiography